In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king.  And as king, Sisyphus had many options as to how he would rule his kingdom.  As Greek mythology states, Sisyphus was a bit of a tyrant and violated many of the mandates of the Greek gods.  The story continues with Sisyphus outsmarting different personifications of death due to his cunning and manipulative ways.  When finally captured by the penultimate deity, Zeus, Sisyphus was condemned to a punishment suitable of his trickery.  Sisyphus was to roll a humongous boulder up a hill, only to watch it inexplicably roll back down again.  And he was to repeat this gesture, forever.

Though this was a punishment from the gods for Sisyphus, everyday life can feel this way sometimes.  We arise, and present ourselves for whatever work environs await. We toil, struggle, and grind out our days.  Then we wind down, sleep, and find that our labors have yielded little, and the boulder awaits us at the bottom of the hill when we arise the next day.  This is the case for so many, but perhaps the gods were not so cruel after all?  Maybe the presence of ale provides a bit of respite at the top of the hill?

Sisyphus – Real Ale Brewing Company – This decadent liquid hails from the home of Real Ale Brewing Company in Blanco, Texas.  Originally a seasonal release, its popularity apparently launched it into regular rotation.  The newest labels on the bottle depict a man shouldering a large barrel up an incline, assumedly as an homage to the greek lore.  I am happily experiencing this for the first, and ideally, not the last time.  This slightly hazed, strawberry-copper barleywine is topped with a light, fluffy, and rapidly dissipating head.  Thin wisps of lacing grace the curvature of the glassware, as I slowly enjoy the beer.  The smell is a robust combination of cotton candy, rich malts, and caramel candy apples, with traces of bananas foster and licorice.  Sipping this affirms of some of the smells with rich, malty, and sugary flavor accented by a pleasant, and assumedly, hop influenced bitterness.  These flavors are topped with a flicker of heat that reminds the consumer of the eclipsing 10% abv. While Sisyphus’s imposed, perpetual toil may be just part of Greek folklore, some days the burden of our seemingly unending labors seems inescapable.  In those hours, perhaps a Sisyphus from Real Ale Brewing Company is required? And so, by the grace of the gods, the cycle may also be broken, even it is blissfully temporary.  7/10

Humbly yours,

J