Boulevard Double Wide IPA

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Kansas City, Missouri USA

A red beer with an effervescent and creamy off-white head that speaks well of the hops lurking beneath it. Smells strongly of spicy, citrusy hops, with maybe a hint of caramel malt as well. The flavor has moderate to low bitterness in relation to its explosive hoppiness. The best thing about this beer is that it lacks the cloying candy-like sugariness that most Imperial beers of this nature tend to have. It is simply the best IPA I’ve had to date.

I just didn’t like it. There was no balance to this beer. I like a hoppy beer but if you don’t balance the malt flavors then you end up with a beer like this.

Bottle. Dark ruby brown with a thick lasting foamy head. Nose-fruity, grapefruit, unsweet PNW hops, slight white spices and soap. Taste-medium bitter, cola, hay, not sticky, slight earth, slight strawberry, hint of molasses, very clean and mild.

Huge off-white head over a hazy orange body. Malty citrus aroma. Well balanced easy drinking IPA. Somewhat average.

Cloudy amber pour, off-white head. Very good looking brew. Sweet fruity aroma - mildly tropical. The taste picks up on these tropical fruit characteristics nicely, but also adds some spicy, peppery hop notes. Pretty good malt sweetness backing it all up. Full, chewy mouthfeel with good carbonation. Another solid beer from the smokestack series.

(750ml bottle) Large off-white head atop murky copper body. Aroma is moderately sweet, pineapple/grapefruit, caramel. Taste is just what the aroma suggests. Alcohol presence suggested rather than forced. Medium-full body, some acidity, chewiness. Quite tasty, though with that ABV, I would consider it a IIPA.

750ml Batch D8095 Received in a recent trade with turbine2475, thanks again Jeremiah! Double-Wide IPA pours darker then expected and appears more garnet then amber. A hazy body barely lets me see the logo on my glass through the beer. A standard pour produces a creamy dense three finger head that eventually falls to a thick cap with a mountain in the middle and a thicker ring around the glass. Leaves chunky lacing after each drink. As soon as I stick my nose in the glass I’m greeted by a strong hop presence, which I always enjoy. Resinous hoppiness hits first but is quickly joined and overtaken by an apricot and grapefruit fruitiness. There’s even a splash here and there of the aspirin like bitterness I’ve really come to enjoy in my IPAs. As this opens up more I seem to pull out blonde tobacco over the top of the caramel maltiness and mild alcohol. Gives the idea this will be a bit of a tongue ripper. The resinous hop presence isn’t quite as prominent as the nose suggested but does take center stage. A quick flash of the apricot comes through mid palate but the grapefruit isn’t around on the tongue. While the resinous hops lead throughout they’re met by the tobacco on the swallow. All of this hop complexity is layered over the top of a caramel foundation that stands out more on the swallow. A hint of clean alcohol here and there adds to the flavor rather then detracts. The mouthfeel on this beer is near perfect. The body is on the heavier side of medium but there’s ample carbonation to keep things moving along before things get at all sticky. Each swallow leaves a coating of bitterness that eventually is becomes the tongue ripper I was expecting. The drying finish only adds to the bitterness. There is huge flavor in this beer but it stays easy drinking throughout. The dryness and bitterness keeps me going back faster then I should which could get dangerous with an 8.5%abv. This is an excellent IPA that will definitely give your tongue a beating which just happens to be a quality I love in my IPAs. My first of the Smokestack Series and if the others live up to Double Wide I’m certainly in for a treat. Thanks again Jeremiah! 6/18/08

Pleasant surprise here, strong lemon and grapefruit notes, excellent amount of dryness, finishes very crisp.