Amber Ale - Boulevard Brewing Co.

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

More apricot orange than honeycomb amber, with an acceptable looking lid of buttered wheat toast colored foam. The head doesn't have a huge amount of visual personality, nor does it lay down much lace.

Amber ales often struggle to impress on the sniff test. This offering is exhibit 'A'. Or is that 'AA'?. It's slightly caramel malty, slightly toasted-earthy, and veeerrry slightly German hoppy (Hallertau, Perle and Saphir).

Things are a little better on taste bud submersion, but we aren't talking memorable beer here. The big question is why it took me so long to figure out that I hadn't yet reviewed an ale that has probably been right under my nose for many, many years.

Boulevard Amber Ale is as basic as basic gets. The flavors from a malt standpoint taste like 33% pale, 33% caramel-crystal and 33% toasted-earthy (Munich). Guess we'll just leave that other 1% hanging. Hop flavor is modest and does a capable enough job bringing things into sweet-bitter balance.

Mouthfeel is consistent with all the rest in terms of quality. It's (just) big enough and the slightly too buzzy bubbles out of the gate settle down some by the backstretch of the bottle. Nothing to get too excited about.

Boulevard needs to brew some basic styles in order to keep paying the bills. That said, it's hard to imagine that anyone who is familiar with what else these guys release would buy Amber Ale on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 12:01:36 | More by BuckeyeNation

womencantsail

California

3.25/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks Jeff for sending me this beer.

A: The beer pours amber in color with a thin off-white head.

S: A pretty bland nose on this beer. A bit of toasted malts and toffee, some bread, too. Minimal hop notes, perhaps some floral and grassy notes, but not really any citrus.

T: The flavor is similarly bland. Some bread and toffee malt giving a bit of sweetness, but there's a strong grassy flavor on the back end. It also tastes of carbonic acid, probably because the beer is overcarbonated.

M: Medium body with a rather heavy level of carbonation.

O: Pretty unremarkable amber ale. Nothing that would bring me back to this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 03:39:02 | More by womencantsail

brentk56

North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color topped by a rocky head that leaves a shard or two of lace behind

Smell: Caramel, grain and a hint of Juicy Fruit gum

Taste: Bready, up front, with caramel and Juicy Fruit elements rounding out the malt profile; by mid-palate, the grainy aspect becomes more defined and, after the swallow, recedes to the background, letting the malts, once again, take precedence; although this beer is malt forward, the hops do contribute nicely to the overall impact

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Not my favorite style, but I rather enjoyed this beer; flavorful and well-balanced

Thanks, welosiped, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 01:11:38 | More by brentk56

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Gale Sayers shaker pint glass.

Working my way through the current Boulevard sampler box. This offering pours a clear amber-russet topped by a half-finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises orange zest, brown sugar-cinnamon, light caramel, and a light twist of lemon. The taste brings in more of the same, though the orange definitely comes through more strongly and brings along a decent amount of rind. A small bit o' balsa finds its way in there as well. In addition, the brown sugar maintains a strong position, giving things a fairly heavy spicy character (for an amber, at least). The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a pretty smooth feel. Overall, a nice amber, one that shows that balance can indeed be achieved without going overboard on either side.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2011 21:34:28 | More by TMoney2591

Mora2000

Texas

3.58/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Always glad to try a new beer from Boulevard.

The beer pours a light amber color with a white head. The aroma is toffee and grass. Not very complex, but not bad.

The flavor is grassy hops, along with toffee and biscuit malt. The beer is well balanced, but leans slightly to the maltier side of the spectrum.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 06:28:56 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a slightly hazy, amber color with a good deal of carbonation. It had a two-finger, off white head that was long lasting and left behind a little lace.

S - It smelled very malty with a roasty presence. There was a mild floral aroma, too.

T - A malty amber ale with hints of chocolate flavor. I also tasted a grassy hop bite that added balance.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A light to medium bodied beer with a dry finish.

D - This is a really nice amber ale. It was nice to see Boulevard go back to a sessionable style and do it really well.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2010 03:11:38 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is relatively clear copper in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down a bit but never faded away.
S: There are aromas of caramel malts in the nose along with some hints of fruity yeast. No hops are noticeable.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has flavors of caramel, nutty and toasted malts with some hints of malty sweetness and a slight amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a malt-forward beer that has a nice balance of different types of malts and has just enough hops to prevent it from being sweet.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 17:57:35 | More by metter98

emerge077

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Tawny copper, slightly murky with a saturated jewel-tone coloration. Delicate crown of lace, initially a substantial head of foam rests on the surface. Thin broken skim and ring at the edges after five minutes or so.

Lightly sweet multigrain bread and apple notes from the yeast. Slight maple sweetness,

Bready and malt forward, caramel and specialty malts take centerstage. Sunflower seeds, wheat bread crusts. Light to medium bodied, smooth with light carbonation. Pleasant with no off flavors, simple and sessionable if so inclined. Textbook example of an American Amber Ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 03:59:58 | More by emerge077

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Picked up a sixer on special for $6 at Princeton's Liquors. The bottle says best by January 2011. Overall, I thought this was a nice malty session beer that reminded me of a Vienna lager. The description mentions noble hops, but I don't get must more than a hint of peppery spice in the finish mixing with the caramel malts. The beer opens with a toffee and bread mixture and is followed by cherry and strawberry juice (not to sweet), and then that mild herbal bitterness. The aroma is a bit simpler with more of the bready malts coming forward. All in all, a good session beer for folks that can appreciate malt without a lot of hops.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 00:43:25 | More by tempest

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a dimple mug)
best by 4/28/11 (it was)
A- This beer has a slightly hazy brown body with an orange hue to it and strong carbonation of big bubbles gliding to the surface. There is a bubbly creamy head that last a good while.

S- The soft aroma of brown malt finish with a soft fruity yeast notes.

T- The toasted brown malt fades to a soft green note and a slightly dry finish.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel and a tight fizz in the finish.

O- The smooth amber ale is nice but it is pretty light and not much character to make it worth another glass.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 22:04:28 | More by rhoadsrage

scruffwhor

Illinois

2.58/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Maybe just a little haze to this darker copper, bronze colored brew. Pretty quick head and no residual foam. A couple tiny bubbles rise to the surface.

Light toasted malt aromas. Thats all I can get for the nose. Smells a little bland.

Some biscuit toasted malt flavors. An acidic, slightly lemony finish makes up the hop profile.

This is the only beer from Boulevard I won't buy again.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 13:58:43 | More by scruffwhor

Bitterbill

Wyoming

4.15/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Part of a mixed 12 pack. Best by Oct 3, 2010.

A slightly hazy brownish red colour with a good 1 finger head of foam and good sticky lacing.

The smell is nice and malty with some notable sweet notes and light bread. I couldn't pick out any bitterness at all and, for the style, that works for me.

The taste is as good as the smell. Not as sweet as in the smell but it's still plenty malty with lightly done notes of bread and a light, balancing, taste of some citrus. I see as the beer warms up, the malty sweetness comes through more and I'm digging it. This is an excellent tasting malty Amber Ale.

The mouthfeel doesn't hurt the beer as it's very smooth and drinkabilty, me thinks, is also excellent.

Man, Boulevard, I guess, just started this puppy up recently and my hat's off to them for this most excellent example of the style. Grab yourself a 12 packer if you see some...

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2010 20:13:27 | More by Bitterbill

Tone

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy, copper/brown color. 1/3 inch head of an off-white color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of hops, sweet malt, hint of wheat, hint of earthy malt, and slight citrus. Fits the style of an American Amber / Red Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, hops, slight citrus, slight yeast, hint of wheat, and a hint of pale malt. Overall, a very refreshing and easy to drink beer. This might just become one of my go-to beers for recreational drinking.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2010 02:33:38 | More by Tone

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.53/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle pours a hazy copper color with a large and creamy off-white head. Retention is nice, as is the lacing.

Nose is pretty standard Amber Ale fare: toffee, caramel and toast with a little hint of fruitiness.

Tastes pretty good. Sweet, caramely toast with definitively low hopping. Mouthfeel is pretty nice as well, creamy and fairly full. It makes for a pretty easy drinker, but there is really nothing about it that stands out in an already saturated 'Amber Ale' category.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2011 22:05:47 | More by twiggamortis420

FosterJM

California

3.53/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

373rd review on BA
Draft

Brewsky's in Lincoln, NE

App- Poured a typical amber color. Was a bit clearer than I thought it would be. A few bubbles produce a nice one finger head. A few whisps of lace.

Smell- Had a lot of Malty, bready sweetness to it but lacks a dominant balanced flavor to mesh with.

Taste- Malty sweet with slight bread flavor. I dont know if it was tounge fatigue but it felt a bit flat to me.

Mouth- A little on the thin side. Still a decent medium body with a medium carb level.

Overall- It was okay. I like Blvds bigger beers. I think the normal run of beers could use a touch more to them. This was okay but I think would have been better alone not as a 4th beer of the night.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2011 23:04:29 | More by FosterJM

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a decent amber. smells more like their irish red in terms of malt profile, but with a bit more sweetness. flavors of toffee, burnt sugar, and dryer red malts combine in good proportions. i could stand a bit more of a hop backing in this american amber, but it tastes alright as it is. mouthfeel is okay, lots of body and some sweetness in the aftertaste, but not in a gross stickly go brush the teeth kind of way, medium carbonation. overall a drinkable brown ale but a far cry from my favorite boulevard brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 15:58:20 | More by StonedTrippin

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a crystal clear dark copper to medium amber in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall creamy beige head that reduces to a medium sized patch of thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Very mild in aroma overall, there are some light notes of toasted malts and some even lighter hints of floral hops.

T: This beer has a solid body of toasted malts with some lighter amounts of caramel and toffee sweetness. There are light hints of floral hops but very little bitterness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin/watery but there is a certain prickliness from the carbonation.

O: The beer is pretty well balanced and typifies the American Amber/Red Ale style for me. The beer is easy to drink and could be sessionable. It is enjoyable and one I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 21:50:28 | More by dbrauneis

billab914

Virginia

3.2/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into my Terrapin glass. It poured a dark amber, almost red color. It started with a nice full and frothy head to it, which settled down shortly after the pour.

The aroma has a good amount of bready, sweeter malts to it. A bit of a caramel flavor comes through to add to the sweetness. Some crisp and tart fruity flavors are there as well, with some notes of apple and pear.

The taste shows more of the sweet malty flavors, with some caramel sweetness noticeable too. It also has kind of a crisp, fruity, citrusy flavor that comes into play towards the finish. It gives it more of a tart, fruity, apple like quality.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and carbonation is moderate. Drinkability was average, it was relatively light and went down easy but I just didn't find the flavors that great overall. Not a bad beer, but not an outstanding one for the style either.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 20:41:32 | More by billab914

emmasdad

Colorado

3.43/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I picked up a Boulevard mixed twelve pack last week at Argonaut. This was one of the included beers. Poured a nice medium amber color, with a solid beige head. Aromas of caramel, light malt and light hops. On the palate, this one was light to medium bodied, with flavors of sweet malt, caramel and light hops.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2011 01:56:37 | More by emmasdad

morimech

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Never seen this beer in this market before. Part of a mix 12-pack from Boulevard. Best by 01/28/11.

Dark amber color with a large off-white head that had very good retention before settling to a thick cap. Heavy lacing is left at the top of the glass and thins out as the beer is consumed. Plenty of C-hops in the aroma. Notes of citrus and grass. Some caramel malt as well. The flavor is not as impressive as the aroma however. The hops have been subdued and the malt does not really add anything except some caramel notes. Has a touch of an artificial flavor that many amber and pale ales suffer from. Not a bad tasting beer by any stretch but could use more punch from the hops and a little more interesting malt bill. Feels a little thin but is nicely carbonated from the bottle conditioning. Nice that Boulevard labeled the bottle as bottle conditioned. An easy drinking ale but nothing besides the appearance really sets this apart from so many others in an already saturated style.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2010 18:11:34 | More by morimech

argock

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz brown bottle into a Duvel tulip. Best by 05/11/12 in white on bottle neck.
Received from my parents out of the goodness of their hearts.

A: Red-amber with 1-2 fingers of off-white/light beige head with decent retention and several trails of lacing.

S: Nicely integrated aroma of cereal grain and light sweet toffee and caramel. The hops are slightly floral and citrus but not overbearing.

T: I thought the flavor was a great example of the style with a good solid maltiness of grain with light toasted character and toffee. The hops provide counterpunch of floral, orange citrus.

M: The mouthfeel needs a lot of work, but I think dialing down the carbonation by about 1/3 would do most of the trick. The carbonation is beyond prickly to fizzy and it detracts from both the flavor, body, and the drinkability.

O: I liked this beer but a simple reduction in carbonation would provide a much nicer drinking experience, allowing the spot-on maltiness and light citrus hopping to maintain the attention and give the beer the coating, creamier feel it should have.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 17:35:48 | More by argock

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.35/5  rDev -2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Black Raven pint glass. Pours a clear red-orange amber. Thin white head and no lacing. Aroma of sweet and caramel malt. Taste is subdued malt, grassy hops with a dry finish. Thin bodied. Nothing remarkable, but a mild, pleasant tasting amber.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 04:03:31 | More by LiquidAmber

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Shockingly, amber in color. Head does little damage to the glass and overall the look is pretty insipid, although bring the right color goes a ways. The nose is, again, super clean with only faint notes of German malts and a note of dextrin to make sure you're not about to settle down with a nice cup of water.

Flavor is a little better, though I'm not ready to change scores. Too much pale malt amongst the continental crystal and frankly not enough hops no matter the malted profile. Sharp carbonation up front, finishes with most of the malt taste, leaning toward crystal sweetness, aspirin, and dextrose.

I would imagine that this sells, but I'm a little sad that I subsidized it. It's okay, but nothing interesting, and Boulevard already has some boring beers to bring in the revenues. What is Amber Ale's place?

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2011 05:17:37 | More by BretSikkink

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Aaaahhh! A nice session amber ale....Love it! Straight forward no Bull Sh&t! Cloudy amber color...little light on the head, but a very nice simple Amber!!! No after taste baby!!! Boulevard once again does not dissappoint, this beer falls in line with all their other remarkable beers!

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2011 19:20:02 | More by WoodBrew

homebrew311

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: pours a clear, deep amber, white head upon pour, minimal retention, no lacing

S: non descript aroma featuring some faint malty notes, toasted bread, mild hop bitterness

T: like the nose, the taste is malt forward with bread and caramel. Malt character is faint, and the hops at the finish are even fainter. Well balanced and easy drinking, a little lacking in the flavor dept.

MF: high carbonation, light body

O: not a bad beer, but nothing exciting (I feel like I'm saying that about all of Boulevard's year rounders). Middle of the pack I'd say.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 05:42:25 | More by homebrew311