Boulevard American Kolsch

To be clear, the mint quality isn't terribly strong and I wasn't sure what I was getting, "Is that mint?" After I finished my review I checked the Boulevard site for ingredient info and saw that they also mention mint, so I wasn't surprised.

As to descriptions, are they all rock solid? Remember, they're also interpretations just like tasting reviews.

 

I stand corrected,

from the Blonde Ale page
Description:
More or less a creation from the craft-brewery movement, and also reminiscent of the German style Kölsch.

 

I have never gotten mint out of Magnum, Tradition, or Saaz in my Homebrews. Haven't used Saphir, yet.

Mint? Northern Brewer has that, as does its daughter Perle. The YCH page says Northern Brewer has mint, but nor Perle. So yes, the discriptions are just a write up of opinions. Your or my experience might be different.

 

Keep in mind that hops can produce different flavors depending on other aspects of the beer, like yeast and things that effect yeast like temperature, nutrients, etc., the water profile or malts used might also effect the hops. There is also some variablility between the location that the hops are grown.

 

I'm well aware of the location having an influence on a hop varieties flavor. Yeast biotransformations usually give floral and perfume like notes in the aroma.

Hopefully @TheJermis will give some guidance on the mint.

 

I think it also says mint in the aroma for NB. The mint I picked up was in the mid-flavor profile.

Looking at my review, it was so light that I didn't even mention it -- I'm guessing it started to come out in warming.

 

Only 4.6 ABV? Sounds amazing. Sadly, basically all well-known Kölsch breweries stick to the typical 4.8 abv. The only exceptions I can think of right now are Hellers Kölsch with 4.5 abv and Stecken Kölsch with 4.7...

 

Looking forward to trying it. I love Boulevard and the older I get the more I am searching out sub 5% ABV beers

 

Hey, everyone. Just catching up on this read and reading notes/questions about the hint of mint in American Kolsch. The tasting notes we share for our beers are based on notes written by folks participating in tasting panel. When specific flavors/aromas are consistently called out by our internal tasters, we include them in the notes. It's not necessarily based on descriptions of individual raw materials, but rather the beer as a whole.

 

When I first tasted the character I thought I was mistaking it for something else, but then I saw it on the Boulevard web page and guessed I was only half crazy.

 

Thanks. My question was where did it come from. Sometimes it is easy to figure out, i.e. Northern Brewer or Perle hops. Sometimes not easy to figure out.

 

I liked this beer. For me, it's one of the better American Kolsch beers available to me, but not quite my favorite. I found it to be well-rounded but a little lacking in character. But having said that:

In my case the Boulevard Kolsch appeared in only two stores and the six packs were already at the end of their freshness date... so I don't have fresh Boulevard Kolsch for the time being. My reaction about the beer lacking a little character might partially be a result of the age of my cans.