Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Co.
Country: USA
Size: 33cl
ABV: 5.7%
Price: 30kr
Systembolaget: 11370
I haven’t had many experiences with the Boulevard products but I was lucky enough to try one of their bottles of their Single-Wide IPA this afternoon. I was slightly underwhelmed when I finally received it though. The bottle in my opinion was slightly… dull. Well maybe dull was a bit of an understatement to be honest. It had a bland label with a bland picture and a bland colour. Watching black and white static on a broken TV would be more exciting that this bottle. Filing a tax return would be more exciting than this bottle. I’m not sure who thought grey and snot green was a good colour scheme to make an exciting label but I think they were completely wrong. Anyway, I hoped that the beer tasted a lot better than the bottle looked.
The beer was golden with a slight haze and a slightly off white head that held fairly well. It clung to the glass quite well so it looked to have a bit of body to it. There was a good hit of biscuit and caramel to the smell which was rather surprising and pleasant. I’m so used to American IPA’s being crammed full of massive citrus and floral notes that it was rather refreshing to have one that was more towards the malty side of the spectrum. A slight grapefruit note was present but it took a back seat to the sweet maltiness.
This is a beer that definitely grew on me. I was rather unimpressed by the first mouthful. The second had me intrigued and by the third mouthful I was rather enjoying it. This is my kind of IPA it must be said. It had a subtle floral hop profile yet still with a nice round bitterness that lingers in the throat. It’s rather light and easy to drink but still with enough body and taste to keep the drinkers attention. Hay, caramel and slight astringent tones were detected in every mouthful. It was rather warming in the throat for only being a 5.7%.
I am quite aware that some big fans of the IPA genre may find this as boring as its label. I found it rather drinkable though it must be said. It was an enjoyable beer that never went hop crazy but had enough about itself to hold its own. It was a more subdued affair but a nice brew that I could absolutely try again. They just need to fix that horrible label first…