Tasting Room Series: Belgian-Style IPA
Boulevard Brewing Co.

 

This one pours a very cloudy umber color with a rich long lived head that settles very slowly and leaves a complex lacing down the glass.

The nose is floral hops with hints of pepper and bread.

The taste is very bitter hops that will need to be more balanced to be good the taste is not very clean either.

The mouthfeel is rich and better that expected with the unbalanced flavors.

Overall an OK beer, but not great.

From a single into a spieglau ipa glass, pours a bright but hazy tangerine with a big bright white 3 finger head that subsides to a thin crown that is there 5 minutes later...great lacing. Nose of candied orange peel, a little aspirin, some coriander and light bready malts. Hitting the tongue, this isn't quite as promising: kind of bitter but also more bready malts, the citrus disappears, and there's a constant echo of the aspirin...it also just isn't all that interesting. Very crisp feel and fairly high carb, but it kind of works for me. This one is fairly good but not terribly special.

 

 

 

 

 

The Belgo-IPA from Boulevard is a solid beer. It poured a hazy golden with white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent has Belgian spice with hints of pine and citrus. The taste is nicely balanced with Belgian flare being dominate and finishes bitter. The Mouthfeel is medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a very nice Belgian ipa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheat, banana and clove heavy. More Belgian than IPA, lacks much in the way of citrus hops. Balance is not quite there as previously mentioned the Belgian dominates.

A: Pours a soft and fluffy head with a copper body. Clean in appearance. Head lasts ~7 minutes.

Sm: Aroma brings citrusy fruit and floral hops with pale malts balancing it all out. Fresh and inviting, albeit standard.

T: Follows the aroma. Generally well balanced, albeit unremarkable.

Mf: Overcarbonated. Crisp. Somewhat soft. A biteen oily. Medium-bodied. Somewhat refreshing.

O: A competent IPA from Boulevard with little to no overt Belgian influence. I don't know if they banked on Belgian yeast and it didn't pan out in any obvious way, or what. Like most beers from Boulevard, this is drinkable and absolutely worth trying at its price point. I'm glad 3 bottles came in the 12-pack, and I'd love to see this be offered year round, even if it isn't a unique or special expression of the (ostensible) style.

Low B- (3.32) / WORTHY

Appearance: Nice burnt golden color with a thick light tan head that's bubbly and fluffy. The body is mildly hazy and shows no carbonation what so ever.

Smell: Hops, spices, grapefruit, coriander, lemon zest and a few grassy notes.

taste: Hops up front quickly followed by Belgian yeasts, bready flavors and a light orange zest in the aftertaste.

Feel: light to medium bodied leaning towards medium but not quite there.
Overall this is a pretty good Belgian IPA, don't pass this one up if you see it. These Belgian IPA, I think, are a great gateway to stronger IPAs, I'd certainly recommend it to someone trying to get used to IPAs in general.

Poured from a 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is a slightly cloudy golden amber with a large off-white head. The aroma is big on yeast and citrus with some hops. The taste is hoppy with citrus. A really good IPA.