Boulevard Saison Brett 2015

I know there is another thread about Farmhouse/Saison beers which mentions this beer, but this was so good i thought it deserved its own thread.

I am by no means a craft beer guy. As I drink so much wine that I spend a lot of time analyzing and concentrating on, when I drink beer it is usually just something cold and refreshing. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a huge fan of cheap, light factory canned beer. Give me a cold can of Tecate on a hot day and I’m very happy.

However, I have been trying to branch out and see what all the craft beer buzz is about. This summer I have been drinking a lot of sour beers. They seem fairly trendy now, and I have to admit I find them refreshing and damn delicious. I honestly don’t remember what I’ve been drinking but remember having a couple Crooked Staves that I liked.

Yesterday, when it was approximately the temperature of the sun in NYC, I had the 2015 Boulevard Saison Brett. HOLY HELL. I can honestly say this is the first beer that has knocked my socks off. It was at once bright and sour, yet earthy and funky. Earthy and funky is generally something I look for in wine, so to find it in a beer was very exciting.

I will search out more of this beer and try some of the others listed in the Farmhouse/Saison thread.

I would call this an epiphany beer for me.

Its very good. These beers age well. Don’t be afraid to buy some and hold on to them.

I need to retry this beer as the one I tried I only found ok. Fortunately, not hard to source.

There is definitely some vintage variation on these, but they do age well and get much better after a year in bottle.

They do vary, but are usually pretty good. A 2013 drank well last month. You might also enjoy their Love Child series, which is a BA sour. I don’t love everything that Blvd does (Wheat is terrible and their IPAs are not very good) but they do a few things well, and this is one of them.

Couple of things about Boulevard- they started making their Smokestack series in small bottles instead of just 750s, which is nice. Second, if you have never tried their IPA called The Calling you should check that out.

John I don’t believe I’ve had it, but I could be mistaken. That is the black label right? Being in MO I come across a lot of Blvd. I think that overall their IPA lineup has improved, but is still not that great. I always thought that their Belgian brewer just didn’t really “get” IPAs but that may be changing over time. That the Single wide/double wide line was, IMO, always terrible. The pop-up is not bad, but the heavy lifting again quite meh. I’ll try the calling as its widely available.

I really like their Radler (my wife really likes this one too, great for hot weather), Love Child, Bourbon Barrel Quad, Bourbon Barrel Stout, and I like the Saison Brett. When we lived in KC they did a limited release sour, called it Fuder, only saw it on draft, and it was awesome, basically unaged Love Child. Hibiscus Gose is pretty good too.

A recent release that I had high hopes for was “Tell Tale Tart,” billed as slightly sour. Ultimately did not like it at all.

Started? I’ve had their small versions for several years, maybe 5. But distribution is better these days.

Btw tried the Calling IPA, pretty good and glad to have more.

There were 4 original Smokestack beers- they were available in both 750ml and in 4 packs. Now they have increased the core offerings, Tell Tale Tart and The Calling have been added to the series. Plus a whole mess of new big bottles are coming out soon. Eventually the ones that do best will have a shot at four packs. I’m looking forward to the Cigar City collaboration that comes out in October.

That’s right. Have to say that I didn’t know them earlier as I’m not much of a beer person, but my earliest Boulevard experiences were with 375ml.

IRRC, they were not originally available in 4 packs. That was a later addition, though it has been several years. I lived in KC at the time and there was quite a while where they were only available in 750s.