Beer Snob Rant / Boulevard Brewing

I’m not exactly sure the moment I became a beer snob, or what that really means, but the signs are pervasive and I have difficulty hiding it. I have no problem telling the smug, self-righteous med student that Sam Adams is, in fact, one of the most overrated beverage producers on this planet, and that Blue Moon is possibly the worst wheat beer I have ever allowed to contribute, ever so little, to my eventual drunkenness. Don’t get me wrong, I got no problem with killing a 12-pack of Natty Boh or throwing in $2 for anything in a can at the Red Derby, I just hate the schmuck who is outraged that the bar only carries the king of beers and he can’t ride his goddamn silver-bullet-sh*t-train

To be fair, I spent the first seven years of my drinking career consuming the same crappy light American lager that they label 500 different ways; all pretty much tasteless, but easy as hell to drink and cheap. Wheat beers were my first excursion, also subtle in flavor, easy to drink, but just a bit tastier. Being in the Midwest at the time, that beer of course was Boulevard Wheat (on their web they claim it to be “the best-selling craft beer in the Midwest.” Perhaps they are defining the Midwest as Kansas and Missouri, but maybe not). It pales in comparison to its east-coast equivalent, Allagash White, a far more complex and spicy beer, but it is nonetheless worth trying.

On my final visit to St. Louis, hopefully ever, I stumbled upon an entire new line of beers from Boulevard called the “Smokestack Series.” I didn’t think much of it, as I was more impressed with the store’s Belgian collection, until I noticed a Smokestack Series Saison-Brett. I fell in love with Brettanomyces yeast while drinking lambics and geuzes on a recent trip to Belgium (along with BB), and subsequently when I discovered American Wild Pale Ales such as Allagash’s Confluence and Gargamel and Victory’s Wild Devil (all very good but Gargamel is the best. Too bad you can only buy it at the brewery). I was impressed that Boulevard was using Brett in their beer, and I decided to bring back all six Smokestack Series beers for a HH review. They include: Double-Wide IPA, Imperial Stout, Long Strange Tripel, The Sixth Glass Quadrupel, Saison, and Saison-Brett. Boulevard doesn’t make it to the right side of the Mississippi, so HH is here to let you know what you’re missing. Reviews to come (as soon as the OSB brewers have time to kill six 750s)…