Tried another IPA last week. The Boulevard Single Wide IPA. A very interesting beer in my opinion compared to the others I've had.
Any of you tried it?
Review of Boulevard Single Wide IPAPackaging
The package has a nice retro look to it. The fonts are thick and the colors are somewhat muted, giving this look a bit of a classic 1970’s style to it. The image on the front reminds me of those old Airstream bullets that people used to haul behind their trucks. There isn’t a lot of info on the label. It discusses bottle conditioning, which I think is cool and somewhat expected from Boulevard now, and the style category. I get a bit of info, but not as much I as I normally like. Luckily this one came with a suggestion from a reader and from Boulevard, which I’ve liked in the past.
Appearance
Bright golden in color with a nice, big, fluffy head. There is some nice lacing on the glass. This beer is also bottle conditioned so it has a yeasty haze to it.
Smell
A very subtle hop character that actually reminds me of a mowed yard or some kind of earthy foliage aroma. It is paired with a bit of citrus that didn’t hit me at first, and a bit more fruity smell than I was expecting.
Taste
I don’t get much sweetness in this IPA, which is good, but I really don’t get any sweetness at all. The hop bitterness attacks my tounge from front to back and the bitterness sticks to the back, but there doesn’t seem to be a malty sweetness to balance. In all honesty, it seems to be lacking a little bit on the front end of the tasting and explodes at the end. I get a little bit of pine and believe it or not, bread like, when I look deep into the flavor. It could be the yeast in the bottle.
Mouthfeel
Very zippy on the tounge, but I kind of expect that from IPA’s now. A medium bodied brew that goes down easy.
Drinkability
The bitterness does remind me of the Ranger IPA that I tried last week. It just seems to linger a bit longer than I’d like. However, I do think this beer has a decent drink-ability to it. I would prefer a bit of sweetness to counter balance the hop flavor. Not having made a night out of it, I’d say I’d be able to go 3 or 4 deep without a problem, but again, the bitterness could prevent me from going deeper.
Overall
A very surprising beer to me. I was not expecting something this complex. However, just because it is complex, does not mean it is better. I do recommend any hop lover to give this a try because the hop flavor and bitter is definitely apparent. If you like a bit of sweetness in your IPA, stay away from it as it will disappoint. Overall though, a nice beer and I really appreciate Jez Mez suggesting it to me! It will definitely go into the rotation.
Have you tried Boulevard Single Wide IPA? I’d love to hear your take on it. Also, it seems I’m working a lot on IPA’s so I’d appreciate any suggestions. Keep in mind, I live in Fargo, ND so selection is limited.