Real Ale Brewing is a huge place! The tap room is upstairs and you can walk out on the balcony and see the canning and kegging operations. They are mainly a brewery with some spirits (no ciders unfortunately.) My husband tried a couple different beers and liked them all. My margarita was a bit too strong (just personal preference!) There's a big outdoor seating area with picnic tables and Adirondack chairs. There was a band playing tonight but unfortunately they only played for about an hour They have a wooed fired pizza building out front and boy was it good!! read more

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Visited Real Ale Brewing Company on Sunday evening and fell in love! They really have a great area for entertaining, live music, yard games, craft beer, and pizza from the Oh My Pizza Pie food truck. We enjoyed our drinks from upstairs... A craft beer, a ranch water, and a Mexican Cola. We took our drinks down to the pizza food truck and ordered the garlic arugula, the pesto, and a cheese pizza. They are 10" wood fired in an 1000° pizza oven. All 3 tasted incredible with fresh ingredients and a tasty crust. I uploaded to QR code for ordering online (pre-order and eat on the grounds or take it to-go). My new favorite pizza spot! Follow Real Ale on social media for upcoming events! read more

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Winner winner, beers for dinner! Y'all, let me tell ya. They have a brew that tasted like an adult orange creamsicle and I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT. Take me back before it's gone! Huge beautiful outdoor space. Plenty of parking. Super friendly folks who work here! read more

Real Ale Brewing - Get it my belly! - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

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Great selection of beers. Cold and great tasting. Hill Country Bock is a must. Service was great.

The reason I stayed a weekend in Blanco. The good: Great beer and Spirits. Like honestly some of my favorite beer in the world and the gin is also very very good. lots and lots of outside seating. Friendly staff. Signature cocktails were all very very good. The not so good: Food on site is a rotating food truck, so that can be hit or miss. the inside seating is a bit limited, its not tiny but not a giant space. So on a super hot day you may be stuck outside in the shade. If you are in Blanco and like beer this is the place to go. read more

Real Ale Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Love the atmosphere, beer selection and affordable merch! Most of all bartender Sam went above and beyond to make our visit warm and inviting, cannot say enough about her! This is how every bartender should be! Will return read more

We visited here on Sunday afternoon April 7, the day before the total solar eclipse. It's a huge outdoor space and it was nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the drinks we bought at the bar inside. The bartenders were very friendly and made great drinks! If we get to visit Blanco again we will definitely come back here for a relaxing time with friends. read more

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It has been about four years since I've been out here. It's sad to see so many trees removed to make more parking, but I get it. I am glad they are doing so well! The tap room has a great amount of draft beers available, as well as some you can only get there. They also offer cocktails for those who are not into beer. There is a ton of seating outdoors, but the tap room itself isn't huge. I wish this place were closer so I could visit more often! read more

Real Ale Brewing - My husband is obsessed with this stuff! - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

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Walked in and was greeted immediately by! Started with fairly decent spirit pours, Totem was amazing and really different. The beer was good and a cold IPA was new to me. The brewery/distillery was well decorated and fun to be in. Games were available for relaxation time. read more

Other than the location (BFE), it's great! They have great food trucks, great beer, and awesome tap room with an mazing view of the Texas Hill Country. The staff were polite and prompt, assuming I am ever near Blanco again, I'll be back! read more

This was a great visit/tour and our guide was the CFO of the company and answered and and all questions we had. Real Ale is a Texas only Brand and never pasteurized and filtered naturally....the place is incredibly clean and organized....the tour lasted about an hour and we of course stated for a few beers as well. read more

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entire fam loved it!!! great brews!!! great staff!!!! great environment!!!! will come back!!! read more

Real Ale Brewing - Margarita - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Real Ale has been on my list of breweries to try while in the San Antonio area. Granted, that's a pretty loose definition of San Antonio area and I'm usually gone or working during their operating hours. I deliberately flew into San Antonio early so I could make it to Real Ale on Sunday before they closed. I even got my friend to make an early morning 3 hour drive to join me. I ended up making the hour drive to Real Ale and parked in their lot and cluelessly wandered the grounds until we found the taproom on the second floor. While I wanted to try their beers on tap I really wanted to try their spirits. They had draft cocktails so I started with their Peanut Old Fashioned. I also tried two of their beers their anniversary Golden Stout and the Black IPA which were also pretty good. There's not much food wise on Sundays-if there was it would have helped me stay a little longer since I definitely needed something solid to continue drinking. read more

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Pretty cool place with a friendly staff . We tried a couple of their seltzers. Nice and refreshing on this hot day. Go check it out. Let's support local read more

Real Ale Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Fun experience. We tried flights of ale and flights of whisky. All were good. They even offer board games you can play while drinking.

Terrific and unique place especially when the weather is warm. Great beer and hill country scene.

Real Ale Brewing was a fun visit that had plenty to do and plenty of places to relax and hangout. Between the indoor and outdoor seating, there was ample space for groups to enjoy their time and not feel crowded by others. The distillery puts out a great lineup of beer and whisky which makes for something for everyone. This stop on the Texas Whisky Trail was certainly enjoyable! read more

Great beer, lovely biergarten, and a lively taproom are on the menu at Real Ale Brewing - well-behaved good DOG and KID FRIENDLY so bring the fam! We stopped in here for a nice break from running around and had a few beers in the tapering that we can't get in Dallas. We wound up taking a case home for ourselves and some friends. The taproom itself is airy and had a lot of tables, so there's room for maybe 70 people in the taproom and maybe 45 more in a room just off the taproom (which would be great for private events). Line up at the bar and order full or half pints - they don't do "official" flights, so we just made our own with 4 half-pint pours. They do have a small selection of merch, but Joe that we wanted: which was a few if their half-pint glasses. PLEASE if TPTB see this, stock those :) 5 chillin' with delicious cold local beer stars read more

Real Ale Brewing - L-R: River Baptism Bock, Lederhosen Altbier, Sure Schoep malty ale - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

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Good time. Great beer and a nice variety. They also have spirits. Call me boring - Hans Pils is still my favorite. read more

Real Ale Brewing - Spirits - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

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Tucked back in Hill Country Texas, Real Ale is like an oasis with beer flowing in a wine dominant river. I've been a fan of their brew since stumbling upon in (sort of literally) while on a vacation to Austin. Unavailable in Louisiana, it was a refreshing change when I was really first getting to know all the various types of beer out there. Due to the generosity of a friend of ours, I get to have some every now and then when he travels here from Texas. The brewery itself was a nice, functional building. A spacey bar and plenty of tables and games to enjoy in the cool AC, or you could hop outside on the patio and take in some hills and the occasional breeze. Picnic table outside and plenty of parking is available. I tried one of their rotating IPAs on this visit, and it was a delicious and refreshingly smooth 6.something% tongue pleaser. It went down a little too smooth for the Texas heat, but who's complaining. On to one of my favorites, Axis, first time on draft. I was one happy girl. Service was great, and I enjoyed watching the bartender interact with a first-timer. There were a lot of "beer guy" patrons, the type I love watching drink beer as they name off the flavors and the ages with a simple taste. My hope is to make it back for the annual Real Ale Day in April when I can take in Texas *slightly* cooler, and enjoy being surrounded by beer guys, nerds, and geeks, tasting all the deliciousness. Real Ale is definitely a place you should visit and give your taste buds a break from the grapes for a hoppy bit. read more

Real Ale Brewing - Delicious IPA in beautiful Hill Country Texas - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

What's not to love? I've been coming here for about 5 years now. I'm currently away working 3 months at a time, and since I was in town, had to stop for a pint. I absolutely love what they've done with the beer garden. It's so spacious! See y'all in 14 weeks! read more

Real Ale Brewing - Bock - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Out of all the breweries I have visited in South Texas, this one seems to have the largest brewing capacity (but is also the LOUDEST). One thing I didn't realize is that they also distill their own gin and whiskey via the Real Spirits Distilling Co. You can purchase the gin and whiskey here, or you can order a specially crafted house cocktail if you aren't into beer. This place is clean, up to date, and has friendly bar staff. BUT, it is loud AF, and PACKED. I stood at the bar for my first beer, and although I wanted to try a second beer, I just couldn't get over the loudness, and the bar scene. I'd pick a quiet spot at the bar and then other customers would swarm to my area to place their order or mill about and hang out within my personal bubble. I just don't dig that if there's plenty of other open spaces at the bar. So, I fled after finishing my first beer. There are a few outdoor covered seating areas if you want a more relaxed vibe, but it was HAWT!!! Most of Real Ale's beers can be found in a lot of grocery stores and liquor stores around South Texas, and they have a good variety of beers for each palette, so I suggest skipping the drive out to this brewery and just getting your fix at a local store or pub. Parking is in a gravel lot and can be confusing. There's a "no entrance" sign before you drive into the parking lot, but I think it's supposed to be facing the other side street coming into the lot. Looks like it might have been turned around. There's a collection of pictures of the character "Rerun" from an old sitcom named "What's Happening?" behind the far left side of the bar. Ask your server the story behind that. read more

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The brew is good but more expensive than at other breweries. My biggest problem though is the lack of customer appreciation. Service seemed arrogant. I rather go to other brewery locations that have friendly service. Although this brewery looks nice to visit, I do not recommend going. read more

Lots of outdoor space to spend the day enjoying all of the beers and to take in the hill country views. They have two tap rooms - one upstairs and one down stairs. They also have their own gin and whiskey if you're not in the mood for beer. There was also a food truck here if you have the munchies. read more

The Syndicate swung by the Oktoberfest celebration this weekend at Real Ale. Besides the obvious imbibery (extended word license) of beer, we also downed a few of their pecan-infused Old Fashioneds. They were delicious. Both outdoor and indoor areas were quite nice, offering plenty of space and access to multiple points of purchase, with a networked open tab. That, my friends, is a big deal. Like Bluebonnet, it makes floating around easy. Unlike Josabi's, which was a train wreck. Anyway, instead of blowing through Blanco next time you're between SA and Austin, make a stop at Real Ale. SA Syndicate approved. read more

Beer buds do yourself a favor and take a ride out to Real Ale brewery. I understand they recently expanded and even though their tap/drinking room is on the intimate side there is plenty of deck/patio area to enjoy your brew or their craft gin and/or whiskey cocktails. Real Ale has plenty of acreage for when they have special events. I heard from a regular that their anniversary parties are a must attend event. Next visit I'll be taste testing their whiskey but this was a beer kind of day. I came in heavy with their Commissar Russian Imperial Stout offering. With an ABV of 9.8%, it's truly a sipping beer that is full-bodied with a nice dry finish. Plus one opted for a true summer ale, their Rio Blanco pale ale which was surprisingly flavorful. My last beer was their Axis IPA. I favor west coast IPAs but I may have found my backup. It has a perfect balance of hops and citrus flavors. Man, I wish we had a DD so we could have quaffed a few more draft options. The barkeeps are knowledgeable, friendly, and will pour you s hearty sample when requested. Be sure to check out their production area it is quite impressive. read more

We really enjoyed the tour and then the brews! The stout was amazing, and a flight of assorted brews was good enough to pick some faves! There was a food truck there the weekend we first went, so we hope they are there again tomorrow! The tour is a must! Our guide whetted his whistle with a brew while showing us around. Way to go! LOL read more

Jumping back in time to before our stay in San Antonio, our stop by Real Ale Brewing (with the addition of Real Spirits Distilling Co!) in Blanco, TX was a very, very wise move. The place closed at 6, and we got there just after 5. Our time was short, but our visit was good. The distillery folks had left for the day, so the beer heads couldn't answer all my whiskey questions, but they were still great to talk to. Not only the bartender, but also the guys at the bar who'd gotten off shift and stuck around to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The facility is tucked away off the main road, and rolling up to it is impressive. It's BIG! The bar area is up a flight of stairs, and it overlooks the bottling operation. I knew Fireman's #4 was popular, but WOW! They bottle a LOT of that stuff! Major operation for sure. Impressive sight, particularly for a craft brewery. Keep in mind, Real Ale has been around just over 20 years. They were one of the first big dogs in Texas craft brewing, and they started out much smaller than they are today. This isn't a venture capitalist project - this is a success story built on grit and good beer. I'll tell you what, though - as a whiskey and bourbon head, what really knocked my socks off was their new line of whiskey. I expect little of new folks on the craft whiskey scene. Many source product from Indiana or Kentucky, and it tends to taste the same - usually mediocre and sometimes downright bad. Real Spirits Distilling Co was a passion project by the place's owner, Brad, and it tastes like a passion for greatness. When you have all the stuff that goes into making whiskey already on hand to make beer, why not? That would be one approach. This takes it up a notch to, "Oh, and it's awesome on our first try." I was very, very impressed. I can't speak to the mash bill because they don't disclose it, but I seem to taste a lot of barley. Not surprising, considering they make beer here... :) They don't use any rye in their beers, so I'm guessing zero rye, and I'll bet wheat is the other main ingredient. Not sure about corn... if there's any, I'd guess it's not a lot? I can't taste it, whereas most bourbon has a notable corn component. (Note that their whiskey is NOT labeled as a bourbon, although they do use new charred American oak barrels.) I'd love to know their mash bill... I'll have to see what I can find out... You can only buy the whiskey on site, and - like at all distilleries - you can only buy 2 bottles per month. (Stupid rule. Stupid lawmakers.) So, knowing I live about 4 hours from Blanco and don't frequent the town, I naturally had to buy 2 bottles. To be clear, I'm talking about their "normal" whiskey. The single barrel sold out in a matter of hours when it was released in late April, I understand. My wife loved her hef, btw. We'll be back for sure next time we're in the area! read more

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I love this place and I don't come here enough seeing how close I live to the place. The staff is absoluy above and beyond awesome and fitted exactly for the place, the beer is hands down some of the best I come across with so much variety, I feel like I could make beer pairings with my food. The food trucks they offer are delicious.... And the thing that rounds it out is they are pet friendly! Bring your dog, or your cat, or maybe even your monkey... I dare you! read more

Real Ale Brewing - Drinking a juice on the loose Hazel IPA! - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

This place is great. The atmosphere is laid back and the staff is super friendly. I wish it wasn't so far from San Antonio- I'd go way more often. I loved the seltzer/ I can't drink beer because of a gluten intolerance so it's rad when breweries have other options, and even better when they make them themselves. 10/10- would recommend. read more

Real Ale Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

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Really glad this place is close to the house. Some delicious beer coming out of this little local brewery. They have not only expanded to include some Gin but also have created some really good specialty beers. New beers rotate as do all breweries so make sure that you pick your favorites while you're here. A decent size picnic table area in the upstairs tasting room. Don't forget to say hi to Indy, the gray fluffy poodle-ish type dog that will greet you. read more

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Extremely impressed and proud of Real Ale for their expansion and how far they have come. Visited on a Saturday, on our way back from Wimberely. I have not been to Real Ale for clost to 9 years, so this was pre - expansion. Crazy to see how far they've come, and now they even offer spirits! The tasting room is upstairs, but does have an elevator for handicap accessibility, which I did not actually see, I just saw the sign. The tasting room has a nice long bar, lots of picnic tables and clean restrooms. It's also nice and cool in here on a hot summer day. There is 2 tables right outside the tasting room, which is covered. You can also walk around outside on the second level and look into the brewery or go through double doors past the bar, and have a birds eye view of the brewery. There is also some old school arcade games, FREE, that you can play! We were able to catch a few chairs at the bar, and enjoyed a few beers. There is also seating outside, downstairs, which is covered and allows smoking. There was a food truck, which we did not eat at. There is also corn hole set up outside, and plenty of board games in the tasting room. It did get loud, after what felt like a tour bus came in, but they were in and out so quickly, it didn't deter us from wanting to stay. Real Ale is about a 45 minute drive N 281 from SA. I love their beers, except all the sours... what was going on with that? Sour IPA? Never heard of it.. but maybe it floats someone else's boat. They had at least 4 sours on tap. They do offer flights of 4 tasters, or you can purchase a pint. The beer is poured at the perfect temperature! They do not sell beer to go nor do they fill growlers. But they do sell bottles of their Real Spirits whiskey and gin, as well as make craft cocktails. The staff was very friendly and attentive. For a Saturday afternoon, we didn't ever have to wait long for help, even with as busy as it was. On Saturdays, at 1 pm and 3 pm they offer FREE brewery tours, and you can take a beer on this with you. read more

Real Ale Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Two words: Free beer!! WOOT! On Fridays they have free brewery tours along with free beer. They don't have a limit on the beer so you can try all their beers and leave extremely happy... probably more happy than you should be! Ssshh... don't tell the Blanco PD. :-) The Friday tours that we've gone to haven't been extremely crowded - probably around 10-20 people, but the tours are growing!! It's nothing like the St. Arnold's tour in Houston though! That place can become a madhouse. Their Summer anniversary party is great! You pay for parking and you get "free" beer and food! Good folks creating good beer in a small po-dunk town. Ya gotta support it!!! read more

Love the beer however i feel like every time we come in they don't want to serve us. Same guy with long beard looks annoyed we are there. Came the first time with family then second time with girlfriend. First time he told my brother not to move chairs and this time told someone else to help us. Did we do something wrong? read more

A beautiful afternoon in Blanco, our camping group decided to go to Real Ale Brewing. Overall, we had a great time. But I must point out Kristyn, the very first person we saw when we showed up. She had such a poor condescending hair flipping attitude, she talked down to us. I don't get it. We found ourselves going to the other end of the bar just to order. Please don't talk down to your customers we are the ones with the money and the reason you have a job. By the way, it was a group consensus. read more

The experience was great. We got to see the bottling process, the kids played games, the space was plentiful, the staff were attentive, and we loved it. read more

Great bear, great staff, great atmosphere and the AC blows cold people. I suppose they could add some food to the mix to make an improvement but it seemed like they allowed you to bring your own. read more

Couple of thoughts. The tour waiting and drinking area is comfortable with games to play and overlooks the packaging line. That is a nice touch. The place is under construction so the tour seemed a little disorganized. The tour guide was good but didnt provide another details about the brewing process, how one beer is made different from the next or why some beers are aged in barrels. The biggest disappointment is that i have been waiting a year to get some of the Cease and Disefisus (however the hell you spell it). They had it up next to tap but I wasnt going to wait unknown days. But then they told me they cant sell it by the growler or anything else to go. You have to drink it there. GRRRR. The best beer they make and it looks like I wont be getting any more. read more

So excited we got to visit a brewery on our way out to Fredericksburg! When pulling up, you aren't really sure about parking, but you can basically make your own spot and roll from there. There was a sign out front, but we weren't sure where the door was, so after walking around, we went upstairs into the tasting room. When entering we were greeted by the bartender, who was helpful and educated us on a few of their beers. There was several other guest there, which is cool to see in the middle of a Friday. I ordered a flight of IPA's- all pretty good flavor, a few were lighter than the others, but I would recommend the flight so you can sample several of their beers. Hubby snagged their Axis IPA and also a sample of their whiskey, which he enjoyed. We skipped tours, due to time. But their tasting room was roomy and had long tables which are good for groups and cool views of the property. I would recommend stopping here for some beers! read more

Real Ale Brewing - Flight - Breweries Near Me - Blanco, Texas

Cool place out in the middle of no where in Blanco Texas. Took about an hour to get there from Medical Center. Brought the dogs they have fun meeting fellow beer and dog lovers. All beers are above average and venue has a pretty cool almost Northwest US Vibe. Tried the Whiskey (they now make two) both only on sale at the brewstillery. Was average still a work in progress for them but cool they are branching out. They need to put a few more Barrels and tables upstairs on the Patio so more people can sit up stairs. There are tables below but under trees and not much of a view. Plus a long walk back upstairs for a refill. read more

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