Boulevard Nutcracker Ale

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Kansas City, Missouri USA

The pour is a translucent, rusty, deep amber color with an average, pillowy, beige head which is mostly diminishing and leaves minimal lace rings. Nose is surprisingly fruity with some apricot and nectarine, spices of ginger and cinnamon, light biscuity notes, and hints of some earthy hops. Flavor is more true with some hints at similar fruits but more rich malt tones; light notes of molasses, some toasted caramel, spicy/citrusy/woodsy hops, and some faint notes of similar spices. Palate is nearly medium, lively, thin but also a bit syrupy. Finishes with the spicy/woodsy hops dominating with a more than moderate bitterness, the malts disappearing, and lingering pepper and cinnamon. The fruity notes threw me a bit and the malt richness was lacking. Everything was just adequate in the beer, nothing great, nothing offputting. One of my least favorite winter warmers but not a bad beer. This brewery has much better small batch beer than their six-pack line-up.

Bottle pours out a dark amber topped with a long lasting creamy sand head. Aroma of christmass trees and fresh baked treats for Santa. Taste is of pine needles but not all that bitter. lots of sweetness and malts to calm it down. A little spice to make it just right. Pretty good.

Cloudy amber beer - earthy, fruity nose, with some juicy melon rind and cherry, indicating almost nothing about what the flavor will bring - taste is herbal and hoppy up front, followed by some biscuity malt, gingerbread - some earthy, almost oxidized character, and a touch of acidity - in this beer, the prematurely aged thing kind of works, though - a touch of tartness, followed by warming spices and peppery hops in the finish - a lot more full and warming than you would expect, considering the abv - I like it, but the aroma needs work.

12 oz. bottle. Colour... amber-gold with a very thick head. Nose... slightly sour malt. Palate.. light C02, gently hops, biscuits, grain, slightly tangy and a medium finish.

12oz 2009 bottle. Pours a slightly hazy toffee brownish amber with big khaki head that settles down to a small film fairly quickly. Nose is sweat doughy caramel apple with light spice and some pine. Some grassy pine bittering up front sweet malty apple and then some light spice on the finish. A little surprised that the 5.9% shows a bit at the end also.

wow. feliz navidad. smells like a friggin greenhouse! honeydew melon and blackberry and mango. this is all fruit to me, no spice in the aroma. dark caramel, light tan head, great lacing. light bodied, juicy, lip smacking. cherry and nutmeg, good relaxed take for the style. Yummy plummy finish.

2008 bottle. Poured clear, coppery amber with a creamy, well-retained cap of khaki head. The aroma picked up darker nutty notes and molasses, accented by Christmasey spices and some warmth.. eventually some green apple skins came through. The flavor had some darker fruit join the nutty and molasses notes at the core.. nutmeg and white peppery spicage throughout.. there were hints of the green apple, but it never really got in the way.. warm, tasty finish. Medium-bodied with rolling carbonation through the palate.. the spices worked well here.. I’d gladly have another.

Bottle from Pizza Port. Dark copper brown with a creamy white head. Sweet malt and molasses aroma and taste with some mild sweet spices in the finish and some toffee notes.