Texas Beer Tour - Part IV

Hill Country

My sister Karena and I loaded up the car and got out on the road. We were going to make a whole day out of it. My friend at Saint Arnold had recommended we see his friend at Real Ale, and I have been eager to visit Jester King since I tried my first sour.

Smoke 'N Hops

After checking through Yelp, we determined that this was going to be our stop for lunch. The Hill Country is absolutely breath-taking.

The meal was very well-done. The brisket was perfectly smoked, and I enjoyed the Smoke'n Blonde. It was a good beer. I was pleasantly surprised. The place had a good selection of beer.

Their meats were smoked over hickory wood. This made a rich smoke flavour.

We had a good lunch

Twisted X Brewing Company

Apparently, I misread the hours of operation at Real Ale, so we decided to kill some time at Twisted X.

Their beers were nothing remarkable. The have a Tex-Mex thing going on. I guess if you love pale lagers and cerveza-style beers, this is your jam. I did the flight to try them all. The Fuego was unique, so it got the most interest from me... but it doesn't compare to most the other beers I have tried on my journeys.

The best part of this brewery is the atmosphere. On a nice day, sitting outside, drinking light beers... It is a Texicans dream.

Their logo is emblazoned everywhere. For good reason. It is a great logo.

Flight Board

Bathroom Wall

 

Real Ale Brewing Company 

Now that we had killed some time, we headed back over to Blanco. The drive was beautiful, as expected. We were greeted by some smiling faces.

We got a nice behind the scenes tour of the new parts of the facilities. The new tap room is going to be amazing. It is so difficult to explain how beautiful the landscape is.

My favorite of the beers was the Anniversary Gose. But the beers were all tasty.
 I strongly recommend a day trip out to Blanco. The city seemed like a treasure in addition to the great brewery.

Jester King

After hearing hype for a while, the wait was finally over. Pulling up to the grounds, it feels like you are registering for camp. I dig it. The campus is lush and pristine.

While the employees weren't as nice here as they are at other breweries, they were knowledgeable. I decided to try all the offerings that day. When in Rome, right?

Taps

My favorite was the Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout. It has a delicious roasted malt flavour with a strong cocoa, coffee, chocolate aroma. Even with an elevated ABV, it hides well.

Our picnic table

We did a little sprinkle of rain while we were there, but it wasn't enough to deter our good times.

Overall, we had a blast exploring some of the beautiful hill country. I strongly recommend this little day trip for any Austin local.