I’ve been familiar with the small town of Blanco, TX since I was kid, but with my new found love for beer, I just recently discovered a brewery that has been there almost my whole life. Real Ale Brewing Co. is actually the second oldest craft brewery in Texas, following only Saint Arnold Brewing Co. It is also the third largest craft brewery in Texas, only behind Shiner and Saint Arnold. Who would have thought that a brewery of such reputation had been mere minutes away when I made my travels into the hill country?
I had been coming to Blanco for years with my family to visit my grandmother’s ranch. The brewery is tucked behind some trees not even a couple miles north of the town, which would explain why I had never seen it. My family had always traveled to Blanco from Columbus, driving through either San Marcos or San Antonio, and never went any further north on Hwy 281. Now that I knew of this place, I was eager to try it out.
The drive from Houston is a long one, but with plans on staying at the ranch that night and spending some time with family, I was killing two birds with one stone on this trip. I also brought along a friend to make the drive more bearable and the experience more fun. Some of the best views in the hill country are along the Devil’s Backbone and we drove the southern half of this scenic loop on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday.
I was immediately impressed upon seeing the establishment. Tucked into the trees, it was a larger building with a few tanks outside and a nice, shaded outdoor sitting area before the entrance to the taproom on a second floor. The taproom was of moderate size to be comfortable and had plenty of tables and benches for seating. There was even a variety of board games to play while enjoying a drink.
With so many different brews to choose from, it was difficult to decide which to try. The beers I came to choose that day were:
- Full Moon Rye IPA seemed like a good start since I had never tried it. It was lighter, but still had a higher ABV than a typical wheat beer.
- Commissar Russian Imperial Stout because I will always want to try the stout at a brewery. This on resembled more of a dark chocolate flavor versus a coffee taste that I’m used to with stouts.
- El Submarino which is the Gose brew with a specialty blend of Tamarindo, chimoy, chile, and limón spices. Funny thing about this one, the main reason I got it was for the name. It reminded me of a line from Zombieland where Tallahassee says, “In Mexico, you know what they call Twinkies? ‘Los submarinos.’”
- Devil’s Backbone Belgian-Style Triple which only seemed appropriate as that was the route we drove to get there.
- Rio Blanco Pale Ale which is also the river that we crossed and drove alongside of out to the ranch.
The brewery tour was exceptional as well. Easily among the top 3 of breweries that I have visited that offered a tour. The guide was knowledgeable and entertaining and we got a very up close and personal look and the internal processes of the brewery.
With the hopes of expanding to making their own brand of whiskey, this brewery has certainly made a name for itself. It was also mentioned that Real Ale recently went through re-branding that included a new tag line: “Unfiltered, Unpasteurized, Unavailable in 49 states”. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the brewery and they are celebrating all year long. What a milestone for a craft brewery to reach and it makes this native Texan proud to call the lone star state her home.
Cheers!
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