Text 10488, 69 rader
Skriven 2014-03-02 23:50:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: real ale 279
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Our next event, a guided tour of the Real Ale Brewing Co.,
just a couple miles down the dusty road from the Old 300,
was in about as rural a spot as you could imagine, and as
we made our way from the rugged parking area the question
was heard from the distance as to whether we had to watch
out for snakes. This distressed some of us.

I've been to a bunch of brewery tours, and this was the
only one where you get your samples before the tour as well
as after, and you are allowed to sample as much as you can
hold. Plus you get a beer en route.

I started sampling with one that I knew I'd like, the Real
Heavy Scotch ale, which was real, heavy, almost Scotch, and
I presume ale. The nonscotchiness consisted in a heavier
hand with the hops than I'd expect from this style. It was
thick and malty and bitterish to go with the sweet.

I also enjoyed the hoppy and citrusy Lost Gold IPA, which
reminded me of Christmas.

Firemans 4 is a pretty standard quencher, a little too
Belgian-tasting for me but also a little too Lite-tasting
as well. Not my favorite.

Iron Swan, supposedly brewed in cooperation with the rock
band The Sword (I wonder how that works), is supposedly an
English pale ale but I thought more American-style with
the hopping, again with a touch of Belgian fruity yeastiness
that the brewmasters here seem to encourage; other than that
I thought it was pretty good.

California Common is a robust Anchor Steamish brew, again
hoppy and malty at the same time, pretty nice but I think
I prefer the real thing by a nose.

That really was enough beer! So I didn't have any after
the tour.

Our group was so big that we were split in two; I was in
the half that got the second half of the tour first; so
we started with the packaging line. Then we went to the
cold warehouse, where the day's finished products are
stored for pickup, as well as the day's seconds. We were
encouraged to help ourselves to a bottle of the seconds,
which might have been a misfill, creased label, dented
cap, whatever. I picked up a bottle with no label at all,
which turned out to be a wheaty thing that I didn't care
for, but perhaps my satiety affected my impressions.

While our guide was showing us the new bottling and
packaging apparatus, to be installed the very next day,
Lilli told me she was not feeling so hot, so I followed
her out to make sure she was going to be okay. We made
our way back to the front and sat at a table with a bunch
of cheeseheads waiting for the next scheduled tour. While
Lilli chatted with them (they offered various suggestions
about treating the problem) I went and got her some water
to sip on. She recovered in time so that when the tour
returned for the first half of the presentation, we could
join.

I learned nothing on this trip except that the Real Ale
Brewing Co.'s style isn't my style. Its limited
availability (Texas and Louisiana mostly) means I won't
encounter it too often for a while, anyway.
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