In May, Boulevard Brewing Company billboards sporting giant bottles of pale ale or unfiltered beer began foaming up around the city. Each bore a slick message such as "Imported from the other side of town," "Proudly not served in 40 states," or "Brewed in our backyard. Enjoyed in yours." Because the billboards were meant to remind drivers about the pleasures of this Kansas City beer, it struck us as sweet and ironic that the company called the beer "Less Traveled." The idea is that, unlike other domestics, the microbrew spends less time being shipped, shaken and shuffled from a plant to local liquor stores. Bob Sullivan, Boulevard's vice president and chief marketing officer, agrees that the intended effect is primal. "People have been communicating on walls since before cave times," he says. Sullivan works hard to push his company's local heritage, working with creative director Payton Kelly (one of the founders of Hallmark's Shoebox card division). Last summer, Kelly conceived billboards featuring a larger-than-life six-pack of pale ale bottles casting a four-pillared shadow the shape of the sculptures atop Bartle Hall. We appreciate that sort of hometown pride from our hometown brewery.