Boulevard Hibiscus Gose Review

Name: Boulevard Hibiscus Gose
Style: Gose
ABV: 4.2%
IBUs: 11

Look who's back after a 2 year absence, Boulevard Brewing! Last time I saw you, I was just leaving for Duluth. My goodness, you haven't changed at all! Let's catch up since we haven't seen each other for two years and what better way to do so than with reviewing a beer?

Today, I've got their Hibiscus Gose, which is some that I believe that have just recently added to their line-up since I last had anything from them. In addition to being brewed with Hibiscus, this is also brewed with coriander and........sea salt?! There's another Gose out there that I know of that I know of which is brewed with sea salt and that's Six Point's Jammer. Maybe I'll get around to reviewing it one day.

Appearance - Mildly hazy yellow-pinkish salmon color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head has a bit of volume to it but is quite fizzy for the most part and the lacing is sparse at best.

Aroma - Strong cereal grains & pale malts upfront with some saltiness. Even after warming up a bit, the hibiscus and coriander notes are mild at best. Not trying to fault the beer here, I'm just pointing out that it's rather adjunct-y in the nose.

Taste - Strong saltiness and moderate hibiscus notes on the front of the palate, with the coriander showing up in the middle of the flavor and lingering until the end. The back end of the palate & aftertaste is made up of pale malts, light floral hops, more salt, and hibiscus. Everything is here but the salt is strong with this one.....a little too strong.

This would be an awesome Gose, except for the fact that it feels like I'm eating drinking a spoonful of salt with every sip. I understand that Gose beers are supposed to be salty/sour but this one overdoes it to the point where it interferes with the other elements of the flavor. Everything else works just fine but it's eclipsed by all that sea salt.

Boulevard Hibiscus Gose - 6/10

Boulevard Amber Ale Review

And now for the last beer in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler Pack, we have their Boulevard Amber Ale. This is, of course, an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5.1%. Since I have most of my stuff packed, I figured it was time to cap off the Boulevard Sampler Pack once and for all.

It pours a hazy amber/orange color with a filmy half finger head. There are bits of carbonation along the sides of the glass and it finishes pretty clean.

The nose has some nutty and light caramel notes to it, which are followed by yeasts, barley, and pale malts. The flavor is more caramel forward with floral hops, barley, nuts and yeasts. The aftertaste is a nutty/hop finish which comes off as a bit dry.

The body is fairly light in weight and the carbonation is pretty mild, so this is a pretty easy drinker and makes for a sessionable beer.

The flavor isn't terribly different from other Amber Ales that I've tried but it tastes good, drinks easy and that's all that should matter in this case. If you get Boulevard in your area, I would say give this one a try, along with their Bully! Porter if you can.

Now time to pack the rest of my stuff; Since I'm moving to Duluth, the All Pints North Beer Festival is this weekend. I will try to make it there this weekend and hopefully do a piece about it. Regardless, I will see you all next week!

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

Boulevard Amber Ale - 8/10

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer Review

Onto the fifth beer in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler Pack, we have their Unfiltered Wheat Beer with an ABV of 4.4%. According to Boulevard, this is their most popular offering and the highest selling beer in the Midwest; Hmmm...........

To start off, it pours a very cloudy pale yellow color, so the term "Unfiltered" is very much warranted here. It pours a filmy looking head and the lack of lacing gives it a pretty clean finish.

The aroma is mainly pale malts, wheat, grassiness, and barley. It has a slight earthy-pils aroma about it, which is not to be unexpected. Flavor-wise you have your wheat, pale malts, yeasts and some mild hops; The aftertaste is a combination of wheat, pale malts and a slight grassy/earthy taste.

The body is fairly light and the carbonation falls just a couple spots below what some would call average. As such, it's pretty easy to drink and fits the flavor for the most part.

Wheat Beers in general have been always a polarizing style with me, they're either very good (Three Floyds Gumball Head, Lagunita's Little Sumpin' Sumpin') or taste like bile (Hoegaarden, Bell's Oarsman). This one falls in the middle: it's drinkable, tastes decent, and is somewhat of a sessionable beer. Are there better examples of this style out there on the market? Yes, but I can't really find any glaring problems with this beer aside from that it could've been more vibrant in terms of flavor.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer - 7/10

Boulevard Bully! Porter Review

The fourth beer in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler Pack is their Bully! Porter, which has an ABV of 6.0%. I also think the Bulldog wearing the monocle and tuxedo on the label also looks quite classy.

Bully! Porter pours a black color with a brown tinge when held up to the light. The brown colored head is surprisingly foamy and high in volume with some good retention. The lacing it leaves behind is also very good as well.

The nose consists of milk chocolate, roasted barley & malts and cocoa. The flavor is pretty much the same as the aroma, except a little richer in flavor and it has a slight hop taste to it.

Body is pretty heavy in weight but the carbonation is mild. It's not what I would call smooth but this one goes down pretty easy nonetheless.

It's got a solid flavor and it's pretty easy to drink. It is definitely worth checking out and so far, it's my favorite beer that I've had from the sampler pack.

Boulevard Bully! Porter - 8.5/10

Boulevard Single-Wide IPA Review

The next beer in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler is their Single-Wide IPA, which has an ABV of 5.7%. According to the description, it was originally inspired by one of their Limited Release Smokestack Series Beers: Double-Wide IPA; which I have had before

Single-Wide pours a hazy wet straw yellow color. The head is very foamy, has very good retention and leaves behind some really nice lacing.

The aroma has some citrus & piney hop notes, along with pale malts, caramel and yeasts. The flavor has some moderate citrus hops upfront with a solid malty backbone, some yeasts and biscuit notes.

The body is fairly light and the carbonation is rather mild so this is pretty easy to drink.

As an IPA, it isn't too impressive but it's sessionable and drinkable. If you're looking for a hop fix, this might not be what you're looking for but if you're looking for something drinkable or are looking to finish filling your Mix-A-Six then it's worth checking out.

Boulevard Single-Wide IPA - 8/10

Boulevard Pale Ale Review

Next up in the Boulevard Brewing Sampler Pack is Boulevard Pale Ale, which has an ABV of 5.4%. It is, of course, an American Pale Ale. I've been doing reviews over the past couple of days so you're gonna see quite a few reviews coming at once.

To start out it pours a moderate hazy orange color with a moderate amount of carbonation and a good amount of lacing along the sides of the glass.

The nose consists primarily of Citrus and Floral Hops followed by yeasts and a slight caramel maltiness. Flavor is very floral hop and malt forward followed by yeasts and a slight grassiness. Aftertaste is a bittersweet citra-hop flavor.

The body is thick but moderate in weight and the carbonation starts off fairly strong but levels out after the first few sips.

Overall it's a pretty sessionable beer that's good for pretty much any occasion. It's a little earthier than usual but it doesn't get in the way. Check it out if you get the chance!

Boulevard Pale Ale - 8/10

Boulevard Irish Ale Review

Before I ship off to Duluth, I will be going through a few Boulevard Brewing Beers that I've had with me for a while, namely from their Spring Sampler Pack. The first one I will be taking a look at first is their Irish Ale which has an ABV of 5.8%; Yeah, it's a Spring Seasonal and St. Patty's Day has come and gone so deal with it.

Boulevard Irish Ale pours a dark brown color with a strong haze. The head is a slightly off white color with a foamy appearance and decent head retention.

The nose gives off the impression of caramel, yeasts, light cocoa, barley and malty notes. Nothing that stands out too much but it's fairly pleasant. The flavor is a little more simplified; Yeasts, Barley, Light Floral Hops, and Caramelized Malts. Bodywise it's fairly hefty in weight but the carbonation is rather low so it's a pretty easy drinker.

It's a good tasting ale that doesn't take any risks and plays it safe. It's meant to be drunk when you're looking for something simple or something that you would drink after a long day at work. Either way, it's decent and drinkable and that's all that really matters.

Boulevard Irish Ale - 7.5/10