2014 Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ)

Don't they have the year on the front label?

 

I enjoy this beer, typically I usually let it sit around for about 3 months before I crack open. I might have a 13 in the cellar, not even sure any more. It's a nice problem to have.

 

Didn't look, bought em in July, guess I need to check again.

 

Is this available in Philadelphia now that they are distributing here?

 

It may be. I bought a bottle as part of the dinner. Not sure when it'll be on the shelves.

 

It is already on the shelves in Philadelphia. Bought one for 19ish early last week in rittenhouse.

 

Did you drink it? How was it?

 

What's that extra B for?!

 

I'd be curious to hear any initial thoughts on the 2014 version. I loved batch 1, but haven't bought any since the "soured" versions, which I didn't enjoy at all. If it's back to what it was, I'll be on the lookout!

 

That's a typo

 

Haven't cracked it open yet. I typically don't go for quads but I knew boulevard was just coming into Philly and heard good things about the BBQ before.

 

Recently had a bottle of 13 & felt the same way...

 

There were no "soured" batches of BBQ. Boulevard had an infection issue with Imperial Stout a couple years ago, but never with BBQ. It is partially aged on cherries, so some fruitiness/tartness is natural and to be expected.

Personally, I've always thought BBQ is a little hot when fresh--this year's is no different. The bourbon character is definitely not shy, but it works well with the cherries and Belgian yeast imho. I prefer it fresh (2-3 mos) to having it with any significant age (close to a year or more).

 

That is incorrect. There's a huge difference between 'tart cherries' & 'blech, get this the hell away from me' infection.

The first batch was a thing of beauty, while some of the bottles from the second batch (2010? 2011?) were horrifyingly sour. It was right around the time of the Imperial Stout problem. Just like the stout, the issue wasn't with every bottle, so I suspect the root causes were similar.

 

I'm not saying that tart cherries = infection. I'm saying a lot of people jump to the infection conclusion prematurely. Boulevard has consistently admitted to and reported infection issues with their beers. Imperial Stout (2011) and Chocolate Ale (2012), and they have even specifically noted that BBQ wasn't infected. You may remember this thread:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/infected-2011-bourbon-barrel-quad.182984/#post-2466208

And here's another one:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...ck-limited-release-beers.101630/#post-1496547

All that said, in fairness, you didn't say that your BBQ was infected in your original post. You said it was soured, which would potentially fit with what Boulevard has said about that beer, given that they blend in a small portion of sour beer at bottling to accent the acidity of the cherries.

 

Oh yeah, I have no problem at all with Boulevard, they seem to be quite up-front with whatever issues they've had in the past. And now that you brought up that old post, I vaguely recall the 'mixing' of sour beer...but unless they dumped a half-ton of sour beer into the batch, I just never believed that the beer I drank was done intentionally, because of the wild difference between the two batches for me: one an "A", one an "F".

And if it was intentional, well, I'll know to keep staying away! I'm going to keep an eye on the current reviews to see what can be seen.

 

If it matters, I opened a bottle of it on Friday and it wasn't at all sour.

 

Bourbon Barrel Quad has always had a very small percentage of sour beer blended in to promote/enhance the acidity from the tart cherries added during aging. The tart cherries are added in the form of an aseptic puree so there are not any bugs/yeast present on them. Beginning with the 2013 batch of Bourbon Barrel Quad, barrel aged beers (with the exception of Love Child beers) are being pasteurized so any live bugs/yeast would have been eliminated before bottling. If you're holding a bottle of BBQ from before 2013, it's highly likely that yeast/bacteria have been working away in the bottle creating funk/acidity. BBQ bottled from 2013 should not develop any wild yeast/bacteria character during aging.

 

Fresh BBQ should have not been sour. If it was an older bottle of any of the pre-2013 releases, however, it is quite possible the sour portion could have taken over your bottle. I had a fresh 2012 (I think) and then a year-old 2012 (again, I think) next year. It was the most dramatic 12-month difference in any beer I have ever seen. Fresh it tasted like a hybrid barrel-aged quad/barrel-aged barleywine. Aged, it was like an imperial Flemish sour with the acidity of lambic.

Since they now pasteurize the beer, you won't have to worry about any bottles developing any additional sourness.

 

Also, I think it's worth pointing out that the manner in which Boulevard uses cherries has varied over the years. Sometimes they add the cherry/cherry puree in the barrels; other batches they add it during primary fermentation. The percentage of barreled beer has also changed. I recall the earliest batches having a much higher percentage of fresh (barrel-free) beer blended in, similar to Rye-on-Rye and Imperial Stout.


Anyway, this has hit my neck of the woods and I already bought one bottle. Looking forward to drinking this once again, it's been a while.