Boulevard's collaboration with Sierra Nevada is out this week.
Humankind can finally swallow the earth with this week's release of Terra Incognita, Boulevard Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s barrel-aged collaboration. The dark-brown ale is named after uncharted lands and the California Trail, which separates the breweries. Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels says the dry, hop-forward Smokestack Series brew has a funky finish (via Brettanomyces yeast added during bottle conditioning) that imparts notes of oak and bourbon as it warms.
Terra Incognita is the second in a trilogy of Boulevard - Sierra Nevada beers. The breweries' first collaboration was an ale for the Brewers Association's SAVOR conference in 2012. The third release, another barrel-aged brew set for 2014, will be made at Sierra Nevada's Chico, California, brewery. Pauwels and Sierra Nevada brewmaster Steve Dresler discussed their creation with The Pitch during a recent conference call.
It puts the chianti in the decanter. On second thought, don't decant that chianti. Just pop the cork and try not to spill any on the couch when Buffalo Bill dances onscreen.
The Alamo Drafthouse is back with cinematic wines. On the heels of a Princess Bride-inspired vintage comes The Silence of the Lambs signature wines. There's Cannibal Chianti and Suit Yourself Pinot Grigio. Bottles ($32) will be available online or at the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet in June.
The challenge when one is aspiring toward greatness is being recognized too early. The danger is that you feel like you've arrived before you've actually done the work to reach your destination. So, while it's nice that Travel + Leisure has proclaimed Kansas City the fifth best beer city in the nation, it's certainly not warranted.
For those seeking an after-dinner (or before-dinner) mint, distributor Central States Beverage has released the list of who is going to get Boulevard's Tripel Julep in both Kansas and Missouri (h/t to KC Beer Scouts).
Tripel Julep is the mint-infused, whiskey-barrel-aged, extremely limited batch of Long Strange Tripel that Boulevard is releasing to Kansas City-area taps (and nowhere else on this beer-drinking earth) in homage to the Kentucky Derby. It's a beer-inspired play on the mint julep. Happy hunting and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, if you snag a draft. The full list is after the jump.
The hometown brewery is adding a hometown touch to the brew formerly known as Boulevard Pilsner. Going forward, Boulevard Pilsner will now be called KC Pils. There will also be a new bottle design and packaging - the standard box that comes with year-round beers like Wheat and Pale Ale.
Just a note, the formula for Pilsner isn't changing. This is just a rebranding effort on the part of the brewery on Southwest Boulevard. On its Facebook page, Boulevard stated that KC Pils will be on tap at the Sporting KC game this Saturday, where soccer fans can also eat Grinders food at Sporting Park for the first time and enjoy pregame at the Budweiser Beer Garden.
KC is about to get Boulevard's take on a Kentucky Derby staple.
Boulevard's tasting room just got a whole lot bigger. It's fitting that in a week that saw Love Child No. 3 (a test batch brew that has grown into a Smokestack Series release) hit shelves, news broke that Boulevard is rolling out a limited-edition beer only available on tap around Kansas City. That beer is Tripel Julep, the brewery's Long Strange Tripel, which has been aged in whiskey barrels and infused with mint. The Tripel Julep sprang forth from the mind of brewmaster Steven Pauwels and is meant to be a tip of the cap to the flag-bearing drink of the Kentucky Derby.
Tripel Julep is expected to be on tap around the city over the coming week (at bars that regularly carry Smokestack offerings). Affare, Anton's Taproom, the Brick and Snow & Co. will all be getting kegs (h/t to @KCCrossroads). Standard scavenger-hunt rules apply. If you see it on tap, kindly note it (and the price, if possible) in the comments section.
Boulevard keeps having love children, and we're the better for it.
Sour beer is the final frontier for many beer drinkers - the arena they build up to after countless wrestling matches with hop-forward beers and dalliances with cider or fruity brews. I'll admit that I'm in the midst of figuring out what I think about sours myself, so I approached Boulevard's Love Child No. 3 - the hometown brewery gifted Fat City with a bottle Friday - with a bit of trepidation. The latest Smokestack series release should start appearing on shelves Tuesday.
Until Fat City scrapes together the cash to put a giant Bat-like signal in the sky with a pine-cone shaped symbol, you'll have to settle for an online announcement. Hopfest tickets are now on sale. The annual ode to hops at the Well (7421 Broadway) and Lew's Grill and Bar (7539 Wornall) is set for Saturday, May 18, from 2 to 6 p.m.
Beer nerd heaven might be in Independence. BD's Mongolian Grill (19750 E. Valley View Parkway) recently opened the Beer Growler Taproom - a 50-tap and 50-bottle celebration of craft beer. But the revelation (and let us hope this is the beginning of a trend) is that every beer which comes from the kegs behind a glass wall can be taken home in a 64-oz. growler, a refillable glass amber jug.
"We think it's pretty unique," said BD's Michael Passero. "A growler is the freshest way to drink draft beer at home."
Perhaps the Easter Bunny will leave a 22 in your basket.
Most breweries now employ an "Enjoy By" date on a bottle rather than an expiration date. But Stone Brewing Co. has flipped that idea on its head with a new release, the Enjoy By 04.20.13 IPA. The California brewer has created a hop-heavy ale with 11 different hops added at all points of the brew process. And all of those pungent hops aren't meant to last, which is why the beer that showed up in Kansas City (the first of the limited hophead releases that appeared in KC was Enjoy By 12.21.12) this past week is here only for a short time. Stone sent Fat City a 22 oz. bottle - the adult equivalent of the Easter Bunny - and we obliged them by drinking it.
Boulevard and Sierra Nevada join forces for Terra Incognita, which hits shelves Wednesday
Eric Sader, Jana's Campaign executive director, answers The Pitch's questionnaire
Which Wich is now making sandwiches in Westport
Kiss' Rock & Brews will 'Shout It Out Loud' in Overland Park in early 2014
McDonald's sued by employee who wants a check, not a debit card
Italian Gardens To Go opens today in Overland Park
Rob Zombie is coming to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
Summer Beer Festival and other weekend possibilities