... Not only for releasing the Single-Wide I.P.A in bottles but for making it a year-round release and putting it in six-packs instead of as part of the too expensive Smokestack Series.
Single-Wide I.P.A is based on Boulevard's Double-Wide I.P.A which was released in 2007. At the time, we raved about Double-Wide and said it had a "real floral bouquet... a heavy head and a strong, heady hop flavor."
Take out the floral tones and and you could say the exact same about Single-Wide.
For being a regular beer, this sure has a lot of hop, which is
reflected in the slightly orange, heavy grass smell that deliciously
wafts from the bottle. The aroma is intense and sweet. Taking a deep
breath of it and closing my eyes, a vision of a muddy forest with pine
trees came to mind.
The taste is equally as complex and in an
equally good way. The first sip is bitter and lighter on the tongue
than it smells. That's the heavy hop profile sticking up its head. On the IBU scale of beer bitterness, Single-Wide has a high score of 59
(out of 100) which makes it more bitter than the Double-Wide and the
most bitter beer Boulevard's ever produced. The bitterness doesn't
linger, though -- it blends in with the slightly sweet woodsy, grassy
flavors before making a quick return as you swallow.
The best part is the more of the beer you drink, the more accustomed to
the bitter flavor your mouth becomes, and the secondary flavors of
orange and more sweetness start to show up. Near the bottom of the
first or second bottle, there's a third round of light malt flavors.
In this manner, the Single-Wide is like a great cigar, constantly
improving and changing the more of it you drink. But also like cigars,
Single-Wide isn't for everybody. Beer geeks like me will love the bitterness, but people who prefer
Boulevard Wheat to Boulevard Pale Ale will probably go back to wheat after
trying the Single-Wide. I don't care -- that's more Single-Wide for me.
With the low price of $8 for a six-pack and a profile that's strong but not too strong for food, the Single-Wide is my new
everyday beer for spring.
Comments (0)