Sisyphus
Real Ale Brewing Company

SisyphusSisyphus
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From:
Real Ale Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
Ranked #147
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
88
Ranked #14,006
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 11.96%
Reviews:
330
Ratings:
664
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 29, 2022
Added:
Dec 18, 2002
Wants:
  50
Gots:
  141
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by verset:
Photo of verset
Rated by verset from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%

Sep 13, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.49 by rexdeopp from Texas

Nov 29, 2022
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Reviewed by Thankin_Hank from Texas

4.38/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottled FEB 17 2022 in a 22 ounce Magnum Bottle 10.1% ABV. Used a BJ's Grand Cru Snifter. It has a rich malty color, suspension and carbonation that smelled of a malty IPA. I got some lacing. Heavy orange and grapefruit citrus. It tastes like some Imperial IPAs I've had and it's pretty damn good. Lots of malt and a sweet, bitter lingering on the tongue. Unfiltered and unpasteurized. It's coming across as a strong IMPERIAL IPA to me. I tend to like it, though. Definitely a share bottle.
Oct 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.64 by BrentMcQuirk from Texas

Sep 20, 2020
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Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.05/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a tiny head of white foam. The head fades very fast leaving almost no lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is rather strong of a grainy and doughy smell mixed with a nice sweet aroma of orange, some light tropical fruits, and some caramel. Along with these aromas comes a touch of rum like alcohol and a bit of herb.
Taste – The taste begins with a very doughy malt taste mixed with a big level of sweetness of caramel and orange. At the start there is not much graininess, but as the taste advances a bit of the flavor works its way onto the tongue. At the same time there is a sweeter, almost cough syrup, sweet like taste that works it way in, and while this may not sound pleasant the alcohol, sweet orange, and slight burn/medicinal flavor actually matches the doughy and other sweet quite nice. Toward the end there are some flavors of a light herbal and earthy hop that join the taste, and with a little bit of an increase in the boozy tastes, one is left with a sweet and warming, doughy taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is thicker and syrupier in nature with a carbonation level that is rather low. For the sweet, doughy, and slightly cough syrup like tastes of the brew the feel is actually spot on and really accentuates the flavors to a level that matches and optimizes the flavors rather well.
Overall – Being on the sweeter side, without much hop punch, it is much more in line with the English style Barleywine. While usually when a “medicinal” mention is thrown in a review, it equates to a poorly crafted brew. Oddly (but not out of the question for the style), this brew pulls off the cough syrup like taste wonderfully, as it blends, compliments, and matches the other flavors of the brew rather well. This was a very enjoyable Barleywine and one I will certainly go back to on occasion!
Aug 09, 2020
 
Rated: 3.5 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Apr 10, 2020
 
Rated: 3.14 by Valkyrie23 from Texas

Mar 21, 2020
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Reviewed by imnodoctorbut from Texas

3.91/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
bottled 5/11/21; it's 9/16/21

pours a murky amber body with cream colored head that can barely be bothered, raising up at a quarter-finger (yep) reluctantly, but falling within moments to form a thin halo with no lacing left behind as it settles

aroma is very malty, thick and rich with caramel and toffee with a squeeze of orange citrus and herbal hop

taste follows that with more hop and caramel malt galore. citrus is in there for mere sport and malt certainly muscles in over the other notes in bready, heavy bounds

mouthfeel here is semi-thick/damn-near-syrupy that's countered by high carbonation. there is still a medicinal quality that is less than flattering, even if served ice cold. heaven help you if you take the time required to warm up. at that point the booze notes really swing in and it plays coy with the idea of something that should be much simpler. the finish is lightly dry with a supremely herbal hop aftertaste.

overall:
iit's pretty stinkin' sweet as-is. would love to age it and see what's really up, because surely this cannot be the true end product Real Ale was aiming for. it's dang-near medicinal at this stage. come to think of it though, more cellar time means less carbonation...maybe not-so-good for a thick bodied sweet-boy....idk. I had this back in 2015 and it wasn't near as awkward. I love the name but will skip it for a while now.
Mar 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4.15 by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

Mar 06, 2020
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Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.32/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
$ 6.44 (Including tax)/22 oz bottle ($ 0.292/oz) from Spec’s, DeZavala, SAT. Reviewed 10/17/19.
“BOTTLED ON SEP 12 2019” clearly stamped on bottom of rear label. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 57 degrees in a hand-washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.75.
First pour – Light orange, clear.
Body – Orange, clear. Slight effervescence noted.
Head – Average - (Maximum 3.4 cm, aggressive center pour), cream, medium density, short retention, diminishing to a choppy four to ten mm crown, fed by effervescence, and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – Poor. A few small pieces of lacing remain on the inside of the glass
Aroma – 3.5 – Weak caramel and orange.
Flavor – 3 - Begins slightly sweet with some caramel and orange, then becomes slightly bitter. Neither sweetness nor bitterness is very pronounced. No alcohol flavor or aroma (10.1% ABV) but gastric warming occurs nearly instantly. No dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Full, almost syrupy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25. A decent take on the barley wine style, but nothing out of the ordinary. A bit of diacetyl would have been nice. But for the price, it can’t be beat.
Oct 17, 2019
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Reviewed by ilikebeer03 from Texas

3.79/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
9/12/19 bottle drank 9/27/19
Pours a brilliantly clear burnt orange. Finger of baige foam fades to a thin cap and ring around the glass. Good lacing.
Nose is candied orange, citrus rind, pine.
Taste is citrus rind, pine, candied orange, caramel malt backbone, dark fruit, plum.
Mouthfeel is medium and relatively crisp for a 10% beer
Sep 28, 2019
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Rated by HoodviewBrew from Texas

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
One of the few hop forward beers I enjoy. Good barleywine base with medium hoppy flavor with some sweetness mixed in.
Jun 15, 2019
 
Rated: 3.95 by Mortarforker from Texas

Mar 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Feb 04, 2019
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Rated by sd123 from Georgia

3.83/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2011 batch drank March 2018
Mar 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.78 by Hooley from Texas

Mar 14, 2018
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Reviewed by donspublic from Texas

4.17/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Vintage 2016, real smooth and hoppy
Vintage 2017 March, Poured from bottle into tulip, good 1 finger tan head, good retention and lacing. Clear amberish red in the glass, aggressive pour yielded some yeast in the glass. Smells of toffee, caramel, brown sugar, prune, citrus and some earthiness. Taste follows the nose, sweet malt, caramel, toffee, herbal and there is some citrus peeking thru in the middle. There is some residual heat that I didn't pick up on the 2016. The bitterness is rather tame on this one, but it isn't that out of balance because it isn't overly sweet. The finish on this beer is almost port like, good taste to finish a sip on. I think I would like a little more punch on the end with a little more bitterness.
Mar 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by brew-Ed from Texas

Jan 20, 2018
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Reviewed by ryan_sprayberry from Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I should start with barley wine isn't usually my thing. This one definitely hits all the notes a barley wine should hit and my brother-in-law, who likes barley wines, was very impressed. I would call it average personally, so I kind of mixed those reviews here.
Dec 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.15 by Dwood1466 from Texas

Oct 06, 2017
Sisyphus from Real Ale Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 664 ratings