Yesterday, I got my hands on Boulevard's Imperial Stout. Released this past week, it's the brewery's seventh Smokestack outing. I was going to wait for a special occasion but with a sizable wager on the Cardinals to beat the Eagles, I decided there was no better occasion than the playoffs.
I had been excited about this beer since a couple of bottles leaked into the hands of bloggers in the in the fall, but I forgot the reviews until I poured the beer from its signature Smokestack bottle. As soon as it settled in the glass, I realized why I had been so desperate to try it -- this is my sort of beer. A man's beer.
Boulevard's Imperial Stout is based on Russian stouts of the past, which withstood the long journey across the Baltic. This hardiness was achieved through a mixture including "several kinds of malted barley, wheat, rye, oats and spelt" and a high alcoholic content. Boulevard's imperial stout has an 11 percent abv.
Being a big fan of stouts (especially imperial-style) I was hoping for a strong one and was not disappointed.
The foam on the pour is thick and caramel-colored with big bubbles in
the head. A word of warning: Pour this beer slowly because the head expands unlike any beer I've
ever seen. Although I poured only a half glass, within a few seconds
the foam was running over the side.
After cleaning up my mess, I took a couple
whiffs and then slugged back a big drink. The smell was typical of a
stout -- strong rye and hops -- but also contained a hint of cherries
and cinnamon, which I assumed was because 10 percent of each
batch being barrel-aged for four months. If the
barrel-aging was meant to give this beer many different flavors, it
worked to perfection. The flavor s knock-you-back strong,
creamy with a delicious aftertaste of slight fruit and rye.
The
stout also gave off another sign of a very-quality beer: the longer it
sat in my glass and the warmer it got, the more flavors I began to
taste and the better it was. Like a Guinness, the barely and hops need a little warmth to do their magic. I recommend drinking this beer at 10 or so
degrees above whatever temperature you usually prefer.
With all
that said, this beer definitely does not go with food -- at least not
pizza or nachos or any of the typical beer drinks. It's probably too
strong to go with pub food either like french fries or burgers. This
beer is best savored alone, in appreciative gulps.
By the time I had finished half the bottle, it was the end of the third quarter and my bet on the Cards was beginning to look like a loser -- but after drinking half this beer, I didn't particularly care. And when the Cards came back and won, I could think of only one way to celebrate -- drinking the other half.
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