Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Kansas City, Missouri USA

pours a cloudy brown with a red tint in the light, a large beige head, and some lacing. smell of dark fruit, some caramel, spice, a hint of cocoa, and some woodiness. taste is of spice, sour malt, dark pitted fruit, toffee, and bourbon in the back, end is on the dry side, a little tart, and somewhat bitter.

This one poured a darker red color with an off white head. Aroma was dark fruits, candie sugar and bourbon. Flavor was a good amount of bourbon, lots of sweet dark flavors, but nothing stands out on its own very much.

750ml -> chalice. Shared by my brother David to celebrate (or continue celebrating) New Year’s Eve 2009 -> 2010. Pours a brown amber, fairly cloudy, and with a head that fades quickly. All that remains is a ring around the surface of the beer, with a slight fuzz on top reminiscent of a cloud layer on a local weather map. Smells of sweet alcohol, berries, figs and prunes. Tastes very sweet, subtle floral notes, and very fig-like. Honestly, as far as quads go, I’m not crazy about this beer. But I’m am looking forward to 2010, graduation from grad school, finding (or landing) the job I love, and <gulp> making babies?

Sharing the bottle with Grant on New Year’s Eve 09/10. People are all over the house, music spilling into every room and booze/beer/wine flowing like a river through my hallways. The aroma is probably very good but the fire from my fireplace is over powering anything I smell. I do smell sweetness with berries and alcohol. It pours brown like the stank water my favorite crawfish swim in and has a nice light head that fades to a film that scrapes my tongue. Chewy cherries and robust malt with maple syrup and something bitter on the way back fills my mouth. I like this Boulevard. I like living in KC.

750 ml bottle thanks to my brother for bringing from MO. Pours a deep brown with a glowing red hue and a small white froth head. Aroma is super cherry forward, very fruity, a little bit tart, some vanilla, bourbony and pretty dark oaky. Flavor starts fruity, dark cherries and a nice light vinegar character. The boubron then really comes through strongly, really powerful which is great since I love bourbon. Finishes with oaky and woody notes, a little bit of almond, vanilla and the sweet cherries returning. Medium to full lightly sticky body and a soft carbonation. Delicious beer, a little boozy but it felt fitting with the flavors

Bottle (small sample). Dark orange pour with a tan head. Mild bourbon and wood on the nose. Taste was cherry and bourbon, somewhat carbonated, and a lighter mouthfeel. Good stuff.

750 ml. No. 5581. From Bottleworks. Not much of a head produced on this thing. NIce murky brown color. Strong dark fruit aroma that is easily smelled. Slight wood aroma coming from this, but not much bourbon. I will say the dark fruits are coming through more than anything. Touches of bourbon are hitting the nose, but I was hoping the bourbon barrel would have a bigger impact on this one. It is by no means a "bad" aroma just not as nuanced as expected. There are also slight touches of alcohol and apples coming through. Not really sure I am picking up cherries. I do get cherries in terms of flavor. I am also picking up on dark fruits and touches of boubon barrel towards the end. The beer is incredibly smooth (sometimes I find the Quads can be overcarbonated). Cherries become more noticeable as the beer warms up. Overall, a damn nice quad.

Bottle from someone... sorry!
Red brown with a light head. Odd porter-like nose with noticeable smoke and wood from the barrel. Sugary flavor of cherry and grape with some light malt backbone and some alcohol burn. All of this seems like a recipe for greatness, but it never came together for me and instead remained synthetic.