Boulevard's newest seasonal smokestack beer is going to be a Doppelbock called Seeyoulator Doppelbock. It should be shipping to distributors in about 3 weeks and be on your local KC liquor store shelves by the last week in August or early September to pair with Bob's 47.
The bottles will not be number labeled as the Saison-Brett and Bourbon Barrel Quad, but will have batch data so you can keep track which year your Seeyoulatr is. The Seeyoulator should probably be drank pretty quickly as my buddy Steven Pauwels doesn't think the beer will age as gracefully as the other Smokestack seasonals or Helen Reddy for that matter.
UPDATE: KC Hop Head has more about Seeyoulator here.
Bud Light? Really? Really? That's what you chose? Really? You couldn't have picked something with taste? You couldn't have picked something interesting? Really? The leader of the free world can't even choose a beer to drink without political consultants? Really? Bud Light is what the consultants chose? Really?
Sorry for that, but the Really? game is kinda fun to play, especially if you've played the game WITH Seth Meyers (or his carbon copy, JJSKCK knows what I'm talking about). Anyway, with the silly game out of the way, I was flabbergasted to read that our President Barack Obama chose to drink Bud Light with Officer Crowley in the "Beer Summit".
I had been mulling over the question of what beer Obama should serve at the "Beer Summit" since KC Beer Blog reader Kyle emailed KC Hop Head and I asking what we would choose. Of course I just happened to be a little busy yesterday (Stella turned 30) so in the words of Jimmy Buffett, I didn't ponder the question too long, I was hungry and went out for a bite.
The beer that was running through my head was Sam Adams Boston Lager. Officer Crowley is from Boston, Sam Adams Lager is a very accessible beer and would be greeted warmly by all parties. I also gave 10 minutes thought to making the case for Andy Dufresne's favorite beer, Boulevard Pilsner but the geography didn't fit. KC Hophead mentioned in his post the Collaboration Not Litigation Ale and I had the same thought, but I don't think anyone would want to hear Bill O'Reilly fume on about the high alcohol content and elitism of such a beer. I definitely think that Sam Adams Boston Lager was the right choice.
All that being said, I think maybe people should spend this time deciding on their own beer selection and worrying less about what's being drank in the White House.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Posted by
Wes Port
Ward Parkway and I are hangin' out in Anchorage, AK, and basically drinking our way through the city. The choices here are phenomenal -- but the food, not so much. We are enjoying such exotic brews as: Hard Apple Ale, Pipeline Stout, Klondike Golden, Polar Pale Ale, and Prince William's Porter.
In fact, the variety is so great, beer appears to be all that the locals do here beside fish for salmon.
Like much of Kansas City, I spent my Sunday morning watching one of the most amazing sporting feats I've ever seen, a 59 year old Tom Watson leading the British Open. I like golf but I don't watch it much, mostly only majors. The British Open is my favorite of the majors to watch because it's so unlike the golf you usually see and play. I was thrilled that Tom Watson was winning the tournament.
As it became more and more clear that Tom Watson was, if not win, come damn close, I was trying to come up with some way to celebrate. I decided to pop open one of my bottles of 2008 Saison-Brett. At some point I need to drink them and if I don't do it now (when a Kansas Citian wins a major championship that would dominate headlines for days to come and serve as THE example that old people still can compete) when will I do it.
Of course things didn't turn out the way I was hoping and Tom basically let the championship slip away. But you know what? A Kansas Citian just had a tournament that will be talked about for years to come and will still be an example of oldsters being able to compete. It was still worth celebrating. So I went to my secret stash and got one of my Saison-Bretts. This is the first somewhat aged Saison-Bretts that I've had. Since I'm a fan of them reasonably fresh (as is Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's brewer), I was hoping that I would like the aged one just as much. When I popped the cork and poured it, it foamed wildly. I had about 2/3 a glass of head and 1/3 glass of liquid. I didn't remember the Brett being that wild, but looking back on what I wrote when I first had it, I think it was pretty normal. It's been about a month since I had a bottle of Saison-Brett, but I didn't notice much taste difference between the old and new. I'll have to do a side by side test some other time. This Brett was to be savored along with Tom Watson's near victory.
Earlier this week, I received what may have been my favorite email ever. I was invited to the Boulevard Brewmaster's Luncheon as a guest of Boulevard. My only disappointment was that it wasn't the Luncheon cooked by Bluestem (you'd better get your spot booked now for that, because they're nearly full), instead it was cooked by Nick & Jake's/Wil Jenny's, which is a restaurant with which I'm unfamiliar. Please forgive the quality of my pictures, I was stuck using my camera phone, my kids went to Deanna Rose so Stella had the good camera.
I'd been looking forward to the luncheon all week capped off by last night when I slept like a gentile boy the night before Christmas. I showed up a couple of minutes early which is recommended because you get to go into the tasting room and prime the pump a little bit with some Tank 7 samplers. A couple of minutes after 11:30 we started up our private tour which is an abbreviated version of the full on regular tour. We got to sample some Two Jokers in the cellar room where they're aging some future versions of Smokestack beers (look at that Rye in the picture, I can't wait). We also got to see the bottling line run, which I hadn't seen before, it really is quite impressive.
We then settled in for lunch. Steven Pauwels, head brewer at Boulevard and my nominee for greatest Kansas Citian, introduced the menu, beer pairings and Wil Jenny's chef. The chef talked a little more in depth about the dishes and then the beer and food was served.
We started off with a salmon poached in Single Wide IPA served over some heart of romaine, avocado, heirloom tomatoes and a citrus vinaigrette. It was tough for me to maintain my conversation with Jeremy from Boulevard and the people sitting near me at the table. I mostly just wanted to shovel the food into my gullet as quickly as possible. I've never had poached salmon before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I can't imagine poached salmon to taste much better. It went wonderful with the Boulevard Wheat it with which it was paired.
The next course was a fire roasted green chile burger paired with Boulevard Pilsner. The burger also had jack cheese, a pilsner mustard and braised onions (I believe braised in Single Wide but I could have misheard or misremembered that) as well as some kettle fried chips. I'd seen a green chile burger on some Food Network show about burgers and I'd always wanted to try one. It was not a disappointment. The green chili's added just a great amount of heat that made you want to reach for the pilsner. I think I may have enjoyed the burger a little more with some Single Wide, but the Pilsner was nice as well.
At some point while we were eating the first two courses Steven Pauwels came over to introduce himself. Jeremy introduced me as Bull E. Vard, the one who wrote the Shawshank post, which is apparently an office favorite over there. John McDonald, founder of Boulevard, was sitting at my table and explained what a trippel was to the person sitting across from me while Jeremy explained that the Long Strange Tripel is actually named after a brewery worker named Trip (it's even his picture on the bottle). I picked up a bunch of other little tidbits that I have tucked away into my brain to be dispersed within numerous blog posts in the future. I learned so many interesting tidbits, I no longer can name the 4th lead in the 1984 movie “Oxford Blues”. A guy at the end of the table, Topeka Tripel heard that I was Bull E. Vard and introduced himself. I don't meet many readers, I mostly just assume that people want to punch me in the head for something I've written along the way. It was nice that Topeka Tripel didn't do that.
We got the dessert course which was a strawberry shortcake type creation with a sweet biscuit instead of shortcake. It was also topped with fresh whipped cream, some blueberries and fresh mint leaves. This was paired with Long Strange Tripel, by far the best beer of the lunch. Unfortunately it was paired with the course I enjoyed the least. I thought the biscuit ended up being a little too bready for the amount of strawberries included. I ended up only eating about half of the biscuit but all the strawberries and whipped cream. Boulevard considers strawberries and tripel a match made in heaven and I'm inclined to agree, it was a nice pairing that really brought out the best in the Long Strange Tripel.
Topeka Tripel and his gang talked Jeremy into taking them up to the green roof so I tagged along after grabbing a glass of Tank 7 (the taps are open in the Muehlebach room in case you don't get your fill with the lunch). It's pretty neat up there with a little walkway through the green area which is sedum and not grass (so no mowing). We went back down and hung out on the balcony overlooking downtown KC. I somehow got into my Nebraska food rant while talking to Topeka Tripel wherein I make fun of frenchies (grilled cheese sandwiches dipped in batter and deep fried) and Runzas (bierocks). I was overheard by some Nebraskans sitting nearby who loved frenchies (especially the ones from Don & Millies). Rather than discuss some more, I finished off my glass of Tank 7, grabbed my complimentary Smokestack series glass and made my leave.
The Brewmaster's Luncheon was a really good time. If you have the $35 necessary to attend, I would highly recommend it. At the very least you'll get to drink some Boulevard beer, get a nice little tour, a new Smokestack glass and have some lunch. Steven Pauwels was real good at working the room and answering questions so you should get a chance to talk to him if you so desire.
Upcoming events:
Friday, August 14th; featured food pairings by Pierpont's
Friday, September 25th; featured food pairings by bluestem
Friday, October 9th; featured food pairings by KC Hopps
So here's the deal, Abbey Ale is tired of going to the Flying Saucer everytime she meets Buttery Nipple and I for drinks. Nipple and I had to figure out someplace else to go after work. The Westside Local was too far for Nipple (it's like 8 blocks away from our work). I decided that this was a great opportunity to give the Savvy happy hour a shot.
I'd been to Savvy a couple of times for a cup of coffee in the morning. They make a mighty fine cup and well worth checking out. I'm not an a coffee expert but Savvy makes one of my favorite cups. But being a coffee shop is a tough hurdle to overcome come happy hour time.
Savvy is set up like a coffee shop, it feels like a coffee shop and smells like a coffee shop. It felt weird the moment Buttery Nipple and I sat down. Our waitress informed us of the happy hour specials (which I have totally memorized since I practically wrote them). Nipple got a Boulevard Wheat (with lemon) and I got a Boulevard Pale Ale. They don't have much of a beer selection and Boulevards are the only thing palatable that are on special.
Our waitress, who couldn't have been nicer, brought over a couple of oversized frosted glasses and poured our bottled beer in them. Savvy gets a 1/2 point here for bringing a glass to pour the beer into, but don't get a full point because it was a frozen glass.
When Abbey Ale got there she ordered a glass of malbec. Savvy does have numerous wines by the glass and if I go back I think I will just drink wine because it wouldn't feel as wrong as it did to drink beer in there. They have a bunch of those wine dispensers where they can have numerous bottles open without them going bad. They then dispense the glasses of wine into a mini carafe. So when you order a glass of wine, you get a gigantic wine glass and a little carafe filled with wine which the waitress pours into the glass.
This action confused Abbey Ale. She didn't understand why the waitress didn't pour all of the wine into the glass. She actually asked the waitress if she was breaking any rules by pouring it all into the glass. She wasn't.
All in all, Savvy is a fine place. I think I will just drink wine there if I ever go back because beer just didn't feel right. Your mileage may vary though. At the very least they have a KC Beer Blog certified happy hour.
Happy Hour 4 - 7 M-F $1 off glasses of wine $2 domestic bottles $3 Boulevards 1/2 price appetizers with purchase of bottle of wine
I had a chance to run over to the Westside Local for a beer this afternoon. I couldn't let opening day go by without me stopping in. I knew going in that they weren't quite ready so I'm not giving a full review right now. The taps weren't up and working and the bar area was not air conditioned. I was warned about both of those things by the hostess so I'm giving them a pass.
I did enjoy Amber the bartender (I'm only about 75% her name was Amber). She poured my Duvel in a a very nice tulip glass and we had a good discussion about good beer bars in the area and beers from Montana. You'll have to find out from Amber the reason for the Montana conversation.
Overall, it was a pretty nice looking space and they're still frantically working to perfect it. Go in, say hi, have a beer. This is going to be a really nice place when they get the kinks worked out. Go and give it a try especially once they get the taps working and you can get a Boulevard Tank 7.
Now that it's summertime we're all going to cookouts, barbecues, pool parties and block parties. Typically at these things you're lucky to get even a Miller Lite, let alone something that actually tastes great. You're also hamstrung by the fact that you're going to be drinking from the bottle or can. I rarely, as in never, drink from the bottle and I've realized over the past couple of days exactly why that is. The beer doesn't quite taste the same way when drank from the bottle (this will be the subject of an upcoming KC Star article so I'll leave it for then). So the question becomes what do you stock up a beer cooler with if you're going to host a party or a bunch of houseguests.
Now over the past couple of days I've been drinking from a beer cooler with selections of Boulevard Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Summer Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Schlafly No. 15, New Belgium Fat Tire and Skinny Dip. I know, woe is me. But, I've really only enjoyed drinking the 2 pale ales, the rest don't quite have the flavor straight from the bottle that I'm used to.
So in the interests of treating your guests to good craft brew balanced by the need to have cold beer available in bottles to cool them down, I thought a list of summer cooler beers should be in order. Keep in mind this is not a list of the best summer beers and it's not a list of great beers. It IS a list of beers that taste good cold, straight from the bottle, reasonable cheap and are accessible to all beer drinkers.
Boulevard Pale Ale - We're in KC, you must have a flagship KC beer. Boulevard Wheat is best in a glass and a lot of people might want a lemon. You don't want to deal with all of that trouble. Pale Ale tastes great from the bottle and is available in 12 packs for as cheap as any craft beer.
Shiner Bock - It's a popular beer and it tastes good from the bottle. It's a nice choice because it's accessible to the beer novice and tastes nice on a hot day.
Leinenkugels Summer Shandy - I went to a lake party last year that only had Busch Light and Miller Lite available. When I saw a couple of people drinking the Summer Shandy I had to ask where they got them (they had brought their own). I craved that beer and it's quite nice to drink on a hot day.
Sam Adams Summer Ale - This is one of my favorite summer seasonal beers and it tastes great from the bottle. Again, beer novices know the name Sam Adams, so it's quite accessible and it is quite refreshing.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - To this day, it's one of my favorite beers. It is better in a glass, but it tastes just great from the bottle as well. If you can convert one novice into a Sierra Nevada drinker, you will have done your job as a host.
Big Sky Moose Drool - Brown ales aren't typically thought of as a great warm weather beer, but if you're serving burgers or bbq, it's the perfect style to pair with your food. Moose Drool just happens to taste great from the bottle and seems exotic to the novice. Inexperienced craft beer drinkers will talk about it to all their friends for months. Moose Drool is or should be soon available in cans which makes it even better for the backyard, but if you can only find bottles it's still great.
You can fill up a couple of coolers with these beers for around $60 (12 packs of the Sierra Nevada, Boulevard and Shiner, sixers of the other 3 equalling 54 beers, good for 12-18 people depending on the drinkiness of the crowd). You will also have coolers full of refreshing, good tasting brews that can please a diverse crowd. If you have a couple of hardcore beer drinkers you can use your savings to fill up another cooler full of IPA's and some other challenging beers if you so wish. Just keep in mind what the beer tastes like coming from the bottle.
The Beer Blog is normally one of the best places for breaking news on beer in Kansas City, but today I was hoping our readers could shed some light on a new establishment opening in the Northland.
As I was heading back from lunch near Zona Rosa, I noticed a crew putting up a sign for a new place called the Brew Top. It appears to be going into the space formally occupied by the Granfalloon Northland. I was going to snag a picture of the sign, but I didn't want to creep out co-workers with my elite blogging skills.
Has anyone heard of this place before? Let me know in the comments. Sounds like it may be a nice place to grab a craft beer in a part of town now only being served by Granite City. Depending on what I hear back, I'll plan on some more indepth recon next week.
I’ve moved to Seattle.Yes.Wes Port has left the building.But I have to tell you about my new, favorite bar here in the Pacific Northwest.Ok, so I know this doesn’t really apply to the KC Beer Blog, so here’s the slant... My KC friend, Kodie, spoke highly of this interesting pub from one of her previous trips to the Seattle area.AND, they serve PBR (which people in Kansas City love to drink).Weak links?Well, I’m just sayin’…
Anyhow, I had some difficulty locating the place, but stumbled across it one day while out exploring the Capitol Hill neighborhood near downtown.The name?Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen.Perfect name for the perfectly eclectic neighborhood where it’s located.Lot’s of funky, artsy, tattooed, college-aged people.The big draw is the theme, which aside from their main, main-theme, the bitchin’ burritos, is the pretty cool artwork.The place is covered in colorful Mexican wrestler images, masks and beer bottle-top collages.Goes well with Mexican food.Interesting concept. Oh, and their burritos are the size of small children. TASTY! (The burritos, not the kids.)
A few of the beers at the bar include everyone’s favorite PBR, Juneau’s Alaskan beers, Manny’s (a delicious Seattle microbrew), and Rainier, which was historically the main beer brewed in this area.It has, however, been farmed out to Pabst/Miller.The old Rainier brewery, that sits along I-5 south of Safeco Field, has been turned into some sort of commercial development.
Downstairs from Bimbo’s is another unique bar called The Cha-Cha Lounge.It has an island/Hawaiian theme, but seems to play heavy metal over the loudspeaker and draw a wildly pierced and tattooed clientele.Dark bar, lit only with red lights (a bit brothel-esque, but I can assure you, nobody had their pants down besides me).
One place I haven’t found here is a brewery tour with the likes of Boulevard.That truly is one of the Midwest’s greatest treasures.Maybe someday I’ll be able to buy Boulevard here?? (**hint, hint** to my favorite Boulevard peeps...)
Lots of great places to drink in these parts!So, if you ever find yourself on a quick, four-hour flight from KC to Seattle…..you MUST put Bimbo’s and Cha-Cha’s on your to-do list.Sure, the Space Needle is swell and all, but it doesn’t have Mexican wrestlers.
The newest place in town to get your good beer on is The Westside Local. It's in the Westside neighborhood (1663 Summit) down the street from Blue Bird Bistro and promises a great beer selection with great food. They also give beer pairings for all of the menu items. I love places where beer isn't an afterthought and is a featured player. The executive chef who spent the past 17 years at Free State must know how great beer can accentuate great food. I can't wait for this place to open sometime later this week. The bar space is limited so they only have 6 taps, but they make up for it by having a great selection of bottled beers. The best part about this place though appears to be the beer garden where I can make a pest of myself by sitting at your table. The beer garden has long picnic tables which encourage communal seating. So beware, the stranger engaging you in conversation about Wichita, Canada or Cleveland Indians baseball may very well be your 8th favorite beer blogger, Bull E. Vard.
UPDATE: The Westside Local will be opening on Tuesday, July 14th. Celebrate Bastille Day there and enjoy some Duvel (I know it's not French but it's close enough).
