beer.

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[Highlander]

I buy the Boulevard sample packs because my favorites - the Pale Ale and DW IPA are not always available where I live in Texas. Anybody know why the sample packs don't carry the standard products (it does have wheat/80 acre IPA)? The beers are great and I really like the WS Rye Ale and Mid Coast but I wonder why the commercially available ale and IPA are not in the sampler.

[pash]

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[rxlexi]

So excited for this bumper crop of new breweries. Finally, we're beginning to catch up on this front. I am intrigued by the idea of a West Bottoms brewery near Amigoni/Voltaire/Genesee Royale. Along with the new Stockyards Place will make for an excellent cluster of activity there.

3X breweries essentially next to each other in East Crossroads is awesome.

I will say that with KC Bier Co's generic branding and somewhat hidden location, and Cinder Block's off-the-beaten-path spot in North KC, our two best current "true" beer-only craft breweries (IMO) don't seem to quite have the local following I'd like to see yet. For example, it would seem that a lot of the folks that have been to one, haven't necessarily been to the other. Both produce good beer and should be household names in KC, IMO.

Finally, Boulevard remains exciting as it continues to expand (both physically at the brewhouse and with it's distribution footprint) and produce new product (the mid-tier Backroads series). I'm happy that they retain that beautiful combo of growth and experimentation that has made them so successful locally and nationally. Anyone try the Hibiscus Backroads beer?

[brewcrew1000]

I hope the 3 breweries in East Crossroads collaborate with each other rather then be rivals, i think a collaboration with the 3 could make them more successful in the long run, i also think this area could really blossom if these breweries are a success. You could see even more creative class businesses set up shop in this area if these breweries are a success.

[bobbyhawks]

Anyone try the Hibiscus Backroads beer?

I bought it out of curiosity, as I'm not generally a fan of overly sour beers (I feel they are more fad/beer-making chops provers). Normally, with a beer like that, I take a sip and think... OK, that's all I really need (or that's disgusting, who would order this?). I actually enjoyed these quite a bit as the subtle sourness doesn't continue to overwhelm your mouth as you continue with the beer. I could see this being a really fun beer to pair with an appetizer course.

[chrizow]

this was one of the most blah beers i have ever tasted. total failure. i love a lot of what Blvd does, but i'd say swing for the fences rather than producing micro-edition flavorless beer.

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[PumpkinStalker]

Agree on lack of flavor on Entwined. I was pleasantly surprised by the Hibiscus Gose. I thought it was very solid. It was not overly floral at all, and for someone that doesn't love sours, I liked that one a lot.

[rxlexi]

Has anyone seen or tried the Boulevard Crown Town?

Also, Cinder Block has their Noel on tap - sort of a 9.5% ABV version of Nutcracker with a little orange/coriander addition. Delicious.

On a side note, I made successful trips to Perennial, Civil Life, and AB/Budweiser (! ) breweries in STL over Thanksgiving to show off the city and beer to some family.

Actually loved Bud's Xmas decorations and enjoyed sharing the history of the brewery and surrounding hoods with family; so sad to see that hometown giant slowly lose it's "local" flavor in STL, with the continued exodus of corporate jobs from the region and maybe someday the NA HQ for AB/InBev (waiting for this with Sprint as well).

Makes me hope BLVD is able to maintain a truly local feeling as it (hopefully!) expands across the country and into Europe with Duvel.

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[grovester]

Agree on Last Splash. Encouraged after Entwined and that god awful radler.

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[grovester]

Sorry, I'm all for fruit accents, that was a bit much for me. I'm cool with experiments and that seems to be what they're trying for.

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[Highlander]

I like the radler too! :\

The Boulevard selection in Houston isn't great. They usually have Tank 7, Wheat and a variety pack. The variety pack comes in two forms - most everything is the same but in one pack there's Oatmeal Stout and the other has the Radler. I actually cannot stand the Radler so I hate spending money on the variety pack (it has 3 Radlers) - but it's the only way I can get both Boulevard IPA's. I really don't see why Boulevard even produces it - isn't it essentially lemonade added to beer?

In Europe I've seen them serve "Radlers" to customers who want to keep drinking but have clearly had too much.

[grovester]

One of my pet peeves is BLVD's new variety pack. I was a big fan of the old wheat/pale ale/bully porter/dry stout/seasonal.
I won't buy their new configuration.

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[Highlander]

I actually cannot stand the Radler so I hate spending money on the variety pack (it has 3 Radlers) - but it's the only way I can get both Boulevard IPA's. I really don't see why Boulevard even produces it - isn't it essentially lemonade added to beer

A real radler, yes, is about a 50-50 mix of light beer and citrus soda (like a Pellegrino limonatta sort of thing). I don't know how Boulevard makes theirs, but it's obviously not that—I imagine the base is their standard wheat beer, with added spices and zest. The dominant flavor, like I said, is ginger. You wouldn't mistake it for a soda.

But I absolutely understand that many people wouldn't like it. More for me! Send me the radlers in your variety pack and I'll send you the wheats in mine.

So the Radlers are 100% beer with the same alcohol content?