RealTail Collaboration 2012 (with Real Ale) - Freetail Brewing Company

smakawhat

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass at Smoke & Barrel as part of the DC bottle share. From notes.

Fairly dark reddish orange amber body on this, somewhat clear (kind of dark downstairs to see this one) with a faint light tan head. Some mild staying power, attractive looking. Solid.

A surprising mix of senses on the nose for this guy, a sort of sweet berry maybe plum and a bit of roast chili. Mild on the chile and aromatic, kind of like Ahaheim, green skin roast pepper, works nicely.

Palate has a mild green spicy pepper sense and a good caramel flavor. Real nice body behind this beer, we have malt backbone, and the pepper action comes nicely with some bitter mild chocolate too.

Not a face melter, but a real noticeable pepper heat that is tolerable, very aromatic great feel to this beer too. Would have again, or drink it all!

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 23:54:43 | More by smakawhat

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.99/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Thanks to wagenvolks for this bottle!

Something about a mole beer gets me all, well, ready to fuckin' drink. Following a bit of an initial eruption, this stuff pours a slightly murky sienna topped by a finger of khaki foam. The nose comprises toasted caramel, raisin, fig, cinnamon, brown sugar, light molasses, smoked peppers (chipotle?), cashews, light pretzel, and a hint of cocoa powder. The taste brings in more of the same, though the spices come to the fore in a big way. In the finish, the chiles hold dominion, not just with their flavor, but also with a twinge of heat that lingers for a few moments. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta velvety feel. Overall, a very tasty brew. I can't really say that it recreates mole, especially with the general lack of chocolate character, but the rest of it is certainly there. Good times regardless.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 06:23:18 | More by TMoney2591

wagenvolks

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into a Jester King tulip. Split with bgthang.

RealTail 2012, the collaboration beer with Real Ale Brewing Company, is an ambitious beast. Made with "raisins, whole spices (cinnamon, cumin), piloncillo sugar, dried chiles (guajillo, arbol, ancho), roasted almonds and pumpkin seeds", there certainly seems like a lot could go wrong with this one. But, perhaps not surprisingly given the pedigree of the two breweries, it's fairly well thought out and put together.

The body is a deep, rosy amber hue with a decently retained head of light tan foam. Body is clear and shows some signs of carbonation. The aroma is rich with cinnamon and earthy chilies, and hints at lightly toasted chocolate malts in the background. Lots of complexity, and the vegetal pumpkin seeds and raisins become more pronounced as it warms.

The flavor offers a plethora of notes to the palate. Roasted, earthy, vegetal chili notes come through first and hit the tongue with a spicy spark. Creamy chocolate notes combine well before a bit of spice from the cumin and cinnamon take over. The pumpkin seeds come through on the finish with a hint of buttery almond nuttiness. Mouthfeel is a bit syrupy and on the low side of the carbonation spectrum, but still feels quite smooth with a richness that I had not expected. Overall, RealTail is a really well-integrated, spiced chili beer. Reminded me of a thicker, slightly more complex version of New Belgium's Cocoa Mole.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 17:19:24 | More by wagenvolks

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.73/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Big thanks goes out to kjkinsey for sending me this one as an extra in a very recent trade! Gusher! Served from bottle into a COAST Willi. Poured a massively dark browb red-orange with a three finger off-white head that subsided to one finger very slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, chile peppers, ancho, earth, cherry, and subtle tart. The flavor was of sweet malt, ancho, chile pepper, earth, earth hop, and very subtle tart. It had a light feel on the palate with very high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty decent brew. When I first opened this one and had it gush on me, I was rather concerned. When I smelled the beer that was on my hand I was really concerned that this one might be infected. The aroma did unfortunately give off subtle hints of infection which I really hated to see. The flavor only had a very minimal note of it with some nice ancho chile notes. I would recommend any chile beer fan out there try this one at least once and hope that you don't get any of the 'off' notes that I did.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 22:30:43 | More by thagr81us

cosmicevan

New York

3.08/5  rDev -13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Notes from tasting on 11/16. thanks to mike for sharing this brew.

a - poured brown with dark core and a thin white head.

s - nutmeg brown ale. some spices and pepperiness.

t - initial response is exactly what someone else said, "like the inside of a balloon" with rubberiness and lots of spices. some pumpkin but super peppery and spicy, a bit too much for my (and the others at the tasting) taste buds.

m - spicy. too much going on.

o - overal, drinkable, but not tonight. too much going on and too much spiciness...i didn't finish my pour neither did anyone else at the tasting.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 03:27:11 | More by cosmicevan

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.84/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Bottle: Poured a clear brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma consists of chocolate malt notes with some cinnamon and some pepper notes thought no heat is discernable. Taste is a mix between some cinnamon and chocolate malt with light nutty flavour and some pepper notes are also discernable though well balanced in the whole mix. Body is about average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Not bad but I guess the pepper notes in beer is not something that I am really seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2013 18:43:27 | More by Phyl21ca

stakem

Pennsylvania

2.83/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bomber into a snifter. The brew appears a ruby amber color with a finger of khaki head. Some spotty fingers of lace stick to the glass and a swirl revives a finger back to the surface quite effortlessly.

The smell includes a sweetness of raisins and caramel malt almost like brown sugar. Some earthy cinnamon spice along with something like nutmeg and pepper. A little mineral and carbonic quality emerges across the back.

The flavor includes raisins and caramel sweetness almost toasty grainy flavors coupled with toffee and chocolate grain. A fruity hint and spice like nutmeg and cinnamon are present before the earthy spice of pepper. This brew gets a little warming from the peppers and the aftertaste is somewhat salty like a gose.

This is a medium bodied brew with a lower to moderate amount of carbonation. It is very spicy with an awkward amount of contrasting sweetness. It is an interesting offering that sounds good when reading the label but overally really didnt translate well at all in the flavor.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 14:00:56 | More by stakem