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Tasty way to pass the time waiting for my wings. Enough bitterness to whet my appetite.

Nut Cracker Ale

Some of the Rottmann family are our guests for New Year's Eve and Erik brought along this hoppy seasonal ale from Missouri.  Good company and good beer make for the start of a good new year.

The picture is from last year. Erik gave me a Nut Cracker Ale back then, too. I just forgot to mention it until now.

Hibiscus Gose

Whatever you do, don't try this. It made me shiver and retch a little.

Boss Tom's Golden Bock

My friend Erik built the cabin pictured here for my family and me to stay on our summer vacations. He graciously stocks it with good Boulevard beer, like this golden bock.  Boss Tom’s has some nice malty character with alcohol definitely noticeable in the flavor.

Westside Rye Ale

On the day that Molly died, I drank a Westside Rye Ale. 

Molly, the guinea pig had been our constant companion for the past eight years. So when she passed (not all that unexpectedly) I provided my family with comfort foods: catfish, sweet potatoes and breaded mushrooms. I comforted myself by pairing the catfish with the pleasing tangy flavors that malted rye brings to this ale. The rye flavor will win me over every time, but Boulevard has done it especially well here.

I will miss Molly for a number of reasons. But the greatest accomplishment of her short life was providing the perfect opportunity for me to enjoy this exceptional beer.

Mid-Coast IPA

In Mid-Coast IPA, the folks of Boulevard are somehow able to capture the exact aroma of vine fresh hops. As soon as the top pops off, the smell of hops fill the nostrils pleasantly. The taste has a combination of grapefruit and evergreen bitterness. There are no noticeable malt flavors. The bitterness in this is so intense that I choose to limit myself to one a day.

Boulevard 80 - Acre

I'm kicking off American Craft Beer Week with a Hoppy Wheat Beer beside my chicken from the Barrel. This beer puts together nicely the pine-like bitter of hops and the sweet of the wheat. This combination showcases the ingenuity of the modern American breweries -- the kind of ingenuity that is making even Germany sit up and take notice. Michael Birnbaum reports in his recent article in the Washington Post, “In Germany, a U.S. beer invasion”:

"Now, with craft brewers in the United States capturing an ever-greater share of their home market, they are expanding in Germany as well. German consumers, intrigued by unfamiliar flavors, are purchasing more imported beer and are increasingly copying American efforts with their own small-scale brewing operations."

Single-Wide IPA

“You and me going fishin' on the dock”.  Isn’t there a song that goes like that?  I always used to think so, but just now I Googled it so I could include it in this entry. Apparently The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band  has recently chosen to take this song in a different direction.

Anyway, Single-Wide IPA is a very enjoyable beer for our enjoyable past time.

Pale Ale

This Pale Ale from Boulevard has an inviting aroma, a nicely balanced flavor and about the same healthy color as Kira the sleeping Boxer.

Unfiltered Wheat

We have been having a wonderful, welcomed getaway at the Rottmann’s cabin on Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, featuring some local beers including this Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat.  Refreshing and lemony, this gave needed refreshment on 104° days.

Pictured here, one of the locals watches on as I enjoy this good drink.

Bully Porter

I like Bully Porter.  My friend Erik really loves it. While drinking and enjoying the roasted malt flavors, he made strange moans and grunts. The noises made me feel strangely uncomfortable.  I tried, but couldn’t quite ignore the emotional vocalizations. Next time I’ll be looking for a different beer that will taste great, but hopefully produce a less awkward moment.

Double-Wide India Pale Ale

This is an Excellent I.P.A.

The Boulevard web site describes this beer as having "toffee and caramel notes balancing out the lingering bitterness. Enjoy this beer fresh to best appreciate the complex blending of hop aromas, ranging from minty to citrusy, with subtle hints of pine."

True enough, but they left out the word "yummy".