Saturday, February 14, 2009

Heading Down a new Boulevard


So I know you might be thinking "These guys talk a lot about Boulevard Brewing". I'll tell you why. Boulevard is semi-local to us in springfield and they have been really making waves in the brewing world lately. If you reference our previous post "Smokestack Series you can find out about the other members but this is about the Limited Release Smokestack Offerings. In the past months, Three World class Beers have been released by Boulevard and all of them have been met with high expectations. The offerings include a Saison-Brett, a Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel (a Barrel aged version of their Sixth Glass), and a new Imperial Stout. These beers are available at area Brown Derby stores in limited quantities, in fact the BBQ is already gone from store shelves. You will not be dissapointed.

Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel: 11.8% ABV
Bottle 3104 of 10630

poured a tobacco brown with a thick cloudiness. a thick head dissapates quickly.
smells like the Sixth Glass with a hint of bourbon and dark Cherry, a definite Woody nose.
Tastes incredibly complex. Sixth Glass, plus a extra sweetness. A definite Sour Mash Whiskey flavor with a strong Figgy undertone. Greatly similar to the original Sixth Glass but distinctively better.
mouth is thick and smooth, medium carbonation. Truly a great variation of the quadrupel. Boulevard impresses me again

Saison-Brett: 8.5% ABV
Bottle 10923 of 11950

poures a pale yellow, cloudy with a thick and very active head. lacing it thick and patchy. floating Brett yeast gathers in the bottom of the glass.
smells floral, grassy hops and a peppery nose with a hint of cloves and the bret yeast. wow this smells good.
taste is an explosion of complex flavor, the yeast is overpowering the spiciness, strong reminicense or pepper and clove. a grassy hop is present in the finish
mouth is clean and crisp, carbonation is medium/heavy and drinks easy. I drank a glass with a bowl of venison chili and it paired amazingly well. definitely worth whatever price you have to pay for it.

Imperial Stout: 11% ABV
Bottle 7778 of 11960

-Poured into a Smokestack Chalice. Pours a Deep opaque black, Thick rocky two finger head that settles like sand. As close to a nitro-tap settling as I've ever seen in a bottle. head leaves a nice patchy lacing.
-Smell is rich malt, some rye and oat malt. a brown sugary nose is relenquished by a alcohol twinge in the nose. A very distinct yeast profile is so incredibly enticing. Absolutely amazingly complex.
-Suprisingly I taste hops first, but is quickly overpowerd by rich but subtle malts. I sense some fig and vine fruit in the aftertaste. Incredibly complex with a bitter-sweet overall complexity. Approach is bitter but finishes sweet and smooth. Not as creamy as some other RISs but I don't think RIS is in a league all it's own.
-Mouth is rich and viscous, this one really sticks with you while you attempt to finish off the bottle. For future reference I might want to split one, but this bottle is all mine. MuaHA HA HA!