Crust Fall
Boulevard Brewing Co.

One last can of this. If I'm reading the date correctly, it was canned on 9/18/20 with a best by date of 4/15/21. Yes, it is out of date, but I will be using prior tasting notes here. 16 oz can poured into a tulip.

Look - Deep, blood orange color with a strong orange-wide head. A little effervescent, lacy.

Smell - Very fruity. Mostly peach, but also hints of blackberry, malty pie crust, and even white grape. It does remind me of a sweet wine.

Taste - It's decently tart but not quite as much as one would expect. The peach is predominant, followed by the dark berries and the maltiness of the crust. It's fairly sweet, like the pie it's advertising.

Feel - It's not a heavy one. It has a medium body, not overwhelming, It does have a decent stickiness like a good dessert, rounded out by the starch from the malts. It lingers a little. A little crisp and warming, but still easy to drink.

It was a very enjoyable 4-pack that never disappointed. It's a wild one.

 

A: hazy; blood orange in color; 1 finger very pale orange head that receded to a wispy cap; nice lacing;

S: funk with peach and blackberry in the background;

T: white peach comes through clearly, with blackberry and blueberry noticeable in the background; mild tartness throughout;

M: light to medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: easy drinking; dangerously smooth; would have liked a bit more tartness;

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: Berliner Weissbier
Glass: Monks House of Ale 12-oz. tulip
Price: $3.00
From: Trader Joe’s in College Area (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Dec. 3, 2020
Consumed: Jan. 10, 2021
Misc.: Collaboration with Rhinegeist; Canned on Sept. 21, 2020; Best by April 19, 2021

Grabbed this on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. Boulevard’s website called it “Crust Fall is an Imperial Berliner-Style Weisse Ale with additions of peach, blackberry, blueberry, and vanilla. To craft this recipe we invited our good friends from Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati, OH to collaborate with us. Their love of both high-quality beer and pie made them the ideal partners for a venture such as this one. This Peach Berry Pie Sour tastes and smells like…wait for it…a fresh-baked pie with a filling of peaches and tart berries. Crisp and slightly tart, the beer pours garnet red with a white frothy head. The beer opens with aromas of freshly sliced peaches followed by waves of juicy berry aroma and flavor. On the back end of each sip there is a lingering presence of toasted pie crust, a flavor we create using both honey malt and biscuit malt. Apologies to your grandma, but this is about to be your favorite pie.”

Poured a medium copper/garnet color with two fingers of khaki-white frothy head. Could see a few bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Below average watery lacing. Decent filmy retention. (Sight - 3.50)

Smelled big peach, blackberry, blueberry, purple grape, black cherry and plum. Just as good out of the can. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted even better than the nose. Damn this was good. Got peach, blackberry, blueberry, purple grape, plum, black cherry and cinnamon. Smooth for 7.5 pct. ABV. (Taste - 4.50)

Medium body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, sweet finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Wow. This was a great beer. Glad I picked up a can. (Overall - 4.50)

4.38 | 97 | A

 

 

16oz can

This one knocked it out tha' park. An Imperial Berliner-Style Weisse Ale with obscene amounts of fruit added. The peach and blackberry stand out the most, but I'm picking up all types of berry, everything just slightly sour. (This could have been an acid-bomb and I'm delighted to find out it isn't.) Thankfully there is plenty of mild biscuit malt to catch all this fruit juice and act as a bed for it to sit and mellow out upon. Actually tastes like the mentioned pie.... rare marketing job these days that doesn't just outright lie to the customer

Balance folks; easy to talk about, almost impossible to create. In context of this topic and sour beers, this is world-class: fruited and sour but supremely drinkable. I could hand this to my Grandma or my cousin with the beard to the knees, both would get down wit it

Dark brown in color with a half inch of creamy brown on top. Heavy, soapy, lacing. The aroma is of peach, blueberries, blackberries, pale wheat, and lactobacillius. I taste tart blackberries, peach, blueberries, and lactobacillius. The mouth is moderately carbonated, crisp, and dry.

Poured from can in goblet glass, clear amber with thick white head. Berry or peach, or maybe a frozen smoothie bar in the aroma. Taste followed the nose, big bold notes of peach/berry smoothie with a tart finish. Medium bodied and crisp. Very nice offering.

16 oz can, dated...no date. Into Boulevard Smokestack tulip snifter.
Rhinegeist & Boulevard collab.
Purchased in Nashville, Tennessee.
Really surprised we didn't get this in South Dakota. Boulevard, and all.

Pours a really saturated deep tea color, much darker than expected, with a tall white cap of 2 fingers, leaving lacing in skirts as it dies down to a finger.

Aroma from the can is frozen fruit bar, maybe frozen yogurt bar (I can't decide, it's a little of both). Aroma from the glass brings those aromas plus some rich grain, sparkling wine, and pie crust. Smelling a bit like Rhinegeist's secret-cider-masquerade flops, but with some saving grace perhaps from Boulevard.

Flavor, holy shit!! This was unexpected! A beautiful realistic peach pie flavor comes forward, along with smashed ripe blueberries and blackberries, and ice cream. It's like having peach cobbler with ice cream and topping it with perfectly ripe berries. There's elements of sour intertwined but they can be easily mistaken for/attributed towards the natural sourness of the berries. Some slight wine cooler Rhinegeist bullshit on the back end, but it fades quick. This is freaking solid stuff.

Feel is medium bodied, busy with carbonation, a bit too starchy, with mild to moderate alcohol heat (acceptable at 7.5%), and some slight acidity. The cling on the finish feels like frogs in your throat (but in your mouth, but gets stuck in your throat as well).

Overall, had I known this was so good, I woulda walked out with a 4 pack instead of a single. Very tasty beer. It's a shame we didn't get it here, because I guarantee some of it would still be around. Definitely not a typical berliner, mostly used as a base, but the buyer should expect that upon seeing the beer's printed ABV.

Price paid : $3.99 / can
Would buy again : yup

 

 

 

 

16oz can. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy sheets of lace on the glass. It smelled so fruity and tart. Peach, blackberry and blueberry aromas. Sweet fruity taste with lots of peach and blackberry. Tart bite and a little vanilla taste.

 

Best by 4/19/21

This one sounded weird as a concept, but honestly that's what drew me to it. I enjoy all things weird, so why not go for this?

Pours a murky brownish orange with 2 finger of off white head that slowly settles to a cap and leaves minimal lacing

I'm definitely getting a dessert-y, peach cobbler vibe from the nose. Lots of pureed peach, cinnamon, tart blueberries, white grape, and a light lactic sourness

The taste up front is a nice blend of jammy tart blackberries and sweet peaches. The swallow, however, brings an overly sweet pie crust with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, only counterbalanced by a subtle tart blueberry character. Kinda all over the place flavor wise

A medium body is carried by assertive carbonation that leads to a beer that's a tad too sweet. Drinks lighter than the abv, but it still finishes too sticky

I'd say this one was sufficiently weird. It was a good concept but I think the balance is quite off in the flavor and feel. It didn't really feel like a berliner. Still, not an awful beer