Nutcracker's Out

I don't mean to cause you to leave the house, but I'm sitting here drinking the first of many Nutcracker Ales (it's a Steve Decker) right now. It's in stores all across the metro.

Keeping up with our streak, we were the first to buy Nutcracker at our selected store, which was Jack's this year. Last year was Tipsy's.

Once again, my ode to Nutcracker.

With a name like Nutcracker

I didn't think I'd be a backer

Yet, I love thee so

I get pretty low

When you're no longer around

Our time together is so short

I never get bored

With your wonderful taste

that is caramel based

I drink with too much haste.

Ooh, Nutcracker I do love you

And you love me too

You treat me right

We never fight

Even when there's too many of you in a night.

An Evening with Steven and Jean-Marie

The third installment of Barley's Beer School was held on Monday evening in Overland Park. This was the first Beer School I was able to attend so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. All I knew was that Jean-Marie Rock and Steven Pauwels were going to be speaking. I've been to Barley's Brewhaus in OP a number of times so I also knew that I had to get there early because there wasn't going to be a whole lot of room for something like this... I had to wait on a couple of a friends, let's call them Bartles and Jaymes, who were driving down from north of the river (way north of the river) so I couldn't leave before they got here. Bartles and Jaymes got to my place at about five minutes after the event was supposed to start so I started preparing myself mentally for having to stand for the duration of the Beer School next to some family of four who were enjoying their Buffalo Chicken wraps and couldn't care less about Orval or Boulevard, but had the dumb luck to get a booth. We ended up getting to Barley's at about a quarter past six and, sure enough, all of the tables around the speakers were taken. We were forced to cozy up European-style with an older mustachioed man who had an eight person booth all to himself... and his mustache. Even though we had seats there was still plenty to complain about...

Barley's isn't a quiet restaurant so it was painfully difficult to hear anything Jean-Marie Rock said into the mic. Perhaps Belgians are just naturally quite people because we were sitting about 15 feet from the PA and could barely hear him. Our booth was off to the right of the speakers at an angle that made it pretty much impossible to see either of the Belgians unless you were sitting on the end. Bartles and I practically had to get to second base for him to see what was going on up front, while Jaymes watched a documentary on the flat screen about Donald Trump and the USFL.

OK, so we were mostly to blame for our poor seating but that wasn't the only sour point of the evening. Get it? Sour because we're drinking Belgian beer? Admittedly, that's a bad pun since Orval really isn't all that sour... Anyway, the night wasn't a total bust. Jean-Marie did give some interesting insight into the Orval operation that most folks wouldn't know. For example, he said that there are about thirty people who work at Orval: five of them are brewers and seven are cheese makers. Being a Trappist brewery you might expect all of those employees to be monks but Rock said that there are just a few monks at Orval and they work on the financial side of the house. Rock did confirm that the only place you can actually get Orval beer on tap is at the brewery.

While the servers were pouring samples of Orval, Rock went on to describe how the characteristics of the beer change greatly after it is bottled. He said that the Orval we get in the states has aged during transport and has a stronger Brett flavor than the younger Orval. If you were to have a glass of fresh Orval at the brewery you'll notice that it is much hoppier. Personally, I think I'll stick with the bottled Orval. I've had it a few times and while it's quite good, it isn't my favorite Belgian pale. If you are a fan of stronger hop flavors then you'll probably prefer the Orval to some of the maltier, more sour Belgian beers. Even though the beer loses some of it's hoppiness by the time it reaches us, it's still a little bitter and citrusy. Overall it's a great beer and it's easy to tell why people are excited for a Boulevard/Orval collaboration beer.

Speaking of which, it should be pointed out that the Imperial Pilsner isn't a collaboration with Orval but rather with Jean-Marie Rock. Steven Pauwels elaborated quite a bit on the collaboration beer, saying that the Imperial Pilsner name is just the style which they feel most closely describes the beer they're making, but it will be quite unique. Regarding the reaction to the collaboration announcement, Pauwels said he was reading what people were saying online about the Imperial Pilsner and he thought it seemed like people were surprised about the choice of style. Yeah, I mean who in their right mind doesn't think "Imperial Pilsner" when they hear that two Belgian brewers are collaborating?

Pauwels went on to say that the collaboration with Rock is a one-off beer that they plan on brewing only once and releasing as a limited edition Smokestack bottle. He expects the beer to be ready in January or February.

Have you had your fill of Orval, Imperial Pilsners and Jean-Marie Rock? Well, then you might be interested in the second beer poured at the event... Pauwels brought a case or two of Boulevard's Harvest Dance Wheat Wine for sampling. Harvest Dance should be released in November and it looks like they've already done a production run because the bottles at Barley's had the full Smokestack label and looked like they were ready for retail. The Harvest Dance was a real surprise, it was super creamy and had a sweet Chardonnay or Sauvignon blanc flavor. I can't wait for this be released so I can give it a full review. Pauwels mentioned that Seeyoulator and Harvest Dance are (or will be very soon) on tap at the brewery so if you can't wait until release day you can try and sneak into a tour and try it for yourself.

Even though the evening got off to a rough start and there were plenty of things that could have been handled much better (I didn't even tell you about the horrible post-Beer School service...), I did have a great time at Barley's and I'm looking forward to the next Beer School event. I'm defintely going to arrive early next time and plan on eating elsewhere. The next Beer School will be on November 16th and feature Boulevard and 75th Street Brewery, they'll be discussing brewing ingredients.

MDL Wine and Spirits

If you were driving down 95th street on Saturday you might have noticed the giant inflatable Guinness pint at the Antioch intersection. Saturday was the Grand Opening of MDL Wine & Spirits at 8850 West 95th in Overland Park. I was happened to be in the area and decided to stop in and see what all the fuss was about.

MDL has actually been open for the past month, you may have seen their commercials on TV. Don't feel bad if you can't remember the commercials, they're pretty forgettable... What made them stick in the back of my mind is their claim that they have Overland Park's best wine selection. That's a pretty big claim when there is a Lukas Liquor within spitting distance. I needed to see this for myself.

MDL's location isn't exactly prime, it's on the northwest side of the 95th and Antioch intersection, between a Blockbuster and a Walgreens. So if you find yourself needing a bottle of wine to take home with your drive-thru prescription drugs and rented copy of He's Just Not That Into You, MDL is perfect for you.

When I walked in to MDL I thought to myself, "the Lukas Liquor on 119th is bigger than this..." After walking around and taking a good look at their selection it looks like they have a really nice selection of wines that comes pretty close to Lukas. I was able to find most of what I was looking for but wasn't able to scare up a Silvaner or Dornfelder. St. Pauli Girl found MDL's clearance rack and picked up a Rosé de Malbec and a bottle of Incognito for $5 each.

My main complaint with MDL Wine & Spirits is that their beer section is quite small. The selection is really nice though, and they have a lot of single beers you can't get a Gomer's or Lukas. Ever wanted to try North Coast's Pranqster or Ommegang's Three Philosophers but can't bring yourself to committing to a $12 4 pack or 750ml bottle? No problem, you can buy a 12oz bottle of either of these beers at MDL for $3 or $4. Even better, you don't have to build a six pack, you can walk in and get a single bottle of Haystack Wheat or Milk Stout for $1.29 if that's all you want.

I'm not convinced that MDL has the "best selection in Overland Park" but they do have a lot to offer and some pretty good bargains. If you find yourself on 95th street and want to pick up an odd number of craft beer loosies while your film gets developed next door, stop in MDL Wine & Spirits.

I had 99 beers but Bitch Creek ain't one

Well, did you go? Were you able to elbow through the crowds around the InBev booth? Did you see the Boulevard Tap Trailer? Or, did the 48 degree forecast dissuade you from leaving the comfort of your heated man cave? If you opted to stay home and watch college football then you missed out on some quality beers. Don't feel too bad, most of this year's selection seemed like it was donated by Lukas Liquor. So if you really wanna try the Great Divide Titan or New Belgium 1554 but were too lazy to drive up to Legends, you can just go down to the corner store and pick up a sixer.

What made the KC Beer Fest worthwhile was the "bang for buck" as Doug Frost would say in-between cheesy puns about your career choice and your favorite restaurant. Tickets to get in were $25, if you bought in advance, and that got you a 6oz snifter (if you got there late you probably got a slightly smaller glass) and samples from any of the 300 different beers on display. Considering most of the beers would run you about $10 a six pack or $7-14 for a 750ml bottle, this was a pretty good deal.

Now, it wasn't all rainbow farts and lollipops at the KC Beer Fest... there were plenty of dude bros in attendance and the cover band played Sweet Home Alabama at least twice. My girlfriend, the St. Pauli Girl, overheard one young lady say to her friend, "Where's the Budweiser booth, that's all I wanna to know!" But enough about the cliches and lames.

We made our way around the beer fest in numerical order, stopping at about three quarters of the booths before all of the booths on the north side of the event all ran out of beer at the same time. I started the event off with an Avery Out of Bounds Stout which was roasty, dark and perfect for standing in the cold with a couple hundred people who just couldn't wait for someone to drop their glass so they could make a scene.

Not to bore you with the details of every beer that I tried, I thought I'd just run down the short list of beers that I liked enough to spend money on in the future. In no particular order they were:

Corsendonk: This is a beer I've had once before about a year ago. I'd only had the brown ale before, which was sweet like candied fruit and had a bit of funky wild Belgian yeast. I tried their pale ale as well and liked it quite a bit. The pale is less sweet, more hoppy and loaded with malt.

Left Hand Haystack Wheat: I'm not sure how I've missed this one before but I've never actually brought home a bottle of the Haystack Wheat. It doesn't sound terribly interesting and you'd probably expect it to be a lot like Boulevard's Unfiltered Wheat but Left Hand actually made this more like a traditional Hefeweizen. This beer has the banana and coriander flavors the Germans can't get enough of. This was a pleasant surprise and I'll definitely pick up a sixer of this next time I see it.

Left Hand Smoke Jumper: I have a special place in my gullet for smoke beers, so of course I liked the Smoke Jumper. Like the better smoke beers out there, this one smells like bacon and tastes like grease drippings and burnt barley. There were a number of smoked porters at the beer fest but this one was the best.

Boulevard Dry Hopped Nutcracker: Dubbed the Nutsack, this beer is a special hoppier version of the Nutcracker Christmas seasonal. Dry hopping isn't usually something I'm too keen on but the Nutcracker is a darker, maltier beer that can hold it's hops better than an IPA or APA in my opinion. I mean, adding more hops to an already hoppy Pale Ale? What's so exciting about that? The Nutsack, on the otherhand, takes it in a different direction. I tried to go back from seconds on this one but it seems a lot of Beer Fest goers really like the taste of nutsack...

Boulevard Long Strange Tripel: This was the last Smokestack beer I have yet to bring home. I can't really explain why though... I finally got a glass of the tripel from the back of the Boulevard van and it was much better than I thought it would be. I didn't expect it to be bad, it was just really good. Maybe it was because Trip poured it himself.

Nøgne Ø #100: This is a beer I've been wanting to try for a quite a while. I've seen these Norwegian beers at the store but their $10+ price tag (for a 12oz bottle) has deterred me from picking one up. The #100 is a barley wine style beer that tasted like sour cherry, toffee and a little oaky. If the ABV weren't in the double digits I would have gone back for seconds...

Honorable mentions and beers that I thought were good at the time but probably wouldn't stand up to a more sober critique were:

Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat: This beer smelled really good and tasted a lot like the Isolation Ale I had just before it. Odell is known for quality beers while Tallgrass isn't so I'll chalk this one up to the Isolation's coattails...

High Noon Saloon Annie's Amber: Kudos for cramming an ungodly amount of hops in a 12oz aluminum can. Maybe next time you can try and fit some malt in there?

And lastly, the beers I'm ashamed to have even asked for a free sample of...

Ed Hardy Premium Beer: I couldn't bring myself to try both the beers so I figured if I had to drink one I might as well go for the "Premium Beer." Honestly, this tasted like a creamy Bud Light. It was horrible.

Rosée d'Hibiscus: I hate to put this in the same category as Ed Hardy's Premium Beer but I just didn't care for this beer. It looked and smelled like Cherry 7up and tasted like a flat Rosé wine... So far Dieu du Ciel is 0/2 in my book.

Lagunitas' Everything: Hey guys, I get it... you like IPAs. Seriously, does every beer you make have to have more hops than the last? I think your true calling may have been to run a hop farm, not brew beer.

Well, that pretty much sums up my day at the KC Beer Fest. After about three hours of solid drinking St. Pauli Girl and I had to pack away our tasting glass away and hightail it back to Overland Park in time for a baptism. Seriously...

KC Beer Fest this weekend at The Legends

Consider this a friendly reminder that the KC Beer Fest will be held this weekend at The Legends. The event kicks off at 1pm and goes until 5pm on Saturday. In those four short hours you'll be able to sample as many of the "over 300 beers" as your little liver desires. Keep in mind that the event will (most likely) be held outside so dress appropriately as the forecast for this Saturday is looking like it'll be partly cloudy and in the mid 50s. As with any gathering of brewers beer blankets will be provided. If you're thinking of going but haven't committed yet, you can still pick up advance tickets for $25. If you plan on procrastinating until 1pm on Saturday then be sure to bring another $5 with you. If you get bored at the beerfest and wanna say hi you can probably find me at either the Hitachino or Ommegang booth, just look for the fanboy in the fitted Avery hat and Sixth Glass Smokestack shirt.

EDIT: Here's the REAL list of 2009 Beers:

Anderson Valley
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA
Anderson Valley Deep Enders Dark Porter

Anheuser-Busch
Bud Light Golden Wheat
Budweiser American Ale
Bud Light Chelada
Bud Light Lime

Anheuser-Busch
Wild Blue
Landshark
Bacardi Silver Sangria

Avery Brewery
IPA
White Rascal
14er's
Red Point
Ellies

Ballast Point
Ballast Point Big Eye Ipa
Bard’s Tale
Baird’s Tale Dragons Gold (Gluten Free)

Bear Republic
Racer 5
Hop Rod Rye
Pete's Brown
Special XP
Red Rocket
Big Bear Stout

Big Sky Brewing Co.
Moose Drool Brown Ale
Big Sky IPA
Trout Slayer

Black Sheep Brewery
Black Sheep Ale

Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale

Boston Beer
Sam Adams Black Lager
Sam Adams Blackberry Witte
Sam Adams Boston Ale
SamAdams Boston Lager
Sam Adams Brown Ale
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
Sam Adams Cream Stout
Sam Adams Honey Porter
Sam Adams Hefeweizen

Sam Adams Irish Red
Sam Adams Light
Sam Adams Octoberfest/ Winter
Sam Adams Imperial Double Bock
Sam Adams Imperial Stout
Sam Adams White

Boulder & Rockies
Boulder Hazed & Infused Dry-Hopped Ale
Boulder Mojo IPA
Boulder Planet Porter
Boulder Singletrack Copper Ale
Buffalo Golden

Boulevard Brewing Co.
Lunar Ale
Boulevard Pale Ale
Boulevard Wheat

Boulevard Porter
Single IPA
Tank 7

Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge Agave Wheat
Breckenridge Avalanche Ale

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Bridgeport Brewery
Bridgeport Blackstrap Stout
Bridgeport ESB
Bridgeport IPA

Canadian Beers
Labatt Blue
Labatt Light
Moosehead

Ciders
Hardcore Cider
Aspall Organic Cider

Coney Island
Coney Island
Sword Swallower

Corsendonk
Corsendonk Brown
Corsendonk Pale Ale

Cosmos Brewery (Thai Beverage Plc.)
Chang Beer

Crown Imports
St. Pauli Girl
St. Pauli Girl Dark
Diageo-Draught-Ireland
Guinness Draught
Harp Lager
Smithwick’s
Guinness Extra Stout 1Case

Dieu Du Ciel
Rosee d' Hibiscus

Distinguished Brands
Fruli Strawberry
Ed Hardy
Ed Hardy Beer
Ed Hardy Light Beer

Erdinger Brewery
Erdinger Hefeweizen

Ft. Collins Brewery
Ft. Collins Chocolate Stout
Ft. Collins Retro Red
Ft. Collins Z Lager

Free State-Draught (KS)
Free State Ad Astra
Free State Copperhead
Free State Wheat State Golden
Free State Seasonal

Goose Island Brewery
Goose Island 312

Grand Teton
Bitch Creek
Sweetgrass
Au Natural

Great Divide
Denver Pale Ale
Saint Bridgets
Titan
Wild Raspberry
Samurai
Hercules
Yeti

Green Mountain Beverage
Woodchuck Amber Draft Cider
Woodchuck Dark & Dry 802 Draft Cider
Woodchuck Raspberry Draft Cider

He'Brew
Genesis
Messiah Bold
Bittersweet Lenny’s

Heineken CCM Brands
Bohemia
Carta Blanca
Dos Equis Amber
Dos Equis Lager
Sol
Tecate
Heineken USA
Heineken Light
New Castle Brown Ale
High Falls
Dundee Honey Brown
Genny Cream Ale

InBev
Becks Oktoberfest
Hoegaarden
Stella Artois

Karmeliet
Tripel

Lagunitas Brewing Company
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas Pale Ale
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Lakefront Brewery
Lakefront Cherry
Lakefront Fuel Café Stout
Lakefront New Grist

Left Hand Brewery
JuJu
Sawtooth
Jackmens
Polestar
Milk Stout
Haystack
Deep cover
Twin Sisters
Smoke Jumper

Lost Coast Brewery
Lost Coast Great White
Lost Coast Alleycat
Lost Coast Downtown Brown
Lost Coast Eightball Stout
Lost Coast Indica IPA

Malts
Smirnoff Ice Mango
Smirnoff Ice Passion Fruit
Smirnoff XBT (can)
Parrot Bay Mojito
Parrot Bay Strawberry Daiquiri

Michelob Brewing Company
Shock Top
Michelob Ultra Cactus Lime
Michelob Ultra Pomegranate
Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit
Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale

Mikkeller
Stateside

MillerCoors
Miller Chill
Peroni
Leinenkugel Classic Amber
Blue Moon

Modelo Brewery
Corona Extra
Corona Light
Modelo Especial
Negra Modelo
Pacifico

Nogne-o
#100

Non-Alcoholic Beers
Buckler
Kaliber
St Pauli Girl NA

North Coast Brewery
North Coast Brewing Blue Star Wheat
North Coast Brewing Scrimshaw Pilsner

O'Fallon Brewery
O'Fallon Smoked Porter
O'Fallon Pumpkin
O'Fallon 5-Day IPA

Ommegang Brewery Belgium Style
Hennepin Ale
Ommegang Abbey Ale
Ommegang Witte
Three Philosophers

Other Brews
00086-Red Stripe
00243-Xingu Black Beer
Deproef Zoetzuur Flemish Ale
Deproef Lozen Boer Abt
Deproef Reunion Organic Red Rye
St. Pauli Girl

St. Pauli Girl Dark
Cooper’s Sparkling Ale
Cooper’s Stout
Lion Stout
Sapporo Light
Tsing Tao
Tsing Tao Pure Draft
Hitachino Ginger Ale

Pabst Brewing Company
Schlitz Gusto
Double White

Pauwel
Kwak

St Peters Brewery
St. Peter’s Cream Stout
St. Peter’s Old Porter

Schlafly St Louis, MO
Schlafly American Pal Ale
Schlafly Hefeweizen
Schlafly Pale Ale
Schlafly Octberfest
Schlafly Pumpkin
Schlafly Oatmeal Stout

Seadog Brewing Company
Sea Dog Bluepaw
Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat

Shipyard Brewing Company
Shipyard IPA
Shipyard Export

SKA Brewing
SKA Decadent IPA
SKA ESB Ale
SKA Modus Hoperandi
SKA Steel Toe Milk Stout

Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner Black Lager
Shiner Blonde
Shiner Bock
Shiner Hefeweizen

Tallgrass Brewery
Tallgrass Kold
Tallgrass Wheat
Tallgrass Ale
Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat Stout
Tallgrass IPA

Tea’s
Twisted Tea
Twisted Tea Peach

Tommyknocker Brewery
Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown
Tommyknocker Butthead Bock

23RD Street Brewery (KS)
Street Crimson Phog Ale
23RD Street Raspberry Wheat

Warbird Brewing Company
Warbird Shanty Irish Ale
Warbird Thunderbolt Wheat
Warbird Warhawk Pale Ale

Weihenstephan
Hefeweissbier
Hefeweissbier Dark

Kristallweissbier
Vitus
Original Lager
Korbinian

Wychwood Brewery
Wychwood Hobgoblin Ale
Duchy English Ale

Happy Irish Fest!

Three men walk into the beer garden at Weston's Irish Fest: a Frenchman, an Italian and an Irishman. Each orders one beer. Three flies come along and one fly lands in each man's beer.

The Italian man plucks the fly out of his beer, says, "Tutto e bene" (all is well)" and drinks the beer.

The Frenchman shows his beer with the bug still inside it to the bartender and demands another drink.

The Irishman yanks the bug out of the beer, grabs it by it's wings, shakes it while yelling

"Cough it up, you wee thievin' bastard!"

Boulevard + Orval = Imperial Pilsner

Consider this Boulevard's Save the Date announcement for their upcoming marriage to Orval (or at least Orval's Brewmaster Jean-Marie Rock). When consummated sometime later this month, the union will produce a new Limited Edition Smokestack Series beer. The new beer will be an Imperial Pilsner, a style which is often referred to as the "American Double." No matter what you call it, the announcement of any kind of Pilsner will probably only wet the pants of true beer nerds. Can you feel the excitement? Me neither.

I'm still holding out hope that this isn't the only beer that comes out of the BLVD/Orval collaboration. With visions of wild Belgian yeast dancing in my head I can only imagine how awesome it'd be to have a Boulorvald Oud Bruin. Or just think of how delicious a sour Unfiltered Wheat would be... Man, I can almost taste the yeast now.

Here's the official press release in non-PDF format:

KANSAS CITY, Mo., October 9, 2009 – Boulevard Brewing Company today announced that Jean-Marie Rock, brewmaster at Orval, the renowned Trappist brewery located in southern Belgium, will team up with Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels to create a small production, limited release beer. The joint effort, a first for the Midwestern craft brewery, will take place during Rock’s late October visit to Boulevard’s Kansas City facility.

The brewers, both native Belgians, will produce an Imperial Pilsner similar to a lager brewed by Rock at the start of his career. It will, according to Pauwels, be a tribute to Pilsner beers; full flavored and refreshing, brewed with 100% Pilsner malt and 100% Saaz hops, using time-honored techniques.

“The beer will be made in a very traditional way,” said Rock. “The methods by which it will be brewed, fermented, and lagered are no longer employed, though they made this beer fantastic. It is time to get a beer like this back in a glass.”
For his part, Pauwels is thrilled by the chance to work with his notable colleague. “In this, Boulevard’s first collaborative effort, we are pleased to honor a brewer who has had such an enormous influence on me and on so many other craft brewers. Jean-Marie mastered dry hopping and brewing with wild yeast long before craft brewers began experimenting with the techniques here in the U.S.”
The beer, to be packaged in 750ml bottles as part of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, is expected to be available in January, and will be distributed through Boulevard’s wholesaler network.

About Boulevard Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to be the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, dedicated to the craft of producing fresh, flavorful beers using traditional ingredients and the best of both old and new brewing techniques. Boulevard’s portfolio of six year-round and five seasonal beers are available in a 17-state region stretching from Utah to Alabama, and from North Dakota to Texas.

Brewers Fact Sheet
Jean-Marie Rock, Brewmaster, Orval
As brewmaster for one of the world’s most revered and recognizable beers, Jean-Marie Rock is responsible for maintaining a centuries-old brewing tradition in an era of constant global change. The Trappist beers of Orval have retained a unique position of honor for many years, as trends in brewing and – and in beer drinking – have come and gone. Since joining the brewery in 1985, Rock has remained committed to investing in technology to improve the beer’s quality,
without compromising its remarkable character.

A 1972 graduate of Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Rock holds a degree in Brewing
Engineering. He later earned an MBA from Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Rock’s career began at Palm Breweries in Steenhuffel, Belgium where he worked from 1972 to 1980. He then spent five years with Lamot Brewery in Mechelen before joining Orval in 1985.

Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster, Boulevard Brewing Company
During his decade at Boulevard Brewing Company, Steven Pauwels has overseen all aspects of brewing and quality control as the regional craft brewer’s sales have more than tripled, to over 143,000 barrels in 2009. Pauwels is also responsible for 13 additions to Boulevard’s brand lineup, including the critically acclaimed Smokestack Series line of artisanal beers.

Pauwels grew up steeped in the brewing industry. His first stint in the business came with summer work at his hometown brewery, Eeklo’s Brouwerij Krüger, where his father held a job. After receiving degrees in Biochemical Engineering from KaHo Sint-Lieven and in Business Administration from Mercator, both in Ghent, Belgium, he held positions at the Domus brewpub in Louvain and at RIVA brewery in Dentergem.

The transplanted brewmaster has received international recognition for his beers, most recently in the form of a gold medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival for Boulevard’s summer seasonal, ZŌN Belgian-style Witbier.

Missing Boulevard...

About a week ago, my pal Ward Parkway and I had the opportunity to visit Seattle's equivalent of Boulevard. Granted, this brewery is not working at the capacity of Kansas City's hometown favorite, but it's off to a fantastic start. Think Boulevard circa 1995-ish?

Let me back up just a little bit. I've wanted to find something similar to the Boulevard tour in KC while I'm residing in the Pacific Northwest. So far, I haven't found anything like it. I've been trying to get over to Redmond, Washington to check out the Redhook brewery and the Mac and Jack's brewery, but haven't done that yet.

A few months ago when I was perusing the Georgetown Brewery website, located not far from my house in downtown Seattle, I noticed that they didn't have any way to check out or sign up for a tour... So, I sent an email, and was promplty contacted by a staffer, who offered me a date several months out. Apparently they only give tours once per month, and the tours only allow for 11 people max. I booked two spots and sat, impatiently, for two and a half months until my tour date arrived. ("Hey Georgetown: check out KC's really cool Tour Tool! ... http://www.blvdbeer.com/tours/)

The visit was nice. I can imagine it must have been similar to Boulevard's tour back in the early days of development. The brewery is small, and there is a tiny little gift shop/sampling station where there seemed to be a limitless amount of "tastings" for the 11 people in our group. That was a pleasant surprise, indeed! Our tour guide, one of the sales reps, did an incredible job of going into the history of the company without delving into what could be some very tedious material... We enjoyed our stay in the gift shop, sampling beers while our guide lectured. It was informal and quite interesting, eventhough we had a few beer-nerd-douchbags on the tour who didn't hesitate to consistenly add their own two cents at EVERY. SINGLE. OPPORTUNITY. So, we headed back to the bar for a fill-up while they endlessly gabbed.

Our guide gave us directions to the second half of the tour at the NEW (yes, new and very shiny) brewing facility for Georgetown. They have outgrown their current space and have purchased an enormous warehouse half a mile from their current location. It's being renovated and is presently functional, but it still has no gift shop and lacks some of the items needed for a proper public tour (such as a gi-normous bar and/or tasting area)... But the tour was informative and we were able to see up-close how they fill, empty, and clean the tanks, how they prepare, clean and fill the kegs, and how they package the beer for shipping.

Currently, Georgetown only sells within the state of Washington, and to a few place in Idaho. Hopefully, they will someday branch beyond the NW region so that the good folks of Kansas and Missouri will be able to sample some Pacific heaven! Currently on tap: Manny's Pale Ale (the Flagship), Rogers Pilsner, Bob's Brown*, Chopper's Red, and 9-Lb Porter.

You really can't go to any bar in the Seattle region without finding Manny's Pale Ale on tap. It truly is the equivalent of finding Boulevard Wheat on tap in nearly every bar back in KC.

Hopefully, as the new facility is retrofitted with the expanded gift shop and tasting area, more tours will be offered to the general public. I know what an important tourist attraction Boulevard has become to Kansas City, and maybe one day in the near future, the Georgetown Brewery Tour will look similar.

All in all, we had a great time, and we sure have become quick fans of this local gem of a brewery! Cheers to Manny's! And cheers, of course, to our hometown favorite, Boulevard!

*Bob's is only on tap for a few days on and after May 14 each year. Bob was a company friend who passed away from cancer, so they release this beer every year on his birthday, May 14, and 100% of the proceeds goes to charity.

Unopened case of BLVD Wheat returned to brewery after 19 years

For those of you who aren't Facebook inclined, social networking Luddites, or otherwise may have just missed this gem from Boulevard I thought I'd pass it along. It seems they received an unusual package today, a case of Boulevard Wheat. At least I assume it's unusual for cases of Boulevard Wheat to get returned to the brewery... now, if it were Zon or Bob's 47 I could understand why it'd get returned. It wasn't just any old case of Unfiltered Wheat that got returned... it was a 19 year old case, from their first run on December 21, 1990. That's right, someone's had this thing tucked away for nigh on two decades.

Boulevard says the case was returned by Eric (from City Cement Company) unopened, and it'll presumably stay that way. I'm kinda curious how a 6865 day wheat beer would taste... Heck, in a little over two years this case of beer will be old enough to buy its freedom.

Wanna feel really old? Just think, this case of beer is older than the following:

The youngest Jonas Brother

The independent state of Ukraine

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

The Florida Marlins

Bud Ice

Oh, and by the way, the Chiefs went 11-5 in 1990. Those were the days....

You Don't Know Jack

A couple of weeks ago Stella came home and told me that she would like to commission a post about how great Jack's Discount Liquor (95th and I-35 in front of Sam's)is. She raved about her experience of shopping for wine. She was wandering through the wine aisles and one of the clerks came up to her and asked if he could help her. He asked her what she liked and he suggested a couple of wines for her which she brought home. She raved about his knowledge of wines, his customer service and everything else about the experience.

I filed this information in my head and was trying to come up with something to write about Jacks. Then, on Monday, I was told to go to the store and get some wine for our spaghetti and meatball dinner, preferably a zinfandel. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to go to Jack's myself (I already knew their beer selection is subpar, though they did have a bunch of Saison-Brett and Two Jokers). So I did.

Jack's is kind of a small liquor store that feels kind of crowded with inventory. They do have a good wine selection but no discernible classification system. For the most part the chardonnays were with the chardonnays and the shiraz with the shiraz except for when they weren't. I never quite figured it out and I was in there for 10 minutes trying to look confused to see if anybody would help me out. To be fair I did have over a week's worth of beard growth on my face and looked a little like a shiftless drifter who shaved that morning (a week's worth of beard for me = real man's 5 O'clock shadow). No one ever came over to help me.

I picked up a bottle of Artezin Zinfandel 2005 from Mendocino County and a Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough (Stella loves just about any Sauv Blanc from Marlborough). I've written on here that I'm not an expert on wines and I'm not, but I do know a little bit about wine and what I like. We've drank a lot of wine over the years together and have our favorites. The Artezin Zinfandel shot right onto the list of favorites. It was absolutely wonderful and a very nice pairing with the spaghetti and meatballs. For $14.99 it was quite the bargain too. The bottle didn't last the night. The Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc was also very good but not something I would encourage everyone to try.

So what started out in my head as a post about a liquor store's exceptional customer service turned into a wine recommendation. I think the service might be a little better for good looking women so if you're hot and female Jack's might be the place for you. If you're not hot and female then you might want to go elsewhere. But, you should get a bottle of Artezin Zinfandel if you're in a zin mood.

Blog Housekeeping

As you probably read, The KC Beer Blog has added another contributing writer, Paul A. Ner. I've read and enjoyed Paul's blog, By The Pint, for a while now. I trust his taste, enjoy his writing and think that he's going to be real popular 'round here.

I felt we needed to do this so the KC Beer Blog can keep up with reporting on the KC beer scene, reviewing beers and bars and keep the posts to a near daily pace. With Wes gone to Seattle, Chimpotle unable to drink much beer since he was added and me busy with a job search, a void was created. Hopefully Paul will be able to fill that void and The KC Beer Blog will once again be KC's sixth best beer blog.

Now back to business.

Collaboration or just speculation?

If you were lucky enough to be in attendance last Monday for Barley's Beer School you may have heard that the third installment of the Beer School series will feature guest speakers Steven Pauwels and Jean-Marie Rock. Pauwels, of course, is the Brewmaster at Boulevard and Rock is his counterpart at a Trappist Brewery at the Orval Monastery in Belgium. Pauwels seems like an obvious choice as a speaker since it's just a twenty minute drive to Barley's for him, but Jean-Marie Rock has a bit more of a commute.

You might be asking yourself, "Man, Belgium seems so awesome... why would this guy leave Orval to come teach Midwesterners about beer? Ain't it against a Monk's religion to fly in an airplane anyways?" Well, for starters you're thinking of the Amish and they don't really drink beer. Secondly, it sounds like this visit is a dual purpose one... KC Hop Head, who was at the last Beer School event, says that Rock and Pauwels are collaborating on a new beer that will carry a Boulevard label when it's finished.

Now you might be wondering why the Brewmaster of a world renowned brewery like Orval would choose Boulevard to collaborate with. Well, one reason is that Boulevard makes solid beers. Their Belgian style beers, like Two Jokers and Sixth Glass, are particularly good. This is due, in no small part, to Pauwels who came to Boulevard from Belgium about a decade ago. Apart from the obvious parallels here, you can imagine the Monks back in Orval probably aren't particularly keen on innovation, so it would make sense for Rock to look elsewhere if he were interested in trying something new, and who better to team up with but a fellow Belgian?

So, if KC Hop Head is to be believed, it sounds like we'll be seeing at least one new Orval inspired Boulevard beer in the not too distant future. On the other hand the entire thing could fall apart and all we get is yet another Saison release.

Either way, I hope I've whetted your appetite for a Boulevard/Orval collaboration beer. Personally, I'm hoping for an Oud Bruin sour brown ale and I'm dubbing this Project Boulorvald. Catchy isn't it? Anyway, mark your calendar for October, 26th - that's when part three of Barley's Beer School will be held. Hopefully there will be more info in the meantime.

Hello, good people of the KC Beer Blog

Chances are you don't know me, or care, so I thought I'd waste a little bit of your time by introducing myself.

I'm Paul A. Ner. I'm a drinker and a writer. I like to drink beer and analyze all the fun out of it. Luckily for you I have a site of my own where I can do this to my heart's content. It's called By the Pint. I'll be posting my less boring and not-so-analytical beer related stuff here. I'll do my best to keep the non-beer crap on Twitter...

Boulevard History