Do you remember the first time you had a
Boulevard Pale Ale? It was not long after my 21st birthday, you know, when I was legal to drink. It was the first really hoppy beer I ever had, and it blew my mind how citrusy, yet balanced a beer could be. It was my introduction to hops. It was delicious and refreshing, much different than the thin and watery macros lagers I was familiar with. Pale Ale was one of my major gateways to craft beer.
Boulevard Pale Ale was the first beer owner John McDonald brewed back in 1989. November of '89 he drove that first keg down the street to
Ponak's Mexican Restaurant. That was 21 years ago this November. Back in 1989 the Pale Ale would have been considered "extreme." Since then we have had the craft beer trend of "imperialization," making beer even bigger and bolder than the standard version. Boulevard Brewing is planning a big celebration for their birthday with the 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale.
From Boulevard's
blog:
Today, pale ales literally pale in comparison to the latest trend of “imperialized” beers that are bigger, bolder, and even more flavorful. Our brewmaster, Steven Pauwels, says he hopes that Boulevard’s 21st Anniversary offering will have the same effect on beer lovers that our original Pale Ale had two decades ago.
Brewing started on August 20th. The brewers started with the malt back bone. Since Pale Ales originate from Great Briton, they used traditional Maris Otter Pale Malt for the main nutty flavor, and then added Munich and Caramel malts to add body and color. But the true character of a Pale Ale is the hops. A combination of Cascade, Hallertau, Magnum, Styrian Golding and Centinnial hops were added during the boil. The beer fermented until yesterday when they added 500 pounds of fresh Cascade hops. Oh to be in the brewery that day, to smell that wonderful fresh hops in the air.
21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale should be released around November 17th, the day that first keg of Pale Ale was delivered to Ponak's.
And that is just the start for November. Also coming out in November is the new four-back of 12 oz Smokestack bottles. Labels have been approved for the the first four, Double-Wide IPA, Sixth Glass, Tank 7, and Dark Truth. The
Wine & Cheese Place posted this image of the Double-Wide. From what I hear, the bottles are going to be different than the standard 12 oz Boulevard stubby bottles. They should be a little rounder, sort of like what Anchor uses. The four-packs should retail for about $11, which is like getting 12 oz for free when compared to the $8 for the the 750 ml bottles.
And that's not all! Also in November we will see the return of Smokestack Series favorites Harvest Dance and BBQ. Oh yeah, and Nutcracker usually shows up around this time. So yeah, might as well call it Novem-Beer
Boulevard Pale Ale was the first beer owner John McDonald brewed back in 1989. November of '89 he drove that first keg down the street to Ponak's Mexican Restaurant. That was 21 years ago this November. Back in 1989 the Pale Ale would have been considered "extreme." Since then we have had the craft beer trend of "imperialization," making beer even bigger and bolder than the standard version. Boulevard Brewing is planning a big celebration for their birthday with the 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale. 
0 comments:
Post a Comment