Tonight we went to a beer tasting dinner at Blue Star Cafeteria. This is the second in their new monthly series; last month featured the beers of Independence Brewery. The setup is a pretty good deal--for $15 you get four small plates by chef RJ Spade, paired with tasting portions of four beers from a local brewery, in this case Real Ale Brewing of Blanco. (The Tipsy Texans recommend that you order a full-size beer to sip on while you dine).

No that's not pickled ginger... it's fresh locally grown canary melon from Boggy Creek Farm, along with blueberries and poached pear. The dessert course was served with the Lost Gold IPA.

The owners and several crew members from the brewery were available to talk about the beers. They sampled their original lineup of year-round beers plus the seasonal Lost Gold IPA. Of their four bottled beers, the Full Moon Pale Rye is my favorite, undoubtedly one of the best beers in Texas, though the Fireman's 4 is their runaway popular hit. Demand is so high for this beer in bottles that they are restricting sales to retail outlets like groceries and liquor stores; they hope to expand production enough in the next month to allow sales in restaurants and bars.

The seasonal Lost Gold IPA is hoppy and delicious; I like it and I generally don't like IPA's. I feel like the star of the show food-wise was RJ's Blazing Blue Star Buffalo Wings, but then I am a confessed sucker for wings. Real Ale has some very sexy seasonal beers coming out over the next few months so keep your eyes on the taps at your neighborhood tap house!