Boulevard Tell-Tale Tart

What is very witty about replacing one word with another obvious word that rhymes. Unless I'm missing the connection between the beer and the short story, it's the furthest thing from clever

 

I wasn't going to mention it, but I picked up this strange after taste while drinking it as well. I really wanted to like this beer, but I ultimately had to realize it was just not that good.

 

Someone just reviewed this and said "a nice summer tart"

I can't..

 

Doesn't matter. It's not a good beer.

 

Yes, I guess I thought it was clever to make a literary reference rather than, say, replacing one word with the word hops.

 

I find it very interesting that folks in Kansas City lose their minds for Boulevard while it sits on the shelves in my market (Atlanta). But some of those releases are worth losing one's mind over--especially Bourbon Barrel Quad and the most recent Imperial Stout X - Coffee (we're still waiting for Aztec Chocolate). As for the lines for Chocolate Ale, well...let's just say that I don't quite understand. It does seem to be quite a bit better on draft than out of the bottle, however.

It's very nice to see such support for Boulevard from its home market, however. Of the major Georgia breweries with wide distribution, there's only a similar level of excitement for Terrapin, and that's largely limited to their Reserve series.

 

Yeah I remember the beer guy at a store in Joplin telling me guys would drive down from KC ( 100 miles )& empty his shelves of Chocolate Ale ( I never saw why ).

 

while it is a good beer, most of the people in kc that go nuts over chocolate ale are not beer nerds, but instead just normal folks who revere Chris Elbow and/or buy the beer mostly for a novelty/decoration

 

Rye on Rye is a great beer!

 

And that's an important point. Christopher Elbow is not a name that someone living in ATL is going to recognize (well, not me at least). But he and his chocolate means something to folks in Kansas City, so good on Boulevard for being responsive to those interests.

 

I like the name but it is hard to say.

 

I'll agree there. Hop puns have run their course, but this is a beer where hope are nearly absent, so I undo my agreement

 

To clarify, though, while I'm close-ish to KC, I'm actually closer to Tulsa. Not the home market, but one they always do quite well in (I'm basing that off Joplin, which is where I have to go to get anything of note.)

 

As @satisfied1013 pointed out, the reason Chocolate Ale is so bonkers in the KC market is all about the people who don't usually buy craft beer. The same exact thing happened with the recent Crown Town Ale, which was an allusion to the Kansas City Royals' 2014 season. In both cases, you have people who want the bottles because of their love for something other than beer, be it Christopher Elbow chocolates or the KC Royals.

The interesting thing about Chocolate Ale is that even with the madness of buying bottles in Kansas City, it's relatively easy to enjoy on tap during the time of year it's available. Tons of restaurants and bars get it all across the metro area, and people don't have the same mad rush for tappings of the beer because you can't take a glass of Chocolate Ale home to your significant other as a Valentine's Day gift. I've always preferred it on tap anyway--I think you get a lot more of the cocoa and milk chocolate flavor profiles that make it unique from say a chocolate stout or porter.