Boulevard Brewing Smokestack Series

I mentioned that I purchased a bottle of Boulevard's Saison-Brett for yesterday's party. Well, it didn't make it to Saturday, I caved on Friday night (it was one of those days). This was bottle number 12059 of the series (yeah, they numbered the bottles). After a few calculations, I'm guessing they made a run of 100 barrels , which would give approximately 18,000 bottles.

The big deal here is that this is a traditional Saison which has brettanomyces purposely added. Brett is a strain of yeast which is traditionally unwanted in the beer, but is historically interesting because it is quite abundant naturally in France and Belgium. Saison is a very old style of beer originating with farmers in Belgium (thus it's other name: farmhouse ale). For these farmers, this beer was their only beer, and thus the only way to wash away the misery of a long day in the fields. The style tends to be fermented hot, and bottle conditioned, both of which make it a very full flavored, yeasty, filling type of beer that ages spectacularly. The style is fortunately making a very solid return in the hobby.

For this beer, they obviously started with an excellent Saison, which is responsible for 95% of the flavor profile. At the very end of the profile, where most beers are supposed to finish with a dry crispness, the Brett character sneaks in. The flavor is very hard to describe, the best way is an earthy tartness. Tart really isn't fair, but there's not really a word for the flavor. What tart is to sour, is what this flavor is to tart (if that makes ANY sense). Awesome beer, well worth the fair chunk of change it cost me.

Well, Zach and I went down to Whole Foods yesterday to search for cheese for the wine and cheese party. As much as I scoff at the organic foods movement, I do have to thank it for Whole Foods. Find me another place where you can reliably find such a good meat, wine, cheese and most importantly, craft beer selection. Prices are appropriate as well.

Enough about that. While wandering around the beer, I saw a second of Boulevard's Smokestack series. This wasn't as limited of a release as the Saison-Brett, but I knew I had to have it...it is Long Strange Tripel (sic). It's a trippel!! I love trippels!! I had to have it, and I am having it as I type.

My first opinion on this beer is that the bottle is too big. Part of the experience of all belgian cask conditioned beers is the art of a belgian pour. Pour it as gently as possible until the last 1/2 inch remains. Swirl the bottle to get the yeast up off the bottom and dump into the center of the beer, generating a perfect head and allowing the yeast to distribute through the beer. Yes, you want a belgian to be cloudy, and that cloudiness is dead yeasties. Selling the beer in a 750 ml bottle is just cruel. I'd rather a two pack of 12 oz bottles and give up the extra 1.4 oz. I'm already using an inappropriate glass, don't make me taste an inappropriately balanced beer.

OK, done ranting (mainly because I'm too the point where I finally got to pour the bottom). This is a good, solid trippel. Like any good trippel the flavor is heavy on the malts. Heavy, heavy on the malts. A sip of this beer strikes you at first with an abundance of mellow sweetness with a velvety smooth mouthfeel. The finish is dominated by the warm wash of the 9% abv.

Overall, so far I am impressed with the Boulevard Smoke Stack series.

-James