Awesome Article About Boulevard Label Art

As I've said many times on this blog, I was lucky enough to marry a Kansas City gal, and thus became a fan of Boulevard Brewing Company. The January 9 issue of the Kansas City Star featured a great, visually stunning article on Payton Kelly, the in-house artist responsible for the eye-catching labels and boxes that make Boulevard's brews so easy to spot on the shelves. It's worth your time to read it, and even more worth your time to check out the photos.

Even more important, if you have some way of getting a copy of the paper version of the article, you should do so. While the online version has more photos, the paper version has a really well-done layout, a thing of beauty which will be lost if newspapers ever completely die.

(photo copyright JOHN SLEEZER of the Kansas City Star, do not reprint without permission)

Yummy Christmas Presents

More on the aforementioned Kansas City trip to see the family: We hooked up with our Philadelphia friends the Jarigues (Erin is a friend since childhood of M'Lady), and they presented me with a great treat of six Philly-area beers.

I tried the first before we ever left KC (yeah, I'm the type to shake my present under the tree to try to figure out what it is), and was rewarded for my impatience. Tröegs Brewing's Troegenator Doublebock (or "Dopplebock" for you German purists) is an outstanding rendition of this heavy-as-lead winter seasonal. As their website notes, this style was created by monks who needed nutrition during periods of fasting, and this stuff is like liquid bread. (Not Wonder Bread, either – more like heavy duty wheat with a thick, chewy crust.) It's not for the faint of tastebud, and you better have a deep love of malt. Fortunately, I do. It easily stacks up against my longtime favorite in this style, Spaten Optimator (which, for some reason, I must always pronounce with my best Ahnuld Schwarzenegger accent).

Thanks, guys! It's always awesome to try some beer that I can't get here in Texas, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the sixer. (They also included a Golden Monkey from Victory, which is distributed here, but hey, I'll take it anyway. For the record, I'll gladly accept free Victory beer any time.)

Since Erin is in a family way, it was up to me and Ben to then sample the limited-edition Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad that my mother-in-law gave me. I can't say I was as blown away as some of my KC beer blogger friends – I wasn't quite sure what to make of the cherry flavor, and maybe I just needed a cleaner palate after putting away some Boulevard Nutcracker. I think Ben felt the same way. Nonetheless, I liked it, and continue to applaud Boulevard's adventurousness with the Smokestack Series. The MIL got me two bottles, so maybe my appraisal will come up on the next try. (UPDATE: Yes, I thought this was excellent on the second go-around. I think letting it warm for several minutes is a good tactic with this beer.)

What did rock my world was the Double Wide IPA (another Smokestack) that I accidentally left in the MIL's fridge last winter. A year's worth of aging didn't hurt this beer one bit. Maybe the DWIPA raised my expectation too high for the BBQ (Get it? Bourbon Barrel Quad? Kansas City BBQ? Those guys are clever.) Now, if only Boulevard will put on the market that imperial stout that they tested on me and some other beer bloggers earlier this year. It was great.

Up next: Boulevard's other limited-edition brew, the Brett Saison, which the KC crowd has been raving about and I'm anxious to sample. As far as I know, it's not been for sale in Texas, making my biannual KC trips all the more valuable. Um, well, that and visiting my in-laws. ;-)

More Great Oktoberfest Beer

Damn, I can tell this is gonna be a good fall. My poker buddies polished off my Saint Arnold Oktoberfest last night, so I just had to swing back over to Grape Vine Market for some more, and look what I found: Boulevard's Bob's '47! As regular readers know, I've been deliriously happy that Kansas City's Boulevard finally started distributing in Austin, but I was worried that they were only going to send their flagship beers (the Pale Ale, Wheat, and Lunar Ale). Nope, they're also sending their seasonals, praise the beer gods. I've raved about Bob's '47 before, and I can't wait to crack one open down here in Austin.

Now, will they send the Smokestack Series to Austin?

Hooray! Boulevard in Austin

One of my very favorite breweries, which I've raved about here often, is Kansas City's Boulevard. I'd heard they started distributing in Texas, but only up in the DFW area. Now, a buyer with Spec's informs me: "Boulevard has just become available in Austin and should be in the stores later this week or early next week."

Kick butt! Of course, I'm guessing they won't be sending their seasonals and specialties down here, so I'm sure I'll still be dependent on my twice-annual trips to see the in-laws for that stuff. Or trips by the mother-in-law down here to Texas.

Fun bit of trivia: Since InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch, Boulevard is now the largest Missouri-owned brewery.

Springtime Beers

Despite the blast of cold last night, spring is more or less here in Texas. Time to transition from those heavy-duty winter warmers to something a little (but not too much) lighter.

My Kansas City mother-in-law is in town, which is wonderful in and of itself, but it's enhanced by the fact that (A) she's here to watch the kids while M'Lady and I enjoy South by Southwest and (B) she always brings me Boulevard beer, which finally started distributing to Texas but we still can't get it here in Austin. (Yo, Boulevard – you really think Dallas is a better craft beer market than Austin? Seriously? Maybe I underestimate my DFW brethren, but I think your hardcore beer drinkers are down here.)

So the MIL (not to be confused with the MILF — that would be my wife) brought me Boulevard's Irish Ale, which I've never had before because I usually visit KC only in summer and winter; Irish Ale is a spring seasonal. This is wonderful stuff. As the name suggests, it's an Irish red, which if drunk at proper temperature has just the right touch of malt, not overpowering like a winter doppelbock, but more balanced. (And the right temperature, by the way, is in the 50s. I love today's weather – I can just leave the beer on my back porch instead of the beer fridge, and it's perfect.)

Speaking of bocks, I'm also leaping for joy because Saint Arnold's Spring Bock has arrived. These guys had me at the label, with those gorgeous Texas bluebonnets on it, but the beer inside is even better. I was talking yesterday with Brock Wagner, the CEO of Saint Arnold, and he said that I only have something like three more weeks of it – that makes me sad. I want them to keep pumping this stuff out at least through the end of April. (Man, the Winter Stout disappeared way too quick!) Also a nice dose of malt, a little heavier than this Irish Ale, it borders on being a winter beer. I suppose I shouldn't be so sad that I can't get Boulevard in Austin — Saint Arnold (out of Houston) is doing a fine job of filling the "regional brewery" role for Texas that Bully does up in the Midwest.

But hey, I'm greedy — I want it all.

Good News for Craft Brewers

There's an interesting article in the Kansas City Star today about how the craft brewing industry is enjoying a healthy growth. You should probably read the article today, because I don't think the Star archives its articles. The thrust of the article is that beer sales are outpacing liquor, but I think the more interesting point is that craft brewers increased their sales 17.4% over this time last year. Needless to say, that's happy news. (The photo of Boulevard beers shown here was taken by the Star.)

Long Strange Tripel

I'm now sampling the Long Strange Tripel from Boulevard's Smokestack Series. Repeat what I said below about the IPA, but multiply by two. Tripel is my favorite style of Belgian-style beer, so Boulevard had a high bar to clear to impress me, and they easily succeeded.

To my Kansas City beer blogger crew:

I just sampled the Boulevard Double-Wide IPA.

Oh. Damn.

That's about as good as some of the double IPAs I tried in Portland. Yum.

P.S. And I just picked up three six-packs of Nutcracker. Yeah, baby.

Could be worse, I guess

I'm in Kansas City. The downside: I'm here for my father-in-law's funeral. That pretty much speaks for itself. It's a sad occasion, although it's tempered a bit by the fact that M'Lady's dad was in ill health for several years, so it's not like this snuck up and surprised us. Everyone is holding up well.

The upside: I'm in Kansas City. That means I get to enjoy a nice helping of Boulevard Beer, which I've loved ever since my first trip to KC 13 years ago and I can't get in Texas. My kind mother-in-law had a sampler 12-pack of Boulevard waiting for me, which I've been enjoying tonight – I've already had a nice, warming (it's 35 degrees outside!) Bully Porter, which I then followed with a Bob's '47, a Munich-style lager that I wasn't too impressed with when I first tried it last year, but I'm now giving it a major upgrade. I'm not sure why I didn't get it last year, but I certainly do now. That wonderful, honeyed taste that I love in the best of Oktoberfest beers is really coming through tonight. I'm glad I gave this a second chance.

And in that spirit, I'm also giving the Lunar Ale a second shot, as well. Maybe it's just because I already have some alcohol in me, but I'm liking this a little better as well. It reminds me of Shiner Dunkelweizen.

Up next, maybe tomorrow: Boulevard's Smokestack Series, which my KC beer blogger friends (click on Beer Girl, Muddy Mo, or KC Beer Blog in my "other beer bloggers section) have been raving over. It was supposed to be my Christmas present, but since I'm here a little early, I might as well try one of those. Maybe one now, and then the others three weeks from now when we're back for the holidays.

It's not the usual festive atmosphere for enjoying good brew, but what the heck – if life gives you lemons, squeeze a slice into your hefeweizen.

Damn young whippersnappers

Man, what is up with this MySpace and Friendster crap? I must be getting old, because every time someone brings up those things, I just dig in my heels and stubbornly refuse to join up. "You young punks! In my day, all we had were blogs, and we liked it!"

I just bring it up because I've been anxiously awaiting information about Boulevard Brewing Company's Smokestack Series, which I'll hopefully be lucky enough to get some of when I visit the in-laws in Kansas City at Christmastime. But I couldn't find anything in the place you would most expect it, on their web page. Instead, it's hiding over here on their MySpace page. Now how in the hell am I supposed to know that? Why would I even think a company would have a MySpace page? Is the company looking for a date? (Which is what I thought the point of social networking sites were, but I may just be showing how out of touch I am.)

I suspect I'm not alone. Go here to see a hilarious video of my old college pal Siva Vaidhyanathan from when he appeared on The Daily Show. He played the stodgy old college professor decrying the ill effects such sites have on actual interactions with real people, while the young reporter snickered at him.

In any case, I can't wait to get bottles of this stuff. I tried the IPA and the Saison at the brewery back in the summer, and they were pretty damn good, especially the IPA.

Boulevard Coming to Texas?

I only have time for a short post tonight, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality: A very reliable source tells me that Boulevard, a quality American brewery and just about the only beer I drink when I'm in Kansas City visiting the in-laws, may start distributing here in Texas soon. (I'm awaiting confirmation from the brewery itself.)

That's great news — the KC company makes some might nice stuff. Their pale ale may be the best in America, with a load of hops heavy enough that it almost tastes like an IPA. On our Christmas visits, I enjoy quaffing their Porter and Nutcracker Ale, and they've also begun experimenting with some Belgian-style stuff, and they may have an actual IPA out soon. Currently, Boulevard is distributed throughout the Midwest but not here, thanks to Texas' @#$%ed up alcohol laws. (One of my best friends disparagingly refers to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission as the Texas Association of Baptist Churches. Many of their rules are completely nonsensical, and appear designed solely to harass, rather than regulate, the alcohol industry.)

My across-the-street neighbors also have KC family, and between their trips and ours, I'm pretty sure we currently constitute Boulevard's largest Texas distributors. I bring back a case every time I'm up there.

Of course, if Boulevard becomes available in Texas, that completely kills off any incentive I have to go visit my in-laws. (Kidding! I'm kidding, honey!)

UPDATE: I've now had two different people tell me that they recently bought Boulevard in the Dallas area. Hey Boulevard: Plenty of beer snobs down here in Austin — send those trucks a little further down I-35!

The Great Kansas City Beer Bloggers Summit …

[EDIT: Okay, my curiousity is killing me – why is the Number One driver of hits to my site the picture of the Kansas City skyline to the right? What are all you people looking for? Please let me know in the comments section below.]

… never quite happened. Or at least, it was less than what I hoped for.

Faithful readers will remember that back in April, I stumbled across (via the Internet) a nice young lady in Kansas City who is doing pretty much the same thing I'm doing; she calls herself A Beer Kind of Girl (or just "Beergirl" for short). Beergirl told me to drop her a line if ever I was in her neighborhood – so of course, I did, since M'Lady is from KC and we're there every six months or so like clockwork to visit the family.

Unfortunately, tentative plans to meet up somewhere – hopefully to have her expose me to a great KC beer bar – never materialized. A new job smacked her with a menacing deadline, killing the first few days. Then she got deathly ill. That killed the next few. Now I was faced with a dilemma: On a brief business visit to Austin in May, she raved over how much she loved Shiner Bock, so I decided to take her a gift 12-pack of Texas beers. And I needed to get that beer to her, because I needed the space in my car to take home my usual case of Boulevard (an excellent Kansas City beer not available in Texas; see my many previous posts). So finally, a last-ditch effort — M'Lady and I scheduled a tour of the newly expanded Boulevard Brewery, maybe she could come with us? She would be off work early that day, so it seemed like we might finally get to lift one together … but no. Those meanies at Boulevard said the tour was full and no way would they let one more person in. If their beer weren't so good, I'd hold a grudge. Thus fizzled out a great meeting of the minds and livers.

However, she met M'Lady and I in the Boulevard parking lot right before the tour, hinicetomeetyouhereissomeTexasbeer. I handed over three each of Saint Arnold Pils, Saint Arnold Elissa IPA, Shiner 98, and Shiner Kolsch, which hopefully should whet her appetite for another Austin trip. (Austin is a great place for a vacation, HINT, HINT. With all the Shiner, Saint Arnold, Live Oak, and Real Ale you can drink!)

Beergirl is lucky she gets to take that tour any time she wants – it was awesome. After roaming through the production facility we of course went to the much-anticipated drinking room for about 20 minutes of sampling. I would have been happy enough having my favorite regulars, their Pale Ale and Bully Porter, but they also had their new Lunar Ale, as well as sneak previews of stuff not on the shelves yet.

I was a little disappointed in the Lunar. I expected a bold Belgian flavor; instead, it was a strange mix of styles, sort of like a German dunkleweisen mixed with a Belgian dubbel, that ended up being less than the sum of its parts. Decent enough, but not overly impressive.

Much better were two others: A Belgian saisson farmhouse ale due for release in the fall. Golden in color, with a crisp, flowery taste. I'm looking forward to a full bottle; hopefully the mother-in-law can score one for me. After that, I tried an IPA, and oh it was glorious! The bartender told me it "a slightly different version" of it would eventually become a regular part of their year-round lineup. I can't imagine why they would want to change a thing from what they served me – unless they've figured out a way to make it even better. This makes me look forward to my KC trips even more.

I grabbed some other beers while I was in KC, as well. Beergirl had raved about a Saint Louis brand called Schlafly. I tried their Pale Ale, which was about as mediocre as a pale ale could be – seriously, they should be embarrassed to put this on the same shelves as Boulevard's version. However, I also grabbed a 750ml bottle of their 2006 Imperial Stout, which was marvelous. It was aged in oak barrels, and it was mighty strong, both in ABV and flavor. Well done, and I hope they'll make more this winter for my holiday trip.

I tried another St. Louis brew from a brewery called Lemp, which apparently has a very long history and was recently resurrected. I tried their Jurassic Dark, a "roasted German Style Wheat Ale" that was quite tasty.

As for watering holes, I never got to actually sample one with Beergirl, but M'Lady and I did follow her advice to try Grinders, a cool downtown food and brew dive/concert venue with tasty wings and an impressive beer selection. It reminded me a lot of The Parlor, a funky punk pizza place here in Austin. Margaret immediately declared it her favorite place in KC and even left me on kid-watching duty one night so she could take her girlfriends there. I started with a Boulevard Pale just out of a sense of duty, but I then moved on to something that was a Unibroue product, but I'm not sure which one. The menu said Maudite, and I was brought a beverage that was beguilingly black and so utterly glorious in taste that I think my head spun around 360 degrees. So I came home and feverishly bought a bottle, and it poured out … a rich brown. And delicious, but not quite as good as what I had at Grinders. I'm pretty sure they actually served me Trois Pistoles, by the same brewery, which I've had before at Gingerman, and which had the same revelatory effect on me. In any case, the lesson here is that you can't go wrong with Unibroue, no matter what you actually get.

Damn that was a long post. And it was a long trip. I hope it was worth it.

Good timing!

So my mother-in-law comes down for a visit from Kansas City, which always a joyous occasion because — besides the fact that I love her dearly — she always brings me a case of beer from Boulevard, one of the best breweries in the country, whose stuff is available throughout the midwest, but alas, not in Texas. It's pretty much the only thing I drink when I'm in KC. And this time, she not only brought me their bestselling pale ale, but also a sixer of their Christmas beer, Nutcracker Ale, which we didn't have time to finish during our winter visit and left there.

Now at first, my thought on the sunny day that she arrived was to stash this in the fridge until next winter. But the next day, the world turned upside down — a freakish winter mini-storm blew in … in April! Temperatures in the 30s, sleet here in Austin, snow just a few miles north of here. Utterly bizarre. This sort of thing never happens in Texas, except perhaps in panhandle. My day at the Texas Relays — which are usually all about sandals, shades, and sunscreen — was completely ruined. But now I'm at home and comforting myself with a beer that was perfectly tailored for cold weather. Thanks Fran!

Speaking of Boulevard, it sounds like they're gearing up to do some really interesting Belgian-like stuff. They were a major part of good article on craft beers in The Kansas City Star. I would love to link to it, but the Star's website apparently has already either gotten rid of the article or hidden it away in a for-pay archive. But to sum it up, in fall of this year they will make available a saison, something called Double-Wide India Pale Ale, a quadrupel, and something called Ol' Clarence — a version of their Bully Porter that spends a year in a Tennessee bourbon barrel. And in the winter they'll release a dubbel.