*As perceived by the mouth of Chad Rozniecki
**Individual tastes may vary
Boulevard Brewing Company
-This beer is a Bourbon Barrel Aged Malt Beverage as the label describes it.-750ml Cork and Cage Bottle
-Served into Chimay Goblet
--When my wife bought me this beer, I assumed it would be a strong, malty, sweet, bourbon-barrel-aged ale with heavy notes of vanilla, oak, caramel etc. What I found was QUITE the opposite, and yet very tasty.
Appearance:
Attractive Dark Copper/Amber color with little to no head even after practically forcing it. The white head dissipates almost immediately after pouring. A slight haze to the beer either from suspended yeast or chill haze.
Smell:
Extremely tart and refreshing, similar to something like Goose Island's Lolita. I smell some darker red fruits like raspberry or maybe cherry and definitely some great funk. Again, not at all what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Mouthfeel/Flavor:
There is mild carbonic bite as it hits the tongue accentuated by the acidity of the brew. Salivary glands immediately start working as I can sense the tartness before I even swallow. There is a very mild sweetness on the front of the palate followed by a very minimal/mellow oakiness in the middle. I also sense a very small amount of bouron flavor in the middle followed by fairly intense fruity sourness.
Overall:
An incredibly refreshing sour beer. Of course, after reading the label, I should have noticed that they used Lacto and Brett in the beer thereby making it sour... but I think this added in the enjoyment of the beer in that I had no previous expectations (rather an uniformed expectation). Reasonably complex flavors from not only the basic ingredients but also the barrel aging and the various other fungi/bacteria used to ferment the beer. I would definitely get this beer again, though I should probably have a friend to share it with so I'm not consuming 750ml of barrel-aged sour beer by myself...
but then again...
From 1-5 I give this beer a 4+.
Thank you readers and please check back soon to read more.
Check out Boulevard Brewing for more info about their beers and check www.thelautertun.com for information about our bar.
Chad
