Free Sisyphus Runnings from Real Ale

So about a month ago Real Ale Brewing Co. out of Blanco Tx decided to offer the late runnings from their annual barleywine to homebrewers. I would have posted it on here when I heard about it but I found out last minute.

Anyway, if you've never had the Sisyphus (or any Real Ale beer) then you really should. They make great beer. They only brew the sisyphus once a year. So I snagged a 5 gallon bucket of the late runnings, it was at about 1.055 when I got it. I brought it home, boiled it down to about 4 gallons(ish) and it ended up at 1.062. I hopped as follows....

1 oz. Galena 30 minutes
1 oz. Willamette 20 minutes
1 oz. Cascade 20 minutes
1 oz. Willamette 10 minutes
1 oz. Willamette 0 minutes

Fermented with dry notty.

I actually just finished bottling. There's no real point to this other than I thought it was really cool what the brewery did. Anyone else ever get super fortunate and get some free mash runnings? If so would you like a trade?

wow! that's might generous of them. I would have brought two buckets. Why don't more breweries do this??

That's sweet!

That is really cool. I am so so on most of their beers but I haven't tried Sisyphus yet.

The guys from real ale are great and give a cool tour. And next to devils backbone sisyphus is the best thing they make.

Logistics to this please? Do you just meet them there at a certain time - like when they are transferring to fermentation or do they actually send you a bucket?

That is cool!

I didn't get that newsletter!!! I love those guys...Mack and Chuggy are f@$%ing nuts!

I really like just about everything they make (not crazy about Fireman's 4, but its the brew that keeps the doors open). Great beer doesn't have to be extreme and they make a great Brown Ale, Pale Ale, and Rye Pale to prove it. Devil's Backbone is a favorite, really enjoy the Coffee Porter, and that Anniversary IIPA was awesome. I have yet to throw down the $8 for one 12oz bottle of Sisyphus though...make it a bomber and I'm down!

Let us know how this turns out

TANTSTAAFB- If your HEB has a solid beer selection you can grab a 12oz. Sisyphus for $4.00. If you can't find any around you I can grab a bottle and would be willing to do a trade. Let me know soon because my store is down to the last few bottles. Shoot me a PM if interested.

Frisco - A guy I work with used to belong to the Austin Zealots and is still on their email list. I guess the brewery contacted the homebrew club and they sent out an email. He told me about it. This is the only time they've ever done this. They only brew the Sisyphus once a year during the late fall/early winter.

Just thought I'd let you all know that it came out great, but higher on the O.G. than I was hoping. It makes sense because it's the runnings from a barleywine and they probably mashed it somewhat high. But overall it's nice. While it's not that big (6%) there's some nice warm alcohol and the multiple late hop additions of willamette layered on some nice piney flavors. It ended up somewhere between an English Pale Ale and a Barleywine. Now if I can just get those guys to tell me what they put in their mash I'll be in business.

Just posted a new thread on a vertical Sisyphus tasting. Here is my original post and here is the link to keep updated https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/all-central-texas-fans-real-ale-brewing-225658/#post2650213

Today I wandered into the Gabriel's on Blanco and 1604 in San Antonio. I have been to the one in San Marcos several times, so I expected a decent selection but not a lot of info or expertise. The guy who runs the beer dept. in San Marcos did not even know that Guinness Foreign Extra was coming out!!! As I was perusing the lambics an employee come over to straighten the brews near me. I asked him about their selection of sours (I am trying to learn a little more about this style and many on HBT are being very helpful, check it out here if interested https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/what-your-favorite-commercial-lambic-sour-beer-why-225418/) and much to my surprise this guy was not only extremely knowledgable, he is a homebrewer of 30+ years, used to run a liquor store in Southern California renowned for their beer selection, and has worked in several micros as a consultant/ recipe developer!!!

This gentleman's name is Robert and over the course of the next hour I picked his brain on several brew related subjects. He was happy to talk beer and had great insight on many beers I have not had the opportunity to sample. Hell, they even have Sink the Bismarck! and Tactical Nuclear Penguin at great prices (anyone wanting to pitch in on a bottle to get a sample at a REALLY reasonable price, let me know!)

At one point in the conversation I asked if he had the new Sisyphus Barleywine from Real Ale. He did, at a much better price than other places, and when I told him about the thread on Real Ale giving away second runnings from this years brew (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/free-sisyphus-runnings-real-ale-216127/), he told me he had just tried to contact the brewery to get them involved in a vertical tasting he is planning (whether Real Ale gets involved or not). He has bottles in storage from 2007-2010 that he is not going to mark up for the tasting. I gave him my email and asked to be kept informed. I look forward to many more conversations with Robert and will keep this thread updated on any info I get. I hope others will be as excited as I am to sample 4 years of Sisyphus at a reasonable price.

Cheers