Welcome back, Boulevard! Well, welcome to Georgia anyway, if not welcome back, as I don’t think Boulevard beers have ever been sold here before. For that matter I never saw them in Rhode Island when I lived there more than 12 years ago, either. So instead, I’ll welcome Boulevard’s interesting beers back to my DBR (Dedicated Beer Refrigerator).
Boulevard Double Wide IPA is actually the second Boulevard beer I’ve picked up, after the lackluster Hefeweizen. Still, these are not the first Boulevard beers to grace the glass of this guru of brew, as I recall getting a shipment of Bully Porter and at least one other Boulevard beer from Beer Across America years ago.
The 12-ounce bottle has an interesting tapered shape and the words “Boulevard Brewing Company” in raised letters on the neck. Alcohol content is 8.5% by volume, and there is a best by stamp of 3/20/13. I should think a big, hoppy ale like this should keep longer.
The brewery has this to say about the beer:
The classic India Pale Ale is a traveler’s beer, aggressively hopped to withstand the long, hot ocean voyage to the British East Indies. Our Double-Wide I.P.A. also travels well, and is right at home in the most exotic ports of call of the Midwest. While this modern-day prairie schooner may not resemble a graceful sailing sloop, our liberal hopping regimen does make her virtually “twister-proof,” with 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.
Ingredients:
Malt:
Pale Malt, Cara 300, Cara 120, Amber 50
Adjuncts: Dextrose, Brown Sugar
Hops: Zeus, Bravo, Chinook, Centennial, Cascade
Boulevard Double Wide IPA pours to a murky orange amber color with a towering rocky head of white foam and a delightful resiny-pine hop nose. A thick layer of Brussels lace clings to the sides of the glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom.
Taking a sip, the beer has an impressively form chewy caramel malt base that stands up surprisingly well to the hop onslaught that is to follow. The hops come in soon after the malt hits your tongue, resiny, piney, woody, and at the last with some citric grapefruit. They leave a long dry bitterness on the tongue in the finish, combining with the warming alcohol to make the beer very dry despite all that malt.
This one is nicely balanced with hops and malt, an excellent double IPA overall. My only problem with this beer is that it is certainly overpriced at $9.99 for a 4-pack (it’s sold in corked 750s for $7.99 as well). I think I would certainly pay the ten bocks for 6 bottles, but considering that I can get a 6-pack of equally hoppy Pyramid Outburst for $2 less, I’d opt for that beer instead.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft