Boulevard to introduce Tasting Room Series

There has been increasing buzz and gossip on the internet recently about a new Tasting Room series that Boulevard is planning to introduce, as well as new variety packs. There hasn't been a lot of confirmed information other than a couple labels floating around and a bit of hearsay regarding the details behind these releases. I'm happy to report that I've received official word from Boulevard on what you can expect to see.


Let's start with the Tasting Room beers. As you probably gathered from the name, these will be packaged beers that are inspired by beers that have been put to the test in the Boulevard Tasting Room. The first two beers that will be released in this series are Mid-Coast IPA and Westside Rye Ale (these are the two labels that you may have seen). Mid-Coast IPA is the hoppiest beer ever brewed by Boulevard; it comes in at over 100 IBU's, and it was stressed that this is actual, measured IBU's, not a theoretical number. Westside Rye Ale will be a sessionable rye beer that includes 30% rye in the grain bill and is brewed with spicy hops to complement the rye.

These Tasting Room beers will be available as part of the new variety pack that Boulevard is launching. They currently hope to have these packs starting hitting shelves in late August or early September. The variety 12 packs will include 2 year-round core beers and 2 Tasting Room beers (3 bottles of each, for those who struggle with math). The idea is to have two versions each  year, a Fall/Winter mix and a Spring/Summer mix, each with different core and Tasting Room beers.

Finally, there had been some rumors floating around that fan voting was an aspect of selecting the next Tasting Room beers to be included in the series. I received word from Boulevard that this is not the case, and that was likely an instance of someone combining the news about the upcoming Tasting Room series and the KC Pils charity voting.

Though I couldn't manage to lure out any information about future brews in the Tasting Room lineup, I was told that the concept moving forward will likely be to include a more 'extreme' beer and a more sessionable beer with each new Tasting Room release. This falls in line with the Mid-Coast IPA and Westside Rye mentioned above, and could prove to result in some interesting and unique products coming from Boulevard in the future.

I am definitely looking forward to diving into this new series from Boulevard and seeing what else they come up with as they explore new extremes for their products. Make sure to keep an eye out for those variety packs starting late August!