Collaboration No. 3 - Stingo - Boulevard Brewing Co.

ncfranklin

Alabama

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750mo cork & caged. I've never had a "stingo" before, so here we go.

A: Rusty dark brown pours with a small finger frothy tan head. Thick and very hazy.

S: What an odd aroma. Roasty aromas, biscuit, light chocolate? Fitting of the dark color.

T: Very curious beer. Rich and malt up front. A middle of some biting grassy english hops is present, and this odd sourlike tartness in the finish. The blending here is very good, as the flavors aren't overpowered by any other.

M: Medium body, but it's surprisingly crisp. Dry finish.

O: Well, a "stingo" has a little sting... and a lot of o. Malty, tart, bitter, it's kinda all over the place. Enjoyable however in depth.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 01:04:01 | More by ncfranklin

Ilafan

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer has a light lattice and head that lasts an okay amount of time. As for smell, it is faint. But I detect an almost cheap brandy kind of smell. That probably says more about me than the actual beer. As for taste, it is sour. There is a distinct lack of bitte beer hops, and it could use some. It is pretty sour in the aftertaste, but it does have a touch of some burnt coffee to it. Overall, it is okay.

Serving type: on-tap

08-19-2012 23:15:52 | More by Ilafan

inandon

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour - Dark chestnut brown. Lacey white head that leaves a thin rim about the glass.

Smell - heavy caramel, coffee, with a hint of chocolate reminds me of almost a stout.

Taste - GOOD! Light on the tongue, notes of coffee. The description on the bottom "a hint of tartness against a rich, malty background"

Another win for boulevard. Seems like a great mix with Pretty Things. Definitely something to pick up unless you hate coffee beers.

Serving type: on-tap

08-19-2012 20:35:02 | More by inandon

chugalug06

Colorado

3.15/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Five-finger, off white, soapy head rises and falls fast. Brew is hazy redish copper with lots of brown. Not overly impressive.

No hop profile. Very malty and lots of caramel. Nothing complex or intriguing.

Very papery and wet feeling. Smooth and not sugary. No roughness or feel of heat. Bitterness brings along some dryness too. Hops are nonexistent.. Pretty bland.

Very underwhelming. Not impressive. Not recommended.

I expected A LOT more from this collaboration..

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 21:24:17 | More by chugalug06

RuckusDu

Colorado

3/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - a larger two fingers of interesting light mocha colored head. Body is cloudy and a deep amber with some purple.

S - Pretty standard. Dark, dried fruits of prunes and raisins. Some lightness to it like an earthy-greeness. Some malts and caramel.

T - Not my style. Weird dried fruits again and some cranberry. A noticeable hop on the finish. Some Indian spices.

M - Nice carbonation and the body holds up well. The downside is a taste/feel on the back of my mouth that just says, yuck.

O - It's a beer. Not something I really enjoy, but maybe others do. I'm a big fan of Boulevard, but this one is too out there.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 19:08:10 | More by RuckusDu

rfbenavi80

Missouri

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch 2012-1. Best by 3-2013. Poured into a tulip. Enjoyed with a friend.

A- Pours a dark brown, with caramel colored highlights. It has 3 fingers of khaki colored head that has a ton of staying power and leaves some nice lacing on the glass. Off to a good start.

S- Very malty on the nose. Russpowell hit the aroma on the head when he said butterscotch that is not overpowering with a hint of molasses.

T- Does not follow the nose exactly, but the flavors are great. Molasses, rich dark malty flavors, with a finish that is akin to sweetened creamed coffee.

M- Solid medium body, moderate amount of carbonation. Slight warming feel from the ABV.

O- Sad this will only be brewed once. A mighty tasty beer.

O-

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 10:00:17 | More by rfbenavi80

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.05/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 2012- opens with a slight pop, pours an effervescent caramel/chestnut with 3+ fingers of khaki colored head. Amazing heaad retention & lacing

S: Butterscotch, oak, much cakeyness

T: Cakeyness, woody & herbal notes, dryness, some pear notes up front. Cakeyness with some sourmash as this warms, plenty of dryness,some pears & green apples too. Finishes dry, woody, slightly fruitty & a touch sour

MF: Fairly chewy, slight carbonation, boozey & warming

Not a bad effort, this beer will go down a bit easier on a January night than now. If you like a big beer with some twang, this is a beer for you. Well worth a try, will age well I'm sure

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 02:27:40 | More by russpowell

zeff80

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear, dark burgundy color with a three-finger, tan head of bubbly foam. The fairly long lasting head left rings of sticky lace on the glass.

S - It smelled malty with some tart fruity notes. A mild floral aroma, too.

T - It tasted slightly nutty with sweet toffee and caramel. The tart fruity flavor is very mild.

M - It was crisp and smooth. A full-bodied beer that felt a little heavy.

O - This is a really tasty beer, but I should really be shared. It's quite a big tasting beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 01:06:09 | More by zeff80

TheCondor

Missouri

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed on tap at Hats off to Homebrewers at the Amigoni Urban Winery as well as in a bottle. For the purposes of this review, I will go with the on tap review.

Appearance - Nice and black, with a two finger beige head that dominates the presentation. Cool labeling, awesome concept behind the brew.

Smell - Subdued but excellent. A lot like a porter but much more complex. Dark fruits, big Brady and biscuity malts, Caramel, toffee, And awesomeness. Excellent smell.

Taste - Follows the nose in complexity and quality. Toasty dark breads, malts, hints of dark fruit, and finally a touch of hops. Outstanding layered taste

Mouthfeel - Finishes smooth like a porter with a rich, creamy body, smooth finish, medium carbonation.

Overall - This is a highly recommended, superb beer. Never had a stingo or an English strong ale, but I love this beer. I have drank a unusually high volume of it, oh well. Get with a friend from Kansas City and have them get you this beer ASAP. You won't regret it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-12-2012 04:07:16 | More by TheCondor

mdcrouser

Missouri

4.48/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Looks outstanding - dark chocolate brown beer sits beneath 2+ fingers of frothy creamy tan head. Looks solid, without being intimidating.

Yum - smells especially English. Dark fruits, sugar, yeasty bread. Like walking into a great restaurant, with smells hitting your nose independently and in waves.

Big fruits, singing through a malty breadiness and molasses, lingering in the mouth for minutes afterwards. Hoppiness follows woodsy, with grassiness and pine. I'm picking up just a hint of the tartness noted. Wow, that's good. Strong, but subtle.

Tingling on the tongue, not quite stinging as the name would imply, but close. Sticky to close, filling the back of the throat - figgy pudding, perhaps? Would pair well with a side of it, for sure.

Though not a favorite style of mine, this is an outstandingly good beer - I'm going to enjoy all of it. Should've bought a second.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2012 02:14:47 | More by mdcrouser

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Two great breweries, collabing together to make something interesting, I hope it's good.

Pours a 1.5 finger fluffy head that fades semi slowly with nice lines of lacing, super dark molasses brown colored beer with hints of ruby light.

Nose starts with lots of dark malts, biscuit malts, brown slight toasty, caramel, toffee, molasses, little syrupy sweet candy, and a bit nutty. Then Some herbal hops, earthy and little grassy, typical of English bitter and very typical of Pretty Things. As it warms a hint of mocha comes through, and just a touch of booze.

Taste comes through smoothly, more porter like than expected, with rich brown and dark malts, a little biscuit and toasty brown malts, lots of fluffy caramel and toffee, fairly nutty, and plenty of molasses candy. There is a light candi sugar like sweetness as well with a decent booze kick, light esters and even a slight fusel alcohol. The hops come again with the earthy herbal UK style Pretty Things like hops, with a decent bitterness and herbal grassy flavor. There is also a light fruity taste, part from esters, and parts from the other additions, with hints of fig and raisin, and some tart like flavors. Finish is a bit drier but still fairly sweet, some warming almost fusel booze, lots of candy and syrupy flavors with molasses, caramel, toffee, nutty flavors lingering.

mouth is med to a bit fuller richer bodied, lighter but decent carb, plenty of warming booze.

Overall OK but not great, nice malts very rich and tasty, but the typical UK style hops I don't really like, and quite boozy tasting. The fruits and tartness were another interesting additions.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 02:52:37 | More by jlindros

Dope

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Batch 2012-1. Best by 03/2013. Just released a week or two ago.

A: Pours a dark brown with a big fluffy tan head. Fades reasonaly slowly, leaving pretty decent lacework behind.

S: A bit of toasted bread with a hint of nuts. Kind of tart smelling, bringing a bit of dark fruit with it.

T: Lots of toasted dark bread. A little bit of a tart element in the middle with some lactic quality. Ends nutty with a bit of toffee. Cocoa and nuts linger in the aftertaste.

M: Medium bodied, a little drying.

O: Very unusual brew. Never had a Stingo before. It's a malty english-style ale very near a brown ale but not quite enough toasted malt and nuttiness; there is that odd lactic sourness in the middle too. The overall aroma and flavor is actually quite subdued for 8.5%. It tastes and smells like a 5% mildly sour brown ale is the best way I can describe it.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2012 02:23:34 | More by Dope

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The liquid is brown and a bit cloudy. Huge head that dissipates slowly, leaving plenty of lacey foam on the glass.

Smells like toasted bread. There's a little bit of semi-sweet chocolate in the nose as well.

A little more semi-sweet cocoa to the flavor than in the smell. There's a bit of sourness. Good hop finish which makes the aftertaste reminiscent of a Brown Ale. Neutral body and carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 00:10:19 | More by smcolw

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Split a 750 ml poured into a Pretty Things glass.

A: pours a beautiful dark brown with two fingers of slightly browned head that dissapate slowly and leavs some beautiful lacing.

S: dark breadyness, light notes of chocolate, caramel, toffee and coffee, a slight Belgian soapyness, and as the beer warms I begin to pick up on the slight tartness described on the label. There is a nice nuttyness to the aroma as well.

T: the tartness is deffinatly more present in the flavor profile, adding slight notes of tart apple/pear and hints of cherry. The backbone is deliciously malty. I also get a light bannana note, I'm assuming from the yeast. The backbone is dark bread, and a beautiful nuttyness, deffinatly reminds me of a brown ale, along with notes of chocolate, coffee, caramel And toffe. This is deffinatly a unique and delicious brew. Beautifully complex and well balanced.

M: medium body with a creamy mouthfeel and sharp medium carbonation that stings the tounge towards the finish. A touch dry on the finish with a slightly tart aftertaste.

O: this is a very unique and delicious beer. Wonderfully complex and well balanced, refreshing and malty. Reminds me very much of a delicious brown ale with a touch of tartness thrown in. Very awesome.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 03:46:57 | More by PeterIngemi

CheezyBlaster

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Stingo! I was excited to hear that two of my favorite brewers would be working together. But a stingo?

Rich, dark brown pour, fluffy two fingers of off-white. Just looks great.

Smells like mild coffee, sort of sour, dairy-sour, some obvious brown ale characteristics as well. Smells like a calm, wild brown ale.

Tart, lactic, mildly creamy, burnt sugar, hazelnut, root beer candy. Everything is soft-spoken too, which I found odd for something this robust in abv.

Mouthfeel is actually quite light, and a tad drying. No idea that this is 8.5%.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 19:15:08 | More by CheezyBlaster

sjverla

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nose: Really awesome. Coffee, toffee and sugar wafers. Some hints of caramel and dark fruit. Bready yeast and a hint of spice.

Appearance: Hazy chocolate-mahogany with about a quarter-inch of frothy head.

Taste: It's immediately tart, but gives was to roasty coffee and chocolate. The alcohol is prominent and appropriately "stingy" but not overwhelming. A mildly bitter finish mixes with lingering tartness.

Overall: Nicely done twist on an old and novel style.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 01:30:36 | More by sjverla