Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Review

Name: Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
Style: Saison
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 38

Next up in the Boulevard Great Eight Sampler Pack is the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, which is a Saison. As you may have guessed from the name, it comes from the brewery's number 7 fermenter tank which, according to the brewery, is where all their Belgian-Style ales come together perfectly.

Appearance - Very hazy orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy and the lacing is sticky and abundant.

Aroma - Very Belgian yeast forward with a hefty amount of citrus & floral hops. I'm also getting some peppery aroma along with some pale malts and light booziness.

Taste - Belgian yeasts, cloves and cracked peppers, followed by some mild citrus and floral hoppiness. The back of the flavor has some of that pale maltiness & bitter hoppiness. The aftertaste is light citrus/bitter hops, and Belgian yeasts. Throughout the flavor, there is a mild but noticeable encompassing booziness. However it blends together with everything else nicely.

Much like The Calling before it, Tank 7 is an excellent bee. It also holds the distinction of where the flavor actually benefits from having a boozy taste as opposed to hurting it, so kudos to Boulevard for pulling that off. So if you see this on it's own or in 4 packs, this one is certainly with checking out.

Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale - 9/10

Two Roads Road 2 Ruin Review

Name: Two Roads Road 2 Ruin
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8%

I recently received a beer mail for a beer Secret Santa, which in this case, was someone from Connecticut. So the next few reviews, I'll be looking at some beers from various from the said state. I'm not too familiar with the craft brewing scene in Connecticut, which by that, I mean not at all.

The first beer I'm taking a look at is from a brewery called Two Roads Brewing Co. based out of Stratford, CT. This is an Imperial IPA that is aptly named Road 2 Ruin. With an ABV 8.0%, I consider it to be on the lower end of the Imperial IPA Spectrum.

Road 2 Ruin hazy orange color with some mild visible carbonation. The head takes on a thin white foamy appearance and the lacing is more on the sparse side.

In the nose, I'm getting some strong mango and tangerine sweetness, followed by some apricot and grapefruit notes with some piney hops and toffee maltiness in the back. I can tell by the nose there is already a lot going on in here

Flavor-wise it's almost the other way around. I'm getting some strong grapefruit & piney hop notes, followed by some apricot & mango sweetness before finishing with a solid caramel maltiness. The aftertaste, however, catches you off-guard with a rather strong bitter hoppiness.

To all seasoned Imperial IPA fans out there: don't let the ABV fool you, this is a very complex and robust tasting beer. Seeing as how this is my first beer from Two Roads, I would eagerly try out their other offerings should I be given the opportunity. For the time being, I am content with the fact knowing that I had an absolutely wonderful Imperial IPA.

Two Roads Road 2 Ruin - 9.5/10