Raising a glass to Real Ale Brewing 15th Anniversary

Real Ale Brewing Company celebrated its fifteenth anniversary with record-breaking crowd braving the Texas heat for special release beers, barbecue and brewery tours. Real Ale Brewing has come a long way since Philip and Diane Conner set up shop in the basement of an antiques store on the Blanco town square in 1996. Despite having tanks, cold storage, bottling and more crammed in a space of less than 2500 square feet with only 7 foot high ceilings, Brad Farbstein maxed out the 2 vessel, 15 barrel system with 5500 barrels in 2006 before moving to the current location.

Real Ale Brewing Company Expansion

At the 15th year mark, Real Ale Brewing operates a 60 barrel, four vessel, steam-fired brewhouse capable of producing between 54,000 and 72,000 barrels a year — and breaking ground for more. The concrete slab for the new bottling building was poured the day prior to the party, with more construction slated over the next several months.

Counting to 15 with Davis Tucker (NXNW Brewing) and Ed Peters (South Austin Brewing)

With Real Ale’s Rye Ale already in my fridge, I enjoyed beer exclusively from the specialty booth menu. I highly recommend trying the Whisky Richard’s Porter, Oud Bruin, and the Empire, a barrel aged IPA whenever it’s available.

More photos on my Flickr.

[Photo Credits: All photos by Debbie Cerda, copy or reprint allowed with attribution]

Josh Hare (Hops and Grain), Jake Maddux (Thirsty Planet Brewing) and Tony Drewry (Rahr Brewing)

After 2 months abstaining from alcohol to be in better physical shape for a pending trip to Europe, my liver needs its own training for the French wines, Belgian ales, and German zoigl beer I’ll be imbibing over the next few weeks. What better place to indulge than our Austin Beer Guide Summer Release Party with great friends and fabulous local craft beer?

The line into the Draught House was the longest that I can recall in all the years that I’ve been frequenting this pub and brewery. Our Fu Manchu glasses were a hit, although I didn’t get one before they sold out.

Real Ale Mysterium Vernium XIV and Austin Beerworks Peacemaker

I selected the Real Ale Mysterium Verum Volume XIV and Austin Beerworks Peacemaker Extra Pale Ale which aren’t sold in regular pint glasses. Aged for six months in American oak, the Mysterium Verum affirms Real Ale’s place as the top producing Texas craft beer.

Meanwhile newbie Austin Beerworks has blasted out into the market with a firm grasp on the sparsely populated can beer market. My prediction is that Austin Beerworks will redefine the term “river beer” — beer that will quench the thirst while floating down the Guadalupe while adhering to the “no glass” restrictions. No more “sex in a canoe” beer, I’ll be packing the tastiest canned beer on my camping trips and float trips.

The summer issue for the Austin Beer Guide was well-received by all, especially the patient folks who waited in line for their local craft beer served up in a Fu Manchu pint glass.

[Photo Credits: All photos by Debbie Cerda, copy or reprint allowed with attribution]

Photos: Larry McIntosh Lycra and beer. Mmmmm. The starting line at Yett Memorial Park

Much thanks to our buddy Larry McIntosh over at USABeerTrends.com for sharing this excerpt about the Real Ale Ride. It should appear shortly in a full on American Craft Beer Week wrap up on their site soon.

MAY 22 — Real Ale Ride, Blanco, TX – MADHouseLarry with the Beef & Pie Cruiser Team

Photos: Larry McIntosh Beef & Pie Cruiser Team Captain Beefheart and MADHouseLarry, PieMan Yates lurking in the background.

A few weeks ago I was invited to join the Beef & Pie Productions Cruiser Team for the 2010 Real Ale Ride held in and around Blanco, Texas – the home of Real Ale Brewing. Quite an honor, as all members of the team had the same goal in mind: Finish the ride as quickly as possible so we can get to the beer drinkin’.

Problem. Of the bikes I do own, the only cruiser is a relic from large item trash pick-up day. I found it in a pile of car tires and oven doors and three-legged chairs by the curb in my neighborhood. The previous owner seemed a little confused on the issue of bike maintenance as this bike had been “maintained” by spray paint. The rims, spokes, seat springs, handlebars – basically anything that had been plain metal or chrome – had been spray painted silver. The tires and seat were spray painted black, and the frame looks like it was painted with a brush. Needless to say, I adopted the hulk hoping to make a project out of it. It has sat in my storage shed ever since. So, with a couple of weeks to remodel the cruiser, I figured, no cruiser. However, my mountain bike would be close enough for this crew. Fat , knobby tires and all. The idea, after all, was to finish quickly and get on with the beer.

So, we did the shortest route, a 15 miler that rolled out from Yett Memorial Park in Blanco, through the south end of town and out to some mild rolling hills and along the banks of the Blanco River. The few hills there were did a decent job of splitting up our bunch. Our Cruiser team were riding everything from a single speed pulling a kid in a trailer, to new, multi-gear city cruisers with smooth shifting internal hubs, to balloon tire beach bikes. While some folks hardly broke a sweat, others were beyond VO2 max. Thank goodness for the post-ride refreshments!

Photos: Larry McIntosh The B&P Cruiser Team relaxing by the Team B&P Burro. Take yer shoes off. Set a spell.

Oh well, I was committed to seeing the goal through. So I hauled ass. To get to the beer. Fun times. The rest of the crew came in sporadically, some in better shape than others. All, ready for the Real Ale.

Post-ride refreshments provided by the fine folks at Real Ale Brewing included Firemans #4 Blonde Ale, Full Moon Rye Pale Ale, Brewhouse Brown Ale and their ESB. Sadly, I didn’t see any Devil’s Backbone Trippel. There was a shuttle taking interested folks over to the brewery for a tour. I did not partake, this time.

The Real Ale Ride benefitted Ronald MacDonald House. Not sure how many riders there were, but there were plenty.

Beef & Pie is an Austin-based film and video production company. They work on everything from the U.S. Air Force to local commercials. Great, fun folks. There is a B&P racing team of serious cyclists, and then there is the Cruiser team – motto being Cruise. Booze. Snooze.

Cheers!

Beer! Food! Memories! It will be the best damned beer dinner you go to that night! Find your tickets here!

Real Ale has been brewing craft beer out of the Texas Hill Country since 1996. From their Brewhouse Brown to the session drinkability of the Fireman’s 4, Real Ale has secured its place as one of the finest Texas breweries. Over the last year or so, they have even been producing our Alamo house ESB.

With all of these tasty offerings, and the fact that they are located right outside of Austin, we figured it was high time to partner up with our friends at Real Ale Brewing for a beer tasting paired with a delectable mini-feast. Join us at Lake Creek as we present a tasting paired with gourmet food and discuss each Real Ale beer offered. This guided tasting will feature a guest speaker who will walk us through the various Real Ale beers as we explore the their catalogue while dining in style. (Bret)

I
Fireman’s 4
Bacon Wrapped Diver Scallop
Roasted Root Vegetable Streudel
Brown Butter Vinaigrette

II
Rio Blanco Pale Ale
Beer Braised Smoked Chicken Breast
White Cheddar Grits
Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts

III
Oktoberfest
London Broil
Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Field Greens

IV
ESB
Prosciutto Wrapped Quail Stuffed With Seared Collard Greens and Brie
Quail Glace ESB Reduction
Risotto and Rapini

V
Brewhouse Brown
Seared Medallions of Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Apple Camembert Porridge
Braised Fennel
Brown Ale Pork Jus

VI
Coffee Porter
Coffee Porter Ice Cream Sandwich
With Candied Bacon Strips

Saturday, Feb 27th, 4-8 pm, we are hosting a release party for Beer Connoisseur Magazine. Basically, we’ve invited all the other area breweries to bring their beers over to the brewery for the event for a beer tasting fest. So far we have commitments from: Real Ale, Saint Arnold, Live Oak, 512 Brewing, North by Northwest, and Uncle Billy’s.

Wow wow wow. This already great event just got greater.

We’ll be out there, hope to see you too.

More details on the poster bellow…

The results are in. There were a total of 78 respondents (not bad for our first try at something like this) over five days.

So I took a Research Methods class… I just forgot to test the survey before publishing it. Dr. Peirce would be disappointed. Based on the results I realize that the term “regional” wasn’t clear enough. Originally it was within the context of local, regional, national, international. But for a free membership on Survey Monkey you are only allowed 10 question surveys so when I eliminated the national and international categories, it made “regional” a relative term.

So I’m sorry if it was confusing.

Blah blah blah. Here are the results. Top two of each category are listed.

1. Best ATX Bar

Draught House

Flying Saucer

2. Best ATX Brewpub

Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que

Draught House

3. Best ATX Beer Store/Market

Spec’s

Whip in

4. Best ATX Beer Event

Draught House 41st Anniversary Party

Flying Saucer’s 2nd Fall Beer Festival

5. Best ATX Happy Hour/Beer Special

Draught House Tuesday Night Pint Special

Flying Saucer Monday Night Pint Special

6. Best New Local Beer

(512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter

(512) Bruin Double Brown

7. Best New Regional Beer

Real Ale Shade Grown Coffee Porter

Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout/Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #9

8. Best Local Brewery

(512) Brewing Co

Live Oak Brewing Co

9. Best Regional Brewery

Real Ale Brewing Co

Saint Arnold Brewing Co

10. Best Local Beer Personality/Advocate

BeerTownAustin [uh... hmm... er... didn't really think about this being a result. *blushing* I promise we weren't out for an ego boost...]

Patrick Beach/Liquid Austin

Thanks to everyone who participated and spread the word about the poll.

Here’s to the ATX beer scene having an even better year in 2010!

Cheers!

Welcome to Over a Pint episode 13, the baker’s dozenth.

Recently we went out to Opal Divine’s Marina with homebrew extraordinaire, John “JB” Brack for the Wednesday TX Pint special. John works at Austin Homebrew Supply and is very active with the Austin homebrew club, the Austin Zealots.

If you’re a homebrewer, you’ve mostly likely been blessed by JB’s expertise in recipe selection/tweaking, or in retrospectively assisting you with identifying what went wrong with your brew. If you’re a regular of the better Austin beer bar scene, you’ve prolly shared a pint or a laugh with him.

JB’s been part of Austin beer culture since the 90′s, and even though that’s not that long ago, the ATX beer landscape has undergone quiet a few changes. JB talks about the big brew pub boom of the 90′s, the microbrews of yesteryear, the current resurgence of Texas microbrews, and how homebrewers have played such an intrinsic role in shaping the current scene.

He drops major kudos to Live Oak (of which we are both drinking in the video), Real Ale, (512), Independence, and future brewstars, Jester King.

Thanks to Opal Divine’s, JB, and Austin Homebrew Supply !

Crack open a cold one, watch the video, and next time you see JB, buy him a beer.

Enjoy!

This episode had a surprising amount of out takes. Maybe JIB will have some spare time and compile and post them. It took me a few times to actually nail the cheers and sip wt/out spilling my beer down my face…

What is this? Look here and here.

Penn Field Texas Beers for Go Texan Week

Real Ale:

Octoberfest, Lost Gold IPA, Coffee Porter, Anniversay, Devil’s Backbone, Sissyphus Barley Wine, Rio Blanco Pale, Brewhouse Brown, Fireman’s #4

Independence:

Austin Amber, Bootlegger, Pale Ale, Freestlye, Stash IPA, Oatmeal Stout

Live Oak:

Pilz, IPA, Hefeweizen, Big Bark, Oaktoberfest

(512):

One, Pale, IPA, Wit, Pecan Porter

St. Arnold:

Elissa, Amber, Lawnmower

Shiner:

Shiner Bock, Anniversary, Rauchbier

Southern Star:

Bombshell Blonde, Buried Hatchett Strong American Stout

We will also have Lone Star.

Freehouse Beers For Go Texan Week

Real Ale:

Octoberfest, Lost Gold IPA, ESB, Anniversary, Devils Backbone, Sissyphus Barleywine, Rio Blanco, Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, Brewhouse Brown, Firemans #4

Independence Brewery:

Austin Amber, Bootlegger Brown Ale, Independence Pale Ale, Freestyle, Stash IPA, Oatmeal Stout

Live Oak Brewery:

Pilz, Oaktoberfest, Big Bark, IPA, Hefeweizen

512 Brewery:

One (Anniversary Ale), Pale, IPA, WIT, Pecan Porter (Cask Cond.), IPA (Cask Cond.)

St. Arnold’s:

Elissa, Amber, Lawnmower, Amber (Cask Cond.)

Shiner:

Shiner Bock, Shiner Anniversary, Shiner Smokehaus

Lonestar:

Lonestar

Southern Star Brewing:
Bombshell Blond, Buried Hatchett Strong American Stout

Enjoy.

(right click to download the mp3!)