Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad (2013 BBQ)

Brewed By: Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri

Purchased: 750ml bottle (2013 Vintage) bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Quadrupel, 11.8%

Reported IBUs: 26

With the recent news that Boulevard is being sold to Duvel, people have been freaking out, man. And I don't know why. Duvel hasn't fucked up Ommegang, and Duvel itself is an awesome beer. With that said, 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 Bourbon Barrel Quad is part of Boulevard's Smokestake Series, and is a Limited Release beer. Punching in at 26 IBUs and 11.8% ABV, this beer is loosely based on the Smokestack Series' The Sixth Glass. This beer is aged in oak bourbon barrels for up to three years, and then cherries are added for some extra flavor and kick. The beer is then blended (16% Ale, 84% Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Cherries) to perfection. This one features your usual trimmings: a base of Pale Malt, Cara 300, Munich, and Malted Wheat; Magnum and Styrian Golding hops; and Dextrose, Brown Sugar, Dark Brown Sugar, and Candi Syrup. I'm excited so let's glass this up.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

The beer pours into a murky, effervescent, swamp-red-brown MAROON color. I kicked up two fingers of tan, off-white head. Initially, the head wasn't sustaining, but now a pinky's worth is just hanging around. In bright light the beer is a juicy/swampy orange color, with lots of streams of tiny carbonation rising upwards. There's lacing and some glossy alcohol legs. When you get into three-year-old-barrel-aged-beer territory, you're not going for looks. And looks can be deceiving. That girl with some road ware? Way more fun than that shiny Escalade straight off the lot.

There's a lot of Bourbon and cherry on the aroma. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised at the amount of cherry on the nose...the cherry does work in tandem with the dark fruits and overripe Quad-fruit aromas. You definitely get some Belgian yeast and spice-perfume on the aroma, with some clove, hints of white sugar, and banana. There's a lot of sugar on this beer's aroma: candi sugar, hints of a darker brown sugar, and lots of fruity/cherry sweetness. 

So...this beer is pretty much what it advertises. A shot of thin Bourbon with lots of cherries. The cherries themselves are not artificial or medicinal, but rather bright and acidic, playing off the Quad and the barrel. You get plenty of cherry, overripe dark fruits, some Bourbon, a little booze and even a hint of burn, and plenty of hints of brown sugar and Belgian spice. As I swish this around in my mouth, I pick up on some of the candi sugar and dark fruits, and some woodiness pops up here and there.

I can't help but compare this offering to the Ommegang Three Philosophers. That beer is the epitome of Belgian Quad excess, and what delicious excess it is. This beer right here, the 2013 BBQ, is very good. But is it divine? The mouthfeel here is medium-full, thinned out a bit by the Bourbon/barrel, and supported by lots of carbonation. For 11.8%, this beer is stupid drinkable. Also consider that this is aged in bourbon barrels, and has lots of heat on the back end. This is like the anti-Deth's Tar, which became a bit cloying and boozy in the final stretch. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is good. There's some heavy hitters in this category/style, what can I say. You get a blast of perfumey sweetness and cherries up front; that rolls into heavy sugars, brown sugar, and bourbon; the back end layers in some vanilla, oak, wood, and more cherry sweetness. There's some bourbon and alcohol burn on the back, and it's welcomed. The finish is boozy and dry. Belgian spices/dark fruits come and go. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. The slightly thinner mouthfeel coupled with the above-average complexity leave me wondering how something like the Three Philosophers or Rochefort 10 would taste if aged in a bourbon barrel on cherries. But hey! At least his beer has me dreaming. Let me clarify: this is not a bad beer by any means. It's above-average. It's worth buying, at least once, even if the 15-20 dollars per bottle is kind of pricey. I would pair a beer like this with dessert. Dry chocolate cake...yum. You could also pair this with grilled meats and cheeses, or anything that plays off of chocolate and cherries. Really good stuff, not divine.

Random Thought: I opted to get some stuff done tonight rather than watching the Bulls game. I know, I know, "I guess I'm not a true Bulls fan." Whatever. It's game one after a whole lotta hype. And D Rose is just getting back into the swing of things. We have a long way to go.