Love Child No. 2 - Boulevard Brewing Co.

sweemzander

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750mL corked & caged bottle poured into a tulip. Thanks for sharing Matt!

(A)- Pours a hazed amber color. Some white froth produced.

(S)- A solid oaky cheese funk with bits of tart cherry; plenty of oak in this.

(T)- Crisp, with a pleasant cherry oak tartness. An almost vinegar-like funk to it, though not quite "cheesy" like the smell was.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. Subtle tartness and nice barrel nuances to it.

(O)- A solid wild ale. Not overly sour, but showcases good barrel characters throughout. Might even get better with time, though not sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 15:51:50 | More by sweemzander

MatthewWilde

Massachusetts

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

Sample: 1 bottle 2012

A: Dark orange in color, quite cloudy throughout, pours a small white head which quickly dissolves into minimal lacing, not translucent

S: Strong citrus fruit and acid on the nose, some floral and herbal elements are faintly present, touch of oak

T: Perfectly sour, fruity and refreshing, definitely some herbal elements at the finish, rather difficult to describe, but flavorful

M: Just the right amount of sour, not heavy in the mouth, only a touch of alcohol even with the high abv, not lingering, but a bit drying and an unusual aftertaste

O: A nice example of the style, very pleasant tasting, despite the aftertaste, definitely worth trying

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 23:10:14 | More by MatthewWilde

mynie

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Glugs out, though that's due more to the wine bottle's long neck and thin lip than to the beer's viscosity. It's dark and appealingly murky reddish, like fruit leather.

Smells very tart and a little like cherries. Pleasantly strong, but not all that complex for the style.

Tastes much more complicated. The aroma is tamed by the bourbon barrel-ness, which smoothes the flavor out wonderfully. Starts with cherries, moving into darker, riper berries and smooth nodes of oak and whiskey. Still fairly simple for the style, but also tremendously quaffable.

This would be a good intro to wild ales. Nothing too intense, but you still get a clear, fair picture of what the style is all about.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 04:24:42 | More by mynie

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

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

Poured from 750ml corked and caged into Tulip.

A. Pours a pretty lively 2 finger head. Head is gone witin 30 seconds. Decent amount of lacing left. Color is a dark amber bronw.

S. Get the barrel aging in the form of some oak and earthiness. Decent amount of sourness. After that you get some tart fruit notes, cherries for me. A little bit of the Brett aroma is present at this point. I get a bit of a reminder of Boulevard BBQ in the aroma of this beer.

T. Pretty tart up front. Finishes with some nice oak and woody flavors. Quite a bit of depth of flavor. I like it. It isnt overly sour, which is my personal preference. I think the myriad of flavors works well at this point, and it will be interesting to see what happens. Taste also reminds me a bit of BBQ.

M. Medium boided. Medium carbonation. Actually finishes fairly dry.

O. I like the fact that Boulevard is branching out into other style with the Smokestack Series. Maybe not my favorite style, but probably one of my favorites within the style. A lot going on and into this beer, it might be premature to judge it at this point.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 01:34:59 | More by siradmiralnelson

twiggamortis420

Texas

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle pours a slightly hazed amber color with a small white head. A few spots of lace, but otherwise an unassuming looking beer.

Nose is tart fruit, flame-torched toffee and bright cherries. Nice smelling brew here.

Mmmm, this is delicious! Even for a $18 dollar beer this is worth buying again. It is quite sour and cherry-licious...almost like a fresh BBQ with lacto. The malt is actually pretty dark and caramely. Pretty sour, but not over the top and blends the flavors together well. Good beer, bordering on greatness...maybe a year or two would do some good things...I dont know..its pretty damn good now.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 01:53:59 | More by twiggamortis420

DCon

Missouri

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Bought a 750ml / 1 PINT, 9.4 FLUID OUNCE bottle of this from The Red Monk in Des Moines, IA for $25 (what a steal!). Poured from the Orange/Yellow/Red Labeled bottle w/ silver stars on it into a 12oz Tulip Glass. Has BATCH NUMBER/BEST BY DATE: 2012-2, 03-2014 on the back of the label.

Aroma- Light cherries, slight funk, and then a nice barrel/aged finish. Very complexed and subtle into you really stick your nose in the glass.

Appearance- Pours a less then .5 finger head that bubbles up and then dies. Has a light amber colored body with slight haziness. Leaves no lacing behind.

Flavor- The flavor of this one is just like the aroma, complexed and tough to figure out. Sweet, tart, and light cherries are all positive in here. Almost no bitterness but rather a sweet finish mixed with a medium sour attribute. Nice!

Mouthfeel- Medium Bodied, Medium-High Carbonation, Puckers with tons of sour barnyard attributes and then a barrel note is caught on the finish. Incredible!

Overall Impression- WOW! This one has to be one of my favorites from Boulevard! The barrel aged notes I found in here were VERY impressive since this was a sour beer. Highly recommend grabbing a bottle of this and aging if you have the chance! I sure will be.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 21:45:58 | More by DCon

kawilliams81

Illinois

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

Poured from a 750 ml cork n caged bottle into a Bells tulip.

A- pours a light ruby with a 2" light tan head. Nice thick lacing clings to the glass.

S- tart cherries, bread, yeast, sour malts and oak.

T- oak, bread, tart cherries, nice sour but not real pungent, oak, slight whiskey aftertaste as the beer warms.

M- medium body and high carbonation. Dry and sticky feel and some acidity.

O- 5/10 sourness. Good sour that has nice tart cherries. Abv isn't apparent until the beer warms up a little.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2012 03:05:31 | More by kawilliams81

thagr81us

South Carolina

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

Big thanks goes out to MSquared2 for sharing this one at our Labor Day tasting! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller taster flute. Poured red-orange with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, sour, tart, wood, subtle funk, and fruit. The flavor was of sweet malt, sour, tart, fruit, subtle funk, and subtle wood. It had a light feel on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a good brew. This was a really nice brew that had a very nice balance to it. The sour and tart note here was very nice and fit right in with everything else that was going on in this one. The fruit was also a nice touch to add a bit of sweetness as well. Definitely a must try that I’m glad I got the chance to try myself.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 11:46:57 | More by thagr81us

EgadBananas

Louisiana

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark ruby/mahogany, with a dark tan/dry mud colored head. A finger due to a vigorous pour, but didn't stick around too long. Dissipates to a fizzy ring.

Aroma has a slight acidity, tart vanilla, oak and a mild bourbon note. There's some light fruity notes as well.

Taste was more sour, not over done, but definitely more intense. Lightly acidic, with some lighter vanilla, oak and some dark fruits.

Despite the quick-to-leave head, the body was a lighter, almost whispy lower-medium bodied, nicely carbonated fee.

Sours are a fickle beast for me. Too sour and I can't appreciate it. One sided sours, can't appreciate. But medium sours with a lot of other complexities like this; wonderful. Thanks Herf!

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 02:33:15 | More by EgadBananas

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.03/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice rich red appearance, very thin head on it, disappeared into almost nothing in a very quicklike manner. Aroma, definitely delivered on the sour cherry aspect of the beer, you smell some virgin barrel as well, enjoyable.

Taste, wow, this is similar to Supplication. That's a good thing. Continue on, you get mild leather notes. I'm impressed. The sour and tart aspect is appropriate. Its not as puckering as balaton or schaerbeekse cherries, but they're doing the trick. Look for vanilla and I'm sure you can find it, its far from in your face.

I'm very impressed with how well this hides the alcohol. Extremely impressed. No vinegar notes, finishes pretty dry. I'd pay $20 for another bottle. . . shit we paid $42 to drink it at Falling Rock taphouse, wouldn't do that again, but would buy it at a retail place for half that price.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 23:52:22 | More by Beerandraiderfan

BeerMaverick

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Dark orange/brownish appearance with about a 1/2" of head that remains for most of the session. Unlike LC #1, this beer is opaque with a good amount of sediment preventing light from shining through.

S - Sourness is upfront and dominant with a wave of fresh fruit (mainly cherries). These two aromas compliment each other well.

T - Foreshadowed by the aroma, extremely sour/bitter with cherries and maybe some green apple. This is much more sour than LC #1 and there is no bourbon or alcohol detectable here. Some vinegar is present as well.

M - As with most wild ales, the sourness is the only aspect that remains in the aftertaste.

O - This is a fantastic wild ale (definitely one of the best I've had). This is a true staple for the style and I wish it were more easily obtained!

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 20:42:36 | More by BeerMaverick

daledeee

Iowa

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

A 750 ml bottle.

Pours a dull brown with a hint of red. Off white head but not huge.

Nose at first was spicy and some dark fruit. Then it became more yeasty. is there Brett in this? I think so.

Taste is rather on the cherry side. Not so much the darker fruit(because this is red cherries). Yeast, tartness and a sweeter finish. This beer is pretty high in alcohol for this type.

Lots of carbonated mouth feel and a not so dry finish. It is actually pretty thirst quenching.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 21:16:03 | More by daledeee

cosmicevan

New York

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Mike for busting this out at an impromtu tasting on 8/10.

a - crimson red with thin head that was gone quick.

s - funky sour cherry. lacto.

t - nice. cherries. some thickness from the barrel. booze is well integrated. some funk.

m - fairly smooth for such a big beer. full bodied.

o - overall, really tasty. thick cherry. strong and cherry. some tartness and extremely enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 02:51:46 | More by cosmicevan

claspada

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy light brown color with a fizzle of a small white head that immediately disspates. I think somethin was wrong with this bottle as there was barely a pop and it poured almost still.

Aromas begin with a lot of tart dark fruit, as well as some cherry notes. As it warms you get more of the brett funk and some oak from the barrel aging. Light caramel malt sweetness in the background.

The tastes begin with tart and sour fruit highlighted by dark cherry notes. Then you get some funkiness and Brett yeastiness with some sweet caramel and toffee malt flavors. As it warms it gets a little more complex with some tobacco and leather notes as well.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low, bordering flat carbonation. Finish is slightly dry but more sweet than tart. The sourness is low to medium, does add something to the beer.

Overall this beer was good but the still, wine-like carbonation detracts from the overall experience of this higher ABV Wild Ale. Lighter ABV Wild ales/lambics can get away with lower than normal bubbles but the caramel/sweet maltiness is a bit heavy here and makes for a slightly muddled flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 17:30:27 | More by claspada

womencantsail

California

3.48/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Hazy amber in color with a tall off-white head and high carbonation. An interesting nose. Raspberry, lemon, grass, and leather. A bit of oak and red wine vinegar, maybe some alcohol. The flavor is somewhat acetic and extremely dry. Lots of leather and oak, a bit of grass/straw, and some red wine vinegar. Lightly fruity with some lemon zest and berry notes. As with the nose, a little bit of alcohol heat. Just okay in my book.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 04:28:42 | More by womencantsail

champ103

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: There is a small pop as I pull the cork, a bit strange for the Smokestack series that normally has a big pop and good gun smoke. Pours a murky reddish/brown color. A thin, bubbly head tries to rise to a finger, but recedes to nothing.
S: Acidic, tart cherries. Vanilla, oak, light funk. Simple, but an enjoyable nose.
T: Follows the nose, with the acidic, vinegary character more apparent than the nose. Tart cherries, light oak and funk flavors.
M/D: A medium body that is very crisp and dry. Easy and enjoyable to drink.

I am glad I tried this, but a bit sub par or the Smokestack series. Tart acidic, and lightly vinegary is what you will get. Which is fine, but there are much better examples of the style. Much better Smokestack beers for that matter.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 00:22:14 | More by champ103

rfbenavi80

Missouri

3.58/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Batch 2012-2
Best by 3-2014
Poured into a tulip.

A- Pours a very murky burnt orange color with off white head that has hints of light brown and does not leave much in the lacing dept.

S- Smells tart and sour. Lots of earthy oak wood smells. Not as much bourbon smell as I expected being a bourbon barrel aged beer. Only subtle hints of bourbon.

T- Sour fruit hits the tongue first, followed by green apple tartness that makes you pucker. Finishes with a earthy oak flavor that seems to linger.

M- Medium amount of body, with a moderate amount of carbonation.

O- Slightly disappointed with this one. This goes to show you that higher price, does not equate to higher quality. Seems a tad overpriced. I expected more bourbon character.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 07:37:13 | More by rfbenavi80

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch 2012-1, BB March 2014.

Beer is murky, colour somewhere between dark orange and light brown. Moderately sized off-white head, dissipates fairly quickly. Some lacing.

Nice smell. Bourbon, oak, brett, red grape, cherry. Nose suggests a moderately sour beer.

Very interesting flavour. Bourbon, oak and vanilla blend quite nicely with sour, bretty vinegar and fruit. Mild funk. The two clearly separate elements of the beer play off each other, preventing either from dominating but melding quite well.

Full bodied, moderate carbonation, a bit puckering.

Overall, very good. I have not had anything quite like it and I think the experiment worked quite well.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 19:03:16 | More by jrenihan

homebrew311

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into Goose Island glass. Apperance is somewhat cloudy with a reddish brown color. Fizzy head upon pour dissipates rapidly to nothing. No lacing to speak of. The nose is heavy with grape skin, tart cherries, balsamic vinegar, oak, and lactic acid. Very minimal bourbon presence on the nose, maybe a tinge of vanilla. The taste is similar to the nose. Waves of fruit show up first with mild sweetness. A little bit of vanilla presence comes in with some oak mid palate. The finish becomes rather tart and dry with lingering tannins. As the beer warms, the bourbon makes itself more present on the finish with mellow vanilla sweetness and a touch of booziness. Very well balanced with a nice range of bold flavors. Mouthfeel is moderate with fizzy carbonation. Overall, this is an intriguing brew from Boulevard. I think that more bourbon barrel presence would have put this one over the top. I looks forward to future installments in this series.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 05:28:06 | More by homebrew311

draheim

Washington

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL (batch 2012-2, best before March 2014) into a tulip. Pours a slightly hazy glowing amber w/ a 1-finger off-white head.

Aroma is an intriguing blend of sour and bourbon, as expected. Part sweet, part sour. A fruity, nutty quality emerges a bit as it warms.

Taste is pleasantly tart with just a hint of grain. Sour cherries. Bourbon gives it an interesting, mellow warmth. But that grainy quality on the palate keeps me from giving this more than a 4.0.

Mouthfeel is slick, a little prickly w/ a sharp bite from the wild yeast. Oak keeps it moderately dry.

Overall an interesting sour. Maybe the first bourbon barrel aged wild ale I've had, so not much to compare to. Reminds me somewhat of Rodenbach Grand Cru. Will be interested to see how my other bottle ages over a couple of years.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 03:55:06 | More by draheim

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle opened on 7.16.12, thanks John.

A - Pours a murky brown with a large bubbled, light tan head.

S - Solid funk, somw wood, bourbon and dark fruit.

T - Dark cherry, bourbon, wood - great sour funk.

D - Good carbonation and a medium body with some nice tartness.

O - Sour, fruity, bourbon and cherry. Nice balance of flavors with the sourness.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 03:46:14 | More by HuskyinPDX

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.7/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 750ml bottle.

Pours a nice hazy amber color with some golden copper hints on the edges. A nice medium dense 1 inch head forms and begins to recede quickly down to a thin film and ring around the glass.

Starts off with some tart notes. Some leathery notes and some vinegar. Slight bourbon sweetness can be perceived on the back end with some oaky and vanilla hints. Vinous notes are present as well as some slight fruit sweetness and a very little bit of husky funk.

Flavors starts off with some good sharp tartness. My face puckered slightly. This is then followed by some slight grainy and funky notes with the expected sweet vanilla and bourbon notes form the barrels. Nice fruity sweetness is slight but intermingles well with the tart vinegar notes and some slight sharp green apple. The flavors are nice and refreshing with the tartness not being too intense or too subtle. Nice and leathery with some good background fruit sweetness and oaky vanilla notes as well. Flavor wise to me its just barely within the 5.0. As the beer warms the flavors really start to flourish and shine on their own. One of the better Blvd. beers out there. To me up there with their BBQ and their Saison-Brett. Mouthfeel is a bit light but nice and crisp.

Good brew. Sucks it was so limited. Would love to have more to age.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 22:10:32 | More by JoEBoBpr

emerge077

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 bottle served in a tulip glass. Reviewed from quick notes.

Ruddy dark amber color, reddish glints in the light. Initial head of decent size, later a thin skim of foam settles on the surface, leaving behind a delicate ring of lace around the edges of the glass.

Lightly acetic, cherry pits and skins, light wet barrel and vanilla traces, no overt bourbon.

Fruit forward, tart and savory with woody oak, vanilla, dark cherry skin, citrus peel and grape skin tannins. Round feel, smooth and savory lingering into the finish. Medium bodied and vinous, with light effervescent carbonation, very supple and easy drinking. Reminds me of a young La Folie blended with lambic. Enjoyed it, would try again if there was a wider release in the future, but not exactly stocking up.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 14:41:08 | More by emerge077

Chirpie

Kansas

3.73/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

For a while, I was wondering if I was loving every smokestack beer just because it came from my hometown heroes.

Well, I suppose you can't hit a home run every time.

This wasn't a cheap beer. ($17 a bottle was the lowest I ever spotted) For good reason. It was created with blended beers as old as four years and they didn't release a lot of bottles (although I never heard the specific count.)

I uncorked it (750ml) and poured it into a tulip.

Now maybe it's because I haven't had much exposure with sour beers, but I was relieved to read others say that the flavor direction of this beer seems to be lacking a compass. I must agree emphatically with that observation.

Aside from a bit of barrel aging and sour, it felt like a psychedelic hodgepodge of flavors. You know how you ask a person their opinion about something and they say, "It's interesting." and then you know damn well they were a little let down? Yeah, that was me.

The mouthfeel in particular felt like, I kid you not, flat soda?

I don't want to rag on this brew too much because there were a lot of other things I did enjoy. The smell was great, the appearance handsome in color. But the taste didn't have me running back to the store when I was told they had more in stock.

Let's try that Saison-Brett from Boulevard instead and see what that holds...

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 20:53:08 | More by Chirpie

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

thanks to egrace84 for sharing this bottle of beer! Thanks elliot!

poured into tulip.

reviewed from notes taken 7/17/12.

Appearance: Golden yellow bodied beer with a small cap of off-white head. Drops to no head.

Smell: Tart, vinegar, oak, and red fruits.

Taste: tart lemons and cherries. vinegar is moderate. Oaky and rathy notes. Finishes with a mellow lingering tartness.

Mouthfeel: light end of medium bodied beer with low to moderate carbonation. Clean, crisp carbonation. Nice level of sour in this beer that is really approachable!

Overall: I really love the boulevard smokestack beers for the quality and decent price point. This beer is no exception! Dont pass a bottle of this beer up if you are yet to try it!

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2012 23:03:12 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT