Real Ale Brewing Company (Blanco, TX)

[Yuri_Rage]

It seems that this forum is where I'll be spending my time now that I'm on a several month brewing hiatus (I'll pick up again this fall). So, here are some more reviews!

I just discovered this company, located just north of San Antonio in the rather small town of Blanco. They offer brewery tours, and I think I'll try and take them up on it while I'm here. The name doesn't appear to have anything to do with CAMRA, it just signifies the fact that they only brew ales. I don't think they bottle condition the beer, either, so the name is a bit of a misnomer for the beer snob. Overall, I haven't been wowed by anything they make, but I like to support the "little guy," so I'll be sampling everything I can from this brewery.

On to the reviews!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Fireman's #4
Blonde Ale

I had this one on tap last week at the Flying Saucer last week. I wanted to try the Full Moon Rye Pale Ale by the same brewery, but it was not available (more on that one later). I was not very happy with the wait-staff's suggestion to try this one instead - it's a very bland ale that surely caters to the BMC crowd. I wanted something spicy!

(this review is by memory alone...I don't have one in front of me)

Appearance:
Golden - a bit darker in color than most blondes, slightly hazed, thin white head.

Aroma:
Unremarkable. Light malt, little to no hops.

Taste:
Boring. Malty, balanced with very slight hop bitterness. Almost no hop flavor. Fairly bready as well. They advertise a fruitiness from a house-strain yeast, but I didn't get that.

Mouthfeel:
Well carbonated with light body. What you'd expect from a blonde ale.

Drinkability:
Sessionable, but I'd be bored with the session. Refreshing - a good lawnmower beer, but it really didn't hold my interest at a restaurant with several hundred beers available. It's a good blonde ale; I'm just not a big fan of the style.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Rio Blanco Pale Ale
English Pale

Appearance:
Almost identical to the Fireman's #4 - golden with haze, slight white head that doesn't linger.

Aroma:
Very reminiscent of a pilsner, probably because of the Saaz hops. Toasty light malt with a clean background.

Flavor:
Not as spicy as I was hoping with the Saaz hops. The light malt is really in the forefront with a very delicate noble hop bitterness that doesn't stay on the palate. Very slight Saaz flavor. If I wanted to attempt a light pilsner with ale yeast, I'd clone this beer.

Mouthfeel:
Well carbonated, light to slightly medium bodied. Just barely coats the tongue as it washes across.

Drinkability:
This beer is really a lot like the Fireman's #4 in most respects. It's sessionable, for sure, but it's not very interesting. I was disappointed in the hops, but they're fairly appropriate in bitterness and flavor for an English pale. I'd take this one over the blonde ale any day, but there's far better beer to be had for my money.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Brewhouse Brown Ale
English Brown

Appearance:
Deep walnut brown with almost zero light tan head, despite a somewhat turbulent pour. No lacing.

Aroma:
Sweet roasted malt and chocolate. Very light/slight aroma.

Flavor:
Slightly sweet and malty at first, giving way to some bitter roasted notes and a little dark chocolate. Like the aroma, it's a bit light on flavor - even watery.

Mouthfeel:
Very carbonated - more than I'd prefer with less body than it needs.

Drinkability:
This is Newcastle with an American craft label. It's a decent brown ale, but nothing spectacular. If this was the only alternative to BMC at a pub, I'd drink it all night, but I won't be actively searching for it.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Full Moon Rye Pale Ale
American Pale/Specialty

Appearance:
Deep golden to slightly copper, hazy, with about a finger's worth of very light tan foam that dissipates to a slight collar. Moderate lacing.

Aroma:
Citrusy American hops in the forefront with a hefty malt backbone. Rye comes through fairly well in the nose along with some slightly toasted notes.

Flavor:
No surprises here - the aroma tells the whole story. Hops up front with light to medium toasted malt sweetness in the middle. The rye is evident, presented as a slight spicy/toasty flavor. Classic American hop bitterness lingers on the palate.

Mouthfeel:
Full bodied - a little heavy on the palate with good (and welcome) carbonation bite.

Drinkability:
This is a good beer. It might be tough to drink more than a couple of pints in an evening due to the strong flavor and full body. However, it's definitely a welcome change among a sea of fairly non-distinct commercially brewed American pale ales. Easily the best beer I've had from Real Ale Brewery.

 

[bigjohnmilford]

nice write up Yuri.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Sisyphus Barleywine (2007)

Had one of these a few nights ago. I'd be more tempted to call it an IIPA than a Barleywine, but it's head and shoulders above even the rye pale from the same brewery. No formal review since I don't have another on hand. It was full of citrusy hop character. Suffice it to say that it's the only beer from Real Ale that I'm likely to buy again.

 

[EdWort]

Sisyphus Barleywine (2007)

Had one of these a few nights ago. I'd be more tempted to call it an IIPA than a Barleywine, but it's head and shoulders above even the rye pale from the same brewery. No formal review since I don't have another on hand. It was full of citrusy hop character. Suffice it to say that it's the only beer from Real Ale that I'm likely to buy again.

Sweet! I've had one in the fridge for a couple of months. I'll save it for your next visit.

 

[TexLaw]

You really ought to get up to Blanco and check out the brewery "tour." I don't know how much of a tour it is, as opposed to just opening up the tasting room, but Brad and Gabrielle are great people. The name actually came from the original owner who gave it up some time ago.

It's fun to see a small operation that is succeeding. They want to do some interesting things, but they have to pay the bills, too. When the roggenbier comes back around, check it out. It is more like a hefeweizen with 40% rye malt, rather than a traditional roggenbier, but quite interesting.


TL

 

[BigWhitey_FrostBox]

When the roggenbier comes back around, check it out. It is more like a hefeweizen with 40% rye malt, rather than a traditional roggenbier, but quite interesting.

TL

1+

The Rye Pale Ale is my favorite "full-time" beer from this brewery for many of the reasons Yuri mentions. However, I really enjoy there seasonal offerings. Besides the roggenbier, their coffee porter was right up my alley.

Yuri, if you decide to take the tour and want some company send me a PM. Meeting HBT folks in person would be cool.

 

[TexLaw]

Oh, man, that coffee porter is out of sight! It saved my life one very hungover, Dixie Cup morning.

Hell, if y'all want to go out there sometime, let me know. I've been jonesing for a Hill Country beer run, so I might make the drive and join you. We ought to hit Fredericksburg, too.


TL

 

[AnonyBrew]

Rio Blanco Pale Ale gets an A in my book. A nice lighter beer, not too hoppy, that can be drank in the summer.

 

[juse]

I tried the Full Moon Rye Pale Ale last night & loved it. I was in the mood to get slapped around by some hops.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I've only had the Brewhouse Brown, but I thought it was very good. Maybe I can find a few of the others to try.

 

[Hell Brew]

They had a keg of their devils backbone belgian style triple at the pizza place I go to that has a good beer selection. I really liked it. Had a good estery belgian yeast profile. Not to mention the waitress hooked me up with a 22oz for the price of a 12oz. I was a little warm after that.

 

[Blue_Water]

I took the brewery tour. It was cool, mostly because it was my first brewery tour and they let us sample all the beers in the tasting room.

75%+ of their sales come from Firemans #4.

I had this fantasy of becoming a pro brewer, but after this tour I realized that would mean having to work my butt off repeatedly brewing tons of the exact same pale ale.

I'd rather keep my day job, and brew what I want on the weekend.

Overall, I like their beers. Good to see guys making a buck out in the hill country, doing it on their own.

 

[944play]

Full Moon Pale Rye on cask is otherworldly.

 

[conpewter]

I wish I lived in Texas! It would be great hang out with you all.

 

[lamarguy]

I'm doing the brewery tour tomorrow....Should be fun!

 

[Saccharomyces]

I need to get down there sometime for the tour. It's a long haul since I live on the north side of town.

Full Moon Pale Rye is one of my favorite beers. It's a nice hearty APA. Rio Blanco Pale Ale is a great summertime beer when it's 95*F outside.

Fireman's #4 is popular with the BMC crowd for sure. You can make a clone with 100% 2-row, S-04 yeast, and crystal hops. I have been told the Whitbread ale yeast is their house strain.

 

[lamarguy]

So, my gf and I did the tour yesterday. We met Tim and several of the brewers...And a bottle line worker that looked just like Kid Rock! Great guys and good beer.

They're best beers were definitely the non-regulars - Real Heavy (Wee Heavy) and Dunkelroggen (Rye Dunkel). The Real Heavy has a nice malt complexity and is my favorite by far. The Dunkelroggen is interesting because they use 30% rye in place of traditional wheat so it's got a dry, spicy finish but it lacked any real complexity and didn't have the traditional smoothness I would expect from a dunkel. Most likely due to the lack of wheat and/or oat adjuncts.

I highly recommend you guys visit the brewery if you get the chance... :rockin:

 

[lamarguy]

Grain Silo

Tasting Room

 

[lamarguy]

Mash & Lauter Tuns (Tim is wearing the blue shirt)

Plate Heat Exchanger (they recycle the heated water)

Bright Tank (on right, spewing CO2)

Bottling Line

 

[lamarguy]

Kid Rock (orange 'Loverboy' tshirt)

 

[user 30639]

Cool pics. I need to get down there one day and check it out.

 

[AnonyBrew]

Does anyone else get a corn-like flavor from the Fireman's #4 out of the bottle? Not sure it's always been there, but I just had one the other day & noticed a distinct corn flavor to it.

 

[lamarguy]

Does anyone else get a corn-like flavor from the Fireman's #4 out of the bottle? Not sure it's always been there, but I just had one the other day & noticed a distinct corn flavor to it.

Well, Fireman's #4 is their lightest beer but they certainly don't use corn or rice in the mash...Their base malt is 2-row. It could be a touch of DMS you're tasting.

 

[yeoldebrewer]

Real Ale's offerings were first available at package stores here in west texas and more recently on the grocery shelves. My palate is inexperienced, but seems like the quality and consistency has slipped a little over the last few months.

I thought the Brown, Rio Blanco and Rye were quite good initially. They seem to have gone from very good to pretty good. The blond beer has always tasted like astringent BMC to me.

This could be my imagination. I'm reading posts by more experienced tasters here with much interest.

 

[944play]

I never liked Rio Blanco, I thought the malt profile was schizophrenic. #4, last time I had it, seemed to have a yeast-derived smoky note that I thought was weird. The coffee porter I found watery and uninspired. The brown is nice but lacks zazz - same with Dunkelroggen. Sisyphus is ok but I prefer American-style barleywines.

Devil's Backbone is a gorgeous tripel.

Full Moon is definitely the star of the lineup from a beer geek perspective. That beer, from a cask, has got to be the closest thing to liquid nirvana I have yet sampled.

 

[tac0meat]

I always liked their Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, really good stuff. Plus their bottles are great for homebrew use.

 

[fivehoursfree]

It's nice to bring back a dead thread.

I'd rank their beers like this:
Full Moon
Roggen (Bottle this please)
Porter ( Haven't seen it in a while)
Firemans (Could drink it all day long)
I haven't had a chance to try the others.

 

[MrZ2U]

They brew “Drafthouse ESB” for a local movie theater in Austin…Alamo Drafthouse. At the Lake Creek location they had it cask conditioned the last time I was there…AMAZING. The regular tap version is easly a match for Fullers bottled and damned close to Fullers draft. They don’t bottle it yet so if you get to Austin and want a beer with your movie then look that one up.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

The coffee porter is pretty good. I found their oktoberfest very strange.

 

[stat]

I had their coffee porter right before christmas and it reminded me of iced coffee but where all the ice had melted. Very watery and bland.

 

[cook1969]

I love Real Ale beers. I drove out to blanco and had a taste and tour last summer when I was in Austin. Friday is their off day for jsut tours and stuff. there were dudes walking around working on stuff like bottle washers etc. and drinking beer. What a job!

The cask conditioned ESB is probably one of the best beers I have ever had in my life. I friended them on the FaceBook and sometimes they will post that they are driving a cask of something somewhere for everyone to try.

I know their Flagship beer is Fireman 4, but the Rye pale ale is my fave.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Devils Backbone is climbing the charts for me, as is their Pilsner and Octoberfest.
Ironically, those, the two lagers, are some of my favorites.
Now I'd rank them:

Pilsner
Devils B ackbone
pale Rye
Porter
Firemans

the others.