Linkin' Up Hop Dust
Boulevard Brewing Co.

 

Now that I have begun really diving into the Bottle backlog here at Chez Woody, I am unstoppable! Yes, it means suspending The CANQuest (tm) for the moment, but the thought of being rid of these pesky bottles for once & for all is so heartening that I almost do not have words. This is a break in the Tavour action, but you'll soon see why.

From the Bottle: "Linkin' Up Hop Dust India Pale Ale; "[Collaboration with] Zip Line Brewing Co."; "47 IBUs".

I Pop!ped the cap & decided to go with a slow, gentle C-Line pour since the hour was growing late & I was definitely feeling the day's effects. The last thing that I wanted was to clean up a mess. I was rewarded with two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with decent retention slowly falling away, but leaving nice lacing behind. Color was Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5) with NE-quality clarity & as such, the Gelt Gang of Midas, Croesus & Mammon stumbled into my kitchen for a taste. Nose held a jazzy admixture of pine, citrus, tropical fruit & bready malt. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but big for an AIPA. The taste was interesting in that the pine was definitely there, but it was a tropical fruit bubble gum quality that dominated! It was actually quite tasty. I have gone off of tropical fruit-only AIPAs, but when the brewery cycles in citrus or pine hops or both, it really tends to get my attention. Yum! Finish was semi-dry to dry, but very tasty throughout. What a great buy, find & remembering on my part! YMMV.

 

 

 

12 oz bottle poured into Stella glass. A collaboration between a local brewery from Lincoln, NE and Boulevard from KC.

Beautiful orange-yellow glow, has just the right amount of opacity for its style. Head is tall, off-white, and mega creamy. 3 fingers I'm counting. Recedes to a finger but not without destroying the glass first.

Aroma...is this Zombie Dust? Whoa! Just tons of great FRESH, DUSTY hop aromas. All I can say is that it reminds me of ZD. It has grassy, orange-y rind, very slight metal, slight melon, faint hints of onion but not too strong, fresh juniper/sage. I would guess Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe.

Flavor is likewise explosive. I can taste some slight fading, but it's not too obtrusive at this point. Orange rind, apricot, pineapple, melon, dank, pepper, grass, juniper.

Feel is carbonated, somewhat starchy, nice presence overall. Slightly acidic. Hop resins cling but aren't bothersome.

Overall, this is like Todd and ZD had a baby. I'm not kidding. Just because one of the "big boys" made it, people don't regard it as highly. I think it's a sleeper... Highly recommended.

Pours a hazy gold color. 5/4 inch of an off-white color. Great retention and decent lacing. Smells of piney hops, floral hops, pale malt, hint of citrus, and a hint of alcohol. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is sharp and clean, with an average carbonation level. There is only a slight bitterness. Tastes of piney hops, floral hops, pale malt, hint of citrus, and a hint of alcohol. Overall, good, but simple and leaves you wanting just a little more.

 

 

Hazy and yellow, this brew has a foamy white head. The aroma is full of citrus-like hops and mixed fruit. The taste is dry-ish, with loads of continued fruit flavors. It is not an exaggeration to call the beer 'juicy'. Flavorful and interesting. Wonderful.

12oz bottle into Nonic Pint
BB 10/4/18
Slightly opaque gold with thin white head
Smells exactly how i would imagine hop dust to smell piney, citrusy, along with sticky sweet honey
Smooth toasted malt, followed by melon, cucumber, with a honey boozy finish
The feel is refreshing clean bright, with a touch of booze as well
Overall this is liquid pleasure, perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of malt, and the hops being showcased front and center.

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a Shaker pint glass, "best by" date "04OCT2018".

APPEARANCE: pours a beautiful, hazy, light gold color with one-finger white head that slowly dissipated until a thin, unbroken layer of small bubbles remained.

SMELL: brown sugar, bread and pine resin, there is some citrus, maybe pineapple, fairly assertive to the nose.

TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially sweet pineapple citrus and bread then a piney hop blast.

PALATE: medium body and carbonation.

OVERALL: this is an outstanding beer, I enjoyed this and will definitely have it again, I will recommend this to my friends, it will appeal to anyone who enjoys the style, a collaboration between two of the areas best brewers is a huge win for everyone.

 

Pale gold, sleight head. Aroma has some nice mango / guava notes, cajoling & tropical. Taste follows-up on that with a little melon rind, and a mild bitterness at the end. Good, if not adventurous.

This is something that neither brewery should walk away from each summer. Well done.