I noticed a blurb in today’s XLEnt that made me happy. Apparently, the guys at Real Ale have persuaded Pierre Celis, he of Celis Brewing fame, to come back to the Austin area and brew two beers, Brussels White and Brussels Grand Cru, which will be available this summer. The beers will be under the Real Ale label, so there’s no conflict with Michigan Brewing, the company who bought the equipment and rights to Celis White from Pierre Celis in 2003. Apparenlty, the deal’s been in the works for a while, this article appeared in the San Antonio Express-News back in December. For those unfamiliar with Texas geography, Blanco, home of Real Ale, is roughly halfway between San Antonio and Austin.
Celis has a warm place in my heart. I miss the brewery on 290 where the Celis White available as part of the tour was the best you’ve ever tasted. I was permanently in love with Celis Pale Bock (Pale Ale in the rest of the country due to Texas’s strange liquor laws). I used to run into his daughter and son-in-law on a regular basis at Casino El Camino.
I’ve raved about Real Ale’s Lost Gold IPA in the past. I’m also a fan of the Coffee Porter and the Fireman’s #4. Sadly, the Lost Gold and Coffee Porter are seasonal and unavailable at the moment. I’m definitely looking forward to tasting what Pierre and the Real Ale folks come up with. Real Ale usually has a booth or two at Eeyore’s so you can check out their traditional offerings there next Saturday or at any decent beer store or bar.
One Response to “Celis and Real: Two great tastes”
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As a struggling grad student in 1993, I survived a summer of poverty by making periodic pilgrimages out East 290 to slurp free samples of Celis. I’m glad to have the chance to pay Pierre back by actually buying some of his new brews. The White never tasted the same to me after it moved to Michigan.