Schlafly - Quadruple Ale

Tonight we are treated with another guest review from our buddy Kasper.  Since he lives in Kansas City, we have tasked him with drinking the local stuff we can't find in Minnesota.  As expected, he was more than willing to oblige.  The local beer scene in the area has been booming, just like many other cities across the country.  Hopefully Kasper will continue to share his beer endeavors with us going forward.  I know I'm enjoying reading about his new experiences!

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I've decided to spend some time hunting down more regional flavors as of late, and my beer journey led me to Schlafly's Quadruple Ale this week.  An assassin of an ale coming in at a weighty 12% ABV.

This one had me giggling all the way home from the liquor store, as I'm always interested to see how different beers handle the ever present issue of an alcoholic burn with such a high ABV.

As I pour the cloudy amber colored ale into my glass, I'm greeted with a thick tan head and a wonderfully fragrant fruity malty apple scent.  This effervescence had me excited for the first sip.

While the beer manages to quite expertly hide the high alcohol content, its taste has me at a loss.  It's very lightly bitter, and the flavor of apples and spice are very heavily present, though lacking sweetness.  It almost verges on a sour rotten apple taste at times, very discouraging, but it does drink similar to a few abbey ales I've had in the past, after it's sufficiently warmed.

Overall - A good beer to knock you on your ass if you aren't careful, especially with its 750ml serving size.  But you are going to have to brave an awkward flavor in order to achieve it.  I would suggest letting the beer warm quite a bit - only a slight chill passed room temperature - as this seems to mellow some of its less desirable characteristics.  Even at that, I can't say I have an urge to drink it again.

Boulevard Smokestack Series - Collaboration No. 2 White IPA

Tonight we are going to be reviewing a beer that represents a collaborative effort between two giants, relatively speaking, within the craft beer industry.  Boulevard Brewing and Deschutes Brewing have come together to craft a beer unlike any other on the market today.  Taking Boulevards ability to make a deliciously floral and easy to drink wheat beer and Deschutes knack for packing as many hops as humanly possible into a pint of golden liquid, these two have created the long sought after White IPA!

Ok... maybe it hasn't been sought for very long but I would bet money that plenty of home brewers out there have tried to craft something similar!

This brew follows the industry trend towards hops, hops and more hops.  Within the last few years we have seen the emergence of schwarzbiers turned into black IPAs, Belgian beers turned into Belgian IPAs and even stouts transformed into the Frankenstein of the IPA world.  Its a great time to be a craft beer enthusiast if you love hops!  We all know Dunz does.

Boulevard's website for this beer is packed full of information about the collaborative process and tasting notes. I wasn't aware that Deschutes is actually producing a collaborative beer of their own through this partnership.  I'll need to keep my eyes peeled for that one when it hits the shelves.

Collaboration No. 2 is presented in a very classy corked bottle.  It secretes early 1900s sophistication.  Luckily for us the beer inside presents itself in much the same way.  Crystal clear pale yellow topped with a light white foam, I could have easily mistaken this for a bottle of bubbly if it had more, well... bubbles.  The aroma here is outstanding.  I want somebody to make a candle that smells like this!  Flowery and citrusy hops tango with the Belgian-style yeast aromas of clove, spice and hints of sage and lemongrass which were both added post-fermentation.  The flavors are decidedly 'witbier' with a big bitter bite adding a welcome balance to the overall experience.  Sage and other herbs added to this brew combine to form a subtle black pepper character that lingers alongside the hop induced bitterness.  A solid level of carbonation pairs up with the aforementioned bitterness to finish this treat out nice and dry.

Overall - Its hard for me to find anything bad to say about this collaborative effort between two of the best breweries this side of the pond.  If I had to chose a beer to be stuck with for an entire year this White IPA would easily be at the top of my list.  Its complex, refreshing, smooth, flavorful and dangerously easy to drink.  Why does it have to be so expensive!!!  At $10 for 22 oz it wont be something I drink everyday.  Go do yourself a favor and find a bottle of this now.  It wont be around for long, especially if I come across a small fortune and buy out every store in the metro!

Boulevard Smokestack Series - The Sixth Glass Quadrupel Ale

This evenings review is of a brew from Boulevards Smokestack series.  We reviewed one of their beers as one of our first reviews back in December.  We are now back to revisit this series from a Belgian perspective as opposed to a deep, dark, stout view point.  Boulevards website is a great resource of knowledge for all of their beers.  Not only do they have your standard beer geek stats but they have an ingredients listing for each of their brews.  This evenings beer happens to have some brown sugar in it which I would have never been able to guess.  Hooray for full disclosure!

The aroma is one that Belgian beer lovers will recognize.  Strong dark fruit aromas waft out of my Pilsner glass.  Yes, I'm using a Pilsner glass because a) I thought it would be appropriate for an aromatic brew like this and b) I need to do the dishes...  The white, foamy head on this ale lingers and remains full even after resting for 10 minutes.  I'm pretty sure its not going to go away at this point.  Additional aromas are prominent right before my first sip such as caramel and toasted bread.  My first impression... fantastic.  Easily recognizable as a Belgian brew.  I'm not one to claim an expertise in Belgian beers but I could easily be fooled by this one in a blind taste testing.  Boulevard really hit this one out of the park.  Remnants of the yeast used to bottle condition this quad float throughout my glass.  The hazy amber color reiterates its origins along with its malty, bready and dark fruit (maybe figs or plums?) flavors.  The overall presence of this beer is one to remember.

Overall 4.9/6.0 - Easily an enjoyable Belgian brew.  One that has the malty body and flavor profile to live up to its quadrupel origin.  I'm happy to report that its aroma is able to back up its flavor which many craft beers these days have trouble accomplishing.  Generally I'm a little hesitant to try a "craft" series of beers from a well established brewery just because I have a bias towards the smaller guys in the industry.  But this one is certainly worth the money.  If you are a Belgian beer lover and don't mind a slight sweetness and alcohol warmth throughout the finish of your beer then this one is certainly for you!