80 Acre Hoppy Wheat - Boulevard Brewing Co.

Coltalenaven

3.99/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.25

Picked up a single beer to sample, not thinking it would be a great beer. But Boulevard is an impressive brewery.
Pours a golden amber with a sediment look throughout. The really big white frothy head takes its time settling down. Nice lacing left on the sides.
The aroma is a combination of hops and wheat but smells like a big IPA.
The first taste hits me with less IPA quality than I expected from the aroma, more mild hops and citrus overtones. The wheat seems to mellow out any bitterness and leaves a long mild finish. My second sip gave me a little more depth into the beer and I pick up some additional fruit qualities and maybe some grassiness.
Mild hops, bitter/sweet wheat quality is my best description of this beer. Overall it has a solid mild quality with no dominating tastes. Good and balanced. This was a pretty impressive beer I will seek out.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 00:13:33 | More by Coltalenaven

pmcadamis

Illinois

3.11/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Hazy yellow with a nice big white cap. Decent lace on the glass.

S - Sharply hoppy and slightly metallic. Herbal green hop notes.

T - The hops are almost pilsener-esque and quite green-grassy. This really lacks the malty backbone that most hoppy beers have, and that leaves the hops hanging out there in thin air with no support. This results in a sharp and overly bitter flavor IMO.

M - Light bodied and very carbonated. Long lasting grassy finish.

This is not bad, but just seems weird to me. I love that Boulevard (one of my favorite brewers by the way) tried something different, but I think that there is a reason that wheat beers are traditionally not very hoppy.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 17:03:06 | More by pmcadamis

secondtooth

Indiana

4.23/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy straw golden in appearance, with a rich, frothy head of white suds. Lovely lace, too.

Aroma is pleasantly citrus-hoppy.

Taste is smooth, again with citrus hops dominating, but not in an overpowering way. 80-Acre displays a superb amount of balance between the hops and wheat-grain sharpness.

A delightful, easy-drinking session ale that is my new "go-to" Boulevard beer. Bravo, as this is one I'll gladly return to!

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 21:39:10 | More by secondtooth

dbossman

Nebraska

4.05/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Cloudy lemon-yellow hue with a one-inch head that dissipates to a thin, steady film; lacing is mediocre

S: That smells awesome: pineapple, lemons, grapefruit, and other tropical fruit aromas on top of a grainy, grassy wheat malty base; such a brilliant blend of the two

T: Not quite as hop forward as aromas teased but still so much tropical fruits mingling with the malt base--what a beer--but a touch watery on the finish

F: Decent body with the residual stickiness from the hops but a tad thin on the finish

O: I am so glad Boulevard released this beer; now, along with their porter they have to go-to "regular" beers

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 03:23:47 | More by dbossman

Tone

Missouri

3.78/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy, golden color. 5/4 inch head of a white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of hop oil, floral hops, hint of pine, wheat, hint of sweet malt, hint of pale malt, and a hint of earthy malt. Fits the style of an American Pale Wheat Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. There is also a slight tartness. Tastes of wheat, hint of citrus, hint of pale malt, hop oil, and floral hops. Overall, great appearance, good body, and good aroma. It reminiscent of Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat and Boulevard Single-Wide IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 14:20:52 | More by Tone

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Slightly hazey banana peel color. Godd head and a nice thick layer of foamy head with tiny, sluggish bubbles underneath.

Spicey, floral, and light citrus hop aromas mixed with crackers and mildly toasted malt grain.

Spicey, lightly toasted biscuits hit the palate first. The middle has a more citrus and cracker flavor. The finish is light and bitter, but with some earthy unmalted graininess.

Refreshing and tasty. Great Summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 18:10:30 | More by scruffwhor

flagmantho

Washington

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Best by 1/21/13.

Appearance: light silvery-golden hue with a moderate haze and a strong effervescence. Head is a thick finger of frothy white foam. This has the appearance of a good witbier; I like it.

Smell: big blast of funky, earthy, citrusy hops. They smell fresh and work well in this light and refreshing context.

Taste: an interesting combination of citrusy, earthy hops with the creamy and smooth wheat flavor. Bitterness is quite low considering the hop content. I tend to be a fan of the hoppy, smooth wheat beer, and this example is pretty well executed.

Mouthfeel: light body with a strong carbonation and a smooth and creamy texture. I like it.

Overall: a very refreshing and drinkable beer. This could make a pretty great session beer; good hop flavor without being overwhelming. I would definitely have this again.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2012 21:55:46 | More by flagmantho

acelin

Kansas

4.3/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

This beer really deserves it's own style, as do many normally called APWAs. How about Hoppy Wheat Ales? Or Hopped Wheat Ales? Naming conventions aside, this is a very tasty beer. Has a great haze, great nose that implies it's far more bitter than it is. Instead, it has all those great floral aromas as tastes without the bitterness. What a gold mine of taste, and a knock out brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 23:35:07 | More by acelin

Zorro

California

3.55/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy yellow colored beer with a small white head.

Smell is light honeysuckle malt with a citrus hop aroma. Herbal scented with a good dose of grapefruit to it.

Starts out with the taste of hard water and grapefruit. Fairly dry in the mouth. Mild bitterness, pretty much a mild mannered wheat beer with a little hop kick.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a nice wheat beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 19:57:37 | More by Zorro

zhanson88

Montana

3.9/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a pale, hazy straw color with about 1/2" of white head. Head retention is just okay. Lacing is non-existent. Just about your typical looking wheat beer.

Smell: The nose on this is very good. A hint of pale, wheaty malt up front, but quickly overshadowed by orange rind, citrus, florals, and hint of pine. By far one of the best noses on a wheat beer I have had.

Taste: A hint of wheaty malts, followed by some great hop notes. Citrus, florals, orange rind, followed by slight pine on the back end. Pretty nice. About the only beef I have is that it is not quite balanced; the pale malts do not really stand up to the hops. Still, nice.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Light bodied with surprising little carbonation. Okay though. Overall, by far one of the best wheats I've had. Great session beer too. Pretty impressed by this.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 21:26:04 | More by zhanson88

Fatehunter

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Finger of head. Cloudy, pale straw color.
Smells like spruce and citrus. Like a Christmas tree with lemons on it.
Interesting taste. I like it. Lots of citrus bitterness with an underlying soft wheat flavor.
Low carbonation, medium and crisp body.
The taste is pretty amazing.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 19:21:50 | More by Fatehunter

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A- Pours hazy light straw yellow. A one finger of a white head. A very light looking beer.

S- Pine, citrus, lemon, wheat, very floral. Nice stuff.

T- A perfect 50/50 of a wheat beer and a hopped up pale ale. The wheat comes at frist and adds that nice taste but the hops come though and add a variety of citrus. A lot of lemon and pineapple. A touch of lemongrass and some floral notes.

M- This beer is a little bit light on feel nut makes up for it in drinkability and its well rounded nature.

O- This is a pretty darn good beer. Perfect session ale or summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2012 23:31:54 | More by TwelveOunces

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From: Beertopia, Omaha, NE
Date: "Best by 11/28/12" stamped on bottle
Glass: Standard US pint glass

I don't find this terribly different from a very sessionable IPA, though the body is slightly smoother and more complex than the malt bill in most session IPAs. 80-acre was very drinkable for those who enjoy hops, and one I will definitely revisit.

Pours a 2cm head of eggshell white foam, which descends rather quickly to a thin ring around the glass. Lacing is minimal, with just a few small lines and dots along the glass' edges. The body itself is a pale yellow color, semi-hazy, with light bringing out primarily the same tones. Carbonation is visible from the bottom of the glass, streaming upwards throughout.

Aroma is blatantly, unabashedly hoppy, with strong grapefruit, lemon, an orange tones accompanied by a bit of wet pine mulch, as would fit a combination of Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops (though I'd accept Simcoe as well). Delicious, with a subtle malt base underpinning all these hops.

The flavor is simultaneously a fairly notable, sugary sweetness from the combination of pale barley and wheat malts and the strongly citric-bitter from usage of fruity, lightly citrus hops. Opens with sweet malts coalescing cleanly with grapefruit an orange-like hops, leading to a mid-palate of marginally sweet malts and lemon-orange-grapefruit flavors. Back of palate picks up modest bitterness along with continued grapefruit and orange flavors. Aftertaste of mild bitterness, some orange, and sweetness from wheat an barley malts.

Beer is medium to medium-light bodied, with mid-level carbonation, creating a slightly fizzy, foamy, but smooth mouthfeel. Closes semi-dry, as expected from the substantial hop usage.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 09:00:34 | More by falloutsnow

rundocrun

Iowa

3.08/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Body is straw yellow and cloudy. A rough pour yields 4 (count 'em) 4 fingers of fluffy white head. Good retention.

S - Hops steal the show in the nose. Lots of pine, bitter grapefruit peel, and lemongrass. Subtler notes of orange and bright tropical fruit.

T - Up front, dry wheat flavor and mild malt sweetness. Some lemon, lemongrass, and orange peel through the middle, but very little bitterness. Finish is fruity, but otherwise bland. Overall, taste is a bit of a disappointment after the promise of the aroma.

M- Thin body with good carbonation. Very clean finish and quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 02:43:31 | More by rundocrun

rlee1390

Indiana

3.9/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-Cloudy yellow orange, some carbonation, two finger head.

S-Hops with a metallic orange, lemon, wheat and grass.

T-Balance of grass, wheat, lemon with hop flavors. Some bitterness finishes it off.

M-Medium bodied, nice carbonation, crisp.

O-They were pushing this beer as a Gumball Head substitute, haven't had Gumball Head but this beer wasn't extraordinary.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2012 22:06:26 | More by rlee1390

SavvyStudent

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A: It pours lighter than the Boulevard Wheat with a smaller head.

S: Strong Pine and Citrus hops.

T: Faint wheat, pine, citrus.

M: It leaves a little body with a wheat after taste that coats the palate.

O: A step away from what they originally tested at the brewery but unique in the market nonetheless

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 19:10:45 | More by SavvyStudent

morimech

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy pale golden color with around one finger of head that quickly settled to a thin cap. A lot of sticky lacing is left down the glass.

Hoppy aroma of pineapple and grapefruit. Grainy with rustic wheat notes.

They got a lot of hop flavor into this beer with a rather modest IBU level. Pineapple and lemon upfront to compliment the neutral malt bill. Wheat is not as pronounced as expected.

Light body and superbly carbonated. Smooth texture with enough lift to liven the palate.

The beer is quite refreshing and easy to drink. Nice hop flavor without all the bitterness of an IPA. Another good Boulevard beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 20:33:05 | More by morimech

UnkleFester

Kansas

3.83/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A: Pours a hazy yellow with about a fingers worth of white head that doesn't stay around leaving behind a decent lacing.

S: Pine and Earthy hops are dominant on the nose with a faint amount of wheat.

T: Wheat, pine, citrus notes with a nice sweet malt toward the finish.

M: A medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

O: A very interesting brew unlike any other pale wheat I have had. If you can get I recommend trying it.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 22:27:50 | More by UnkleFester

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

Okay, so where's my mule, then!? This stuff pours a pale lemon-straw topped by over a finger of white foam. The nose comprises grapefruit zest, lightly funky wheat, grass, pine resin, and a touch of biscuit. The taste brings in more of the same, along with a slightly sweet bit of lemon zest, sort of along the lines of a Lemonhead. Everything works together very well. The body is a hefty light, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, a tasty APWA, one not afraid to hop it up a bit. Boulevard continues to impress.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 02:22:49 | More by TMoney2591

Ryan011235

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Delirium snifter on 10/21/12

Best By 12/10/12

Light, pale golden color. Quite hazy and a little cloudy. Two finger bone white head starts to dissipate quickly, but leaves raised webs of lace.

Good aroma - pineapple, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, lemon, toasted wheat and dusty wheat. Overtones of pine-sol as it warms. The flavor has a liberal amount of juicy citrus; kicks right nicely. Pine, lemon, orange. Kind of prickly, too. The wheat is actually tame; I figured there would be a more robust backing, but I'm not complaining,. Clean finish. The feel is crisp and carbonation feisty. Again, very juicy.

Overall, this is really enjoyable and right easy to drink. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 04:47:40 | More by Ryan011235

rwhitmore

Kansas

3.88/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First sampled from a 12 oz shorty, with a stamped on "best by" date. I live the in the KC metro, and this was a much anticipated release, and I wasn't disappointed. A pretty big nose of fruity and citrus hops. It definitely drinks like a wheat, with a mouthfeel much like their Unfiltered Wheat. Very refreshing, and it will certainly be a staple, especially when the Midwest summer heat cranks up.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 20:58:57 | More by rwhitmore

Jason

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown bottle with a freshness date.

LOOK: Slightly hazed pale yellow, big chunky head

SMELL: Fresh wheat, orangey hop, grassy, lemon oil, mild spice, vague mint, leafy

TASTE: Fresh, crisp, lighter bodied, snappy, hoppy, slightly bitter, fresh grass, bready, grainy, mild citrus character, drying finish, lightly hoppy after taste

No doubt about it, I could quaff this one back on the regular basis. Love beers with wheat, love hops, etc. A win all around for me so a respectful nod to the brewery for this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2012 02:38:36 | More by Jason

barnzy78

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle, pours a hazy yellow with a tall, bubbly, white head, decent retention, excellent lacing as the head fades. Citric hop, lemon rind, grapefruit, and orange permeate the nose. Tastes are fresh with citrus, lemon, grapefruit, grape, moderately bitter, finishes dry with faint pine. Not much for malt character; faint wheat. Mouth-feel is thinner than expected for a wheat ale, moderate carbonation. Overall, not bad, but comes across as drinking some sort of a lemon cleaner at times. I was hoping for some of the wheat and malt characteristics to come through, but hops prevail here.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 02:15:03 | More by barnzy78

Beaver13

Colorado

3.58/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle. Pours very hazy straw yellow with a huge rocky white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is wheaty malts, tropical fruits and some piney, lightly resiny, hops.

The flavor is slightly sweet wheaty malts and some tropical fruits with decent piney / resiny bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, an interesting hoppy wheat.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 02:38:01 | More by Beaver13

tronester

Oklahoma

3.7/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy yellow with a medium white head that has great retention and lacing. Aromas of a freshly mowed lawn. Taste begins with a huge lemon peel component, followed by a bit of saltine cracker, then a massive grassy, herbal flavor. Citrus aftertaste. Mouthfeel is good. Overall a quite good beer, but a little bit grassier tasting than I typically would like.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2012 23:36:56 | More by tronester