I've been a fan of Boulevard Brewing since I first started getting into craft beers over a decade ago. It was one of the first breweries I began to support when I was weaning myself from mass-produced swill. I started with their Unfiltered Wheat and had many a bottle of that, but their Bully Porter was one of the first porters I ever really drank regularly also. I've toured their brewery in Kansas City and spent nights at Royal's baseball games making frequent trips to their Boulevard stand. I possess a few hats and shirts and such and you can probably find several of their glasses in my cabinets and of course their beer in my fridge at any given time. I actually saw a few Nutcracker Ales tucked behind the milk this morning when I was doing some breakfast.
There was a good turnout for the tasting and I believe it was sold-out, I'd guess 40 or so total. Here was the menu:
Aperitif: Boulevard Amber Ale
1st Pairing: Boulevard Harvest Dance Wheat Wine paired with a spicy roasted pumkin soup
2nd Pairing: Boulevard Double Wide IPA paired with a boudin stuffed quail
3rd Pairing Entree: Boulevard Nutcracker Ale paired with prime rib made with a Bully Porter au jus served with mashed potatoes and asparagus
4th Pairing Desert: Boulevard Sixth Glass Quadruple paired with a homeade chocolate cheesecake
Yeah folks, that was a lot of food and beer, and it was all very tasty. I thought the roasted pumkin soup was interesting and a little too spicy for my tastes, but I'm a wuss. The stuffed quail was just excellent on every level and the boudin stuffing was perfect with the Double Wide IPA, my favorite Boulevard beer. By the time I got to the cheesecake I was stuffed, but I'm here to tell you it was a fantastic pairing with The Sixth Glass, as it's a sweet, malty big flavored beer of dark fruits. That's become my 2nd favorite Boulevard beer behind Double Wide and just a hair in front of Dark Truth Stout.
As for John McDonald, I thought he was a very nice, approachable guy with some really interesting stories to tell. He shared some of them and talked about their beer and beginnings of the brewery, but a guy like this would be a lot better to sit at a table with for an evening over a bunch of beers and hear the stories. At these tastings, it always starts with everyone paying attention but by the 2nd or 3rd beer it's a madhouse and you usually can't hear the speaker or pay attention, no matter how intersting. I'd love to hear more from this guy sometime.
The Flying Saucer did a great job putting it on, as usual, and we got a nice little Boulevard glass to take home.
So I just thought I'd share this with you. If you haven't checked out Boulevard beer in a while go seek some of their Smokestack Series, they're doing some great stuff.
