My single experience with Boulevard is one I clearly recall. Bill and I were in the middle of brewing one of my world-famous mediocre saisons when I decided to break out “Saison Brett” from the cellar. This wonderfully complex and slightly sour beer is the best saison I’ve ever tasted. Period. We were blown away with everything about this beer. Turns out, that despite being a fairly large brewery, Boulevard has limited availability and was not available even within driving distance of our metro area. Boulevard has called Kansas City home since setting up brewing operations back in 1989. Since then, they have gone on to win multiple awards and have expanded production to almost twenty states.
As a Supporting Brewery of SAVOR 2012, Boulevard has teamed with Sierra Nevada Brewing on an one-of-a-kind collaboration exclusive for SAVOR 2012.
“Boulevard Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. are collaborating to brew a beer exclusively for SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience. Drawing inspiration from the California Trail, which effectively starts in Kansas City, near Boulevard, and ends in Northern California, the brewers have named the exclusive beer “Terra Incognita,” a nod to the bold explorers who traveled the trail.The beer itself will take a similar cross-country journey, albeit in a West-to-East direction. Sierra Nevada will start the process with their Estate-Grown pale malt, amber malt, wheat and unmalted wheat. They’ll hop the beer with Bravo and Styrian Goldings during the boil, and they’ll finish by dry-hopping with East Kent Goldings. Then, the beer will travel the California Trail in reverse to reach Boulevard, where it will be treated with Brettanomyces, aged in Missouri Oak barrels, then bottled in time for SAVOR.”
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Type: Production
Available in DC Market: Soon
Beer #1: Rye on Rye (Surprise, its a Rye Beer, 11%)
Beer Advocate: 92 (192 Reviews)
Rate Beer: 98 Overall, 85 Style
Notes: If you like Rye beer this is the one for you. In fact, this beer is ranked among the Top 5 Rye Beers. I’m not a huge fan of Rye in beer and tend to enjoy it much more when used in Bourbon. That aside, I will be jumping on this offering from Boulevard and see if the Smokestack Series will continue to impress. Hint: It will.
Paired with Rye glazed duck breast on rye, carrot mostarda, and arugula ? Yeah. I’m itching to changing my mind here.
Beer #2: Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (Saison / 8%)
Beer Advocate: A- (785 Reviews)
Rate Beer: 98 Overall, 98 Style
Notes: Tank 7 is a combination of my favorite style and favorite hop. Although saisons are not hop heavy, you can still enjoy the qualities of the Amarillo hop in this beer. Here is some background info on it from Boulevard:
“Most breweries have at least one piece of equipment that’s just a bit persnickity. Here at Boulevard, it’s fermenter number seven, the black sheep of our cellar family. Ironically, when our brewers were developing variations on a traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ale, the perfect combination of elements came together in that very vessel. You could call it fate, but they called it Tank 7, and so it is. Beginning with a flavorful surge of fruity aromatics and hoppy, grapefruit notes (Amarillo hops), this complex, straw-colored ale finishes long, dry and spicy.”
What you need to know:
Here is my quote from the Boulevard SAVOR Profile in 2011. “I need more Boulevard in my life and would love to see these guys expand into our market. After tasting their beers at SAVOR, I’m sure you will agree”
When news broke that Boulevard would be expanding to the area later this year, I immediately went to my happy zone and celebrated in typical fashion.
This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2012 SAVOR participants.
Beer Review Disclaimer: The beer reviews found on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer do not represent the opinions of this site. We provide these in the hope that they will serve as a resource showing what some craft beer fans have thought of the beers. These reviews can be a helpful guideline, but are not the be-all end-all about a beer’s strengths or
