Brewed By: Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a 4-pack sampler bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Abbey Tripel, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: 23
Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)
What a long strange trip today has been...about Boulevard:
Boulevard Brewing Company hails out of Kansas City, Missouri. They have a very nice website that is cleanly formatted, informative, and is not loaded with Java and Flash scripts. The company was founded officially in 1989, but began in 1988 when founder John McDonald began construction of the brewery. In 2006 the brewery had a major expansion, which allowed for additional brewing capacity. You can find more info on the brewery's history HERE. According to Wikipedia, Boulevard is the largest craft brewer in Missouri, and the 10th largest craft brewery in the United States.
This beer is part of Boulevard's Smokestack Series. If you roll over to the Long Strange Tripel page, you can get all the vitals on this beer. This one clocks in at 9.0% according to the bottle, and 9.2% according to the website. Brewed with pale, munich, wheat, and flaked oat malts; this one uses Magnum and Styrian Golding hops, for 23 IBUs of bitterness. Described as having intense fruity and banana aromas, with some hints of toffee, and citrusy hops...this should be good stuff. Let's see how it holds up.
This one pours a juicy, hazy, orange/yellow color, with a finger of white head. The body has a nice orange juice appearance, and the head settles down into a hazy coating that screams Belgian Ale. There's maybe a little sediment floating around in this too.
The aroma is as advertised, with a big emphasis on big citrus-forward hops. I'm getting a lot of orange, apple, apple juice, and lemon on this. I'm also getting big clove, banana, wheat, vanilla, and white sugar as well. There's some malt on the nose, but there isn't any of that powder/dust you get on a lot of the Belgian/Abbey Tripels. There's some nice toffee and wheat on the nose.
I'm going to let this warm up...but right now I'm getting big apple juice, wheat, and lots of citrus/lemony kick. And...as this warms, you get the same deal. There's a nice boozy complexity on the back end of this, with some mild wheat astringency. I'm also pulling out some apricot, lemon, apple, grape, and a nice sweet toffee note. It's a nice beer, for sure.
This is drinking nicely, with a medium-full mouthfeel, good palate depth, and okay complexity. There's lots of carbonation to help things smooth out, and you get some creamy mouthfeel from the wheat. There's a dash of wheat astringency and hop bitterness that helps clean things up and compliments the boozy complexity. There's booze, but no real heat. It's good. Up front is a lot of wheat, clove, banana, vanilla, and apples, pears, lemon; this rolls into citrus, astringent wheat, wheat, light spice, pepper, apricot; the back end is lingering bitterness, dryness, and some boozy complexity.
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| Boulevard Long Strange Tripel |
This one pours a juicy, hazy, orange/yellow color, with a finger of white head. The body has a nice orange juice appearance, and the head settles down into a hazy coating that screams Belgian Ale. There's maybe a little sediment floating around in this too.
The aroma is as advertised, with a big emphasis on big citrus-forward hops. I'm getting a lot of orange, apple, apple juice, and lemon on this. I'm also getting big clove, banana, wheat, vanilla, and white sugar as well. There's some malt on the nose, but there isn't any of that powder/dust you get on a lot of the Belgian/Abbey Tripels. There's some nice toffee and wheat on the nose.
I'm going to let this warm up...but right now I'm getting big apple juice, wheat, and lots of citrus/lemony kick. And...as this warms, you get the same deal. There's a nice boozy complexity on the back end of this, with some mild wheat astringency. I'm also pulling out some apricot, lemon, apple, grape, and a nice sweet toffee note. It's a nice beer, for sure.
This is drinking nicely, with a medium-full mouthfeel, good palate depth, and okay complexity. There's lots of carbonation to help things smooth out, and you get some creamy mouthfeel from the wheat. There's a dash of wheat astringency and hop bitterness that helps clean things up and compliments the boozy complexity. There's booze, but no real heat. It's good. Up front is a lot of wheat, clove, banana, vanilla, and apples, pears, lemon; this rolls into citrus, astringent wheat, wheat, light spice, pepper, apricot; the back end is lingering bitterness, dryness, and some boozy complexity.
Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a formidable take on a Tripel, and a very solid American-style Tripel. It gets better as it warms. There's a nice creamy mouthfeel, and big fruity notes. Lots of citrus, apples, apricot, and some nice boozy complexity. This would pair well with chicken, turkey, french fries and potatoes, doughy pizza, cheeses, and peppery foods. You could also pair it with something that goes well with citrus/apples. Nice stuff, and cheap in the 22oz format.
Random Thought: The Blackhawks are losing...tornadoes are destroying Oklahoma...it's like 90 degrees in Chicago, what is going on today?!?!?
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