Boulevard Smokestack Series - Imperial Stout

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Kansas City, Missouri USA

Serve in Snifter

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Batch # 2008-1, Bottle 06447 / 11960; Sampled January 2010
A vigorous pour into my Lost Abbey Teku glass produces a four-finger thick, dense, brown head that leaves a richly layered lacing pattern on the sides of my glass as it slowly subsides (subsequent pours do the same). The beer is a black, concentrated color that is most definitely opaque. The aroma smells of a rich, sweet, dark chocolate character that has been amplified quite a bit more than I would have expected. There is a supporting back drop of roasted grain character that smoothly supports the rich, darkly roast caramelized, sweet grain character. This is dense smelling, with a savory malt character that provides a balance to the more dominant sweet, rich maltiness. Sweet espresso notes that has been amply sweetened with anise-scented simple syrup. There seems to be a touch of floral, quite peppery smelling herbal character, green peppercorns, and this leads me into noticing some barrel character with notes of toasted coconut, chocolate and sweet malt boosting vanilla notes, spicy oak subtleties, a spiciness that really reminds me of caraway and some bright though somehow soft cedar notes. The aroma is quite interesting, very complex and it wasn’t anywhere near what I was expecting.

Sweet, rich malt notes coat the palate up front, but this slowly gets tempered towards the finish with spicy oak notes, peppery almost herbaceous notes, savory caraway spice notes, a touch of warming alcohol and a touch of hop bitterness that mingles with the bitter dark roast notes. There is a complex dark grain character that provides a middle of rich, whole grain, brown bread character. The whole grain character, really sticks out in this beer; it is so savory, complex and tasty. Spicy bourbon like notes intermingles with bourbon like fruitiness and a woody spice character, smooth roast grain notes, savory whole grain notes a complex rich chocolate character that leans towards savory more than sweet malt character (but definitely has some balancing sweetness too), cocoa character that has a touch of chalkiness to it, somehow lightly tart vanilla notes, tart coconut milk flavors, . The mentioned tartness is quite light and definitely does not seem to be “wild” in influence, but does add a nice influence to the beer. The texture of this beer is quite rich and satiating, but at the same time it is well balanced by the tartness, complex barrel spiciness and drying roast grain character; and while it is viscous, it really finishes on the dry / light side somehow and I wonder if the age of this beer has some influence here. Speaking of which, I think it is the combination of the barrel character and the age that gives this beer such a dynamic spiciness; it really achieves some unique flavors and aromas in this beer. A supporting ester, phenolic and general complexity really helps to boost the overall complexity of this beer. As the beer warms an almost spicy, cinnamon and even nutmeg, or ginger, but definite caraway, as well as some anise and some spicy carob are all noticeable in the flavor. The warming also accentuate aromas of plum, prune, fermented raisin, some floral roast apple notes and spicy, not quite hot, but approaching, hot alcohol notes.

This is a very rich, very complex beer that is really hitting the spot right now. I really like how well that the barrel aging notes influence this beer without overwhelming it; it even took me a while to realize, when smelling this, that it was in fact barrel aged, but it really boosts the savory and hearty character of this beer quite a bit and integrates quite well with the rich, sweet, roasted, dark grain character. I am really quite enjoying this beer, definitely more than I would have suspected, and it is certainly hitting the spot on this cold (ok cool by most standards) Tucson evening. I wonder how much of the age of this beer has helped to mellow and integrate this beer, whatever it is, this really works.

Black in color with just a small brown head. Intense roasted malt aroma along with some rich dark fruits. A mild oak and vanilla note in the background with some nice dark chocolate. The flavor is heavy on the roasted malt and dark chocolate with some more mild/subtle coffee and licorice notes. Mild to moderate oak and vanilla with a nice touch of dark fruit, such as black cherry.

750 ml bottle
Aroma: black cherries, whiskey, wood, chocolate, fruity alcohol, fruity
Appearance: dark black with a vanishing head
Taste: very similar to the aroma, I feel that there is a slight infection in this beer, there are cherry notes and an off sourness
Palate: starts off thick, has an oily character, and finishes sweet
Overall: not bad even with an infection, I did hope for more, I will have to try other bottles

2011 batch 1 bottle. It pours very dark brown with a brown head. The aroma jumps out as rich chocolate sauce with very nice mild notes of whiskey. Some nuttiness and light wood adds some complexity. The flavor is similar to the aroma. Incredibly thick rich body with noticeable whisky that makes it a bit slick on the palate. I can also pick up the oats in the creaminess of this brew. Big chocolate and tar with a little raisin and very present alcohol. Overall, I enjoyed this one. I thought the whiskey influence was spot on.

Bottle split into 3 and poured into an american pint glass. Batch 2011-2, Best by 1-2013. Aroma: coffee and earthy. lots of alcohol and a bit of sour Appearance: very black and no light able to make it through. very minimal head Taste: a bit of bitter and a decent amount of sour. slightly sweet Palate: average carbonation and medium body. creamy texture and slightly bitter finish. Overall: this was the batch that was infected with Brett. Can definitely taste the sour but haven’t tried a non-infected bottle. Better than their dark truth stout but I’ve had better. The alcohol was definitely very present and not hidden extremely well.

Pours a deep, oily black with little to no head to speak of. Quite a bit of alcohol in the aroma, along with some chocolate and anise/licorice. Licorice is really in the forefront of the flavor. There is some chocolate and some coffee, maybe some dark fruit, like plum or raisin. There’s also more than a touch of booze/alcohol to the flavor. This is a good imperial stout.

I found this brew to be absolutely devine! Rich, a little chocolatey, big vanilla and burnt sugar. Roasted coffee and leather help bring up the back end. Very complex, may not be for everyone. A little on the dessert side.

Deep black body with a creamy brown head. Malts dominated aroma with notes of grapes, wine: very interesting. Excellently balanced and very complex flavour.

Hefig-malziger Beginn mit im Mittelteil aufkommenden Schokoladennoten. Dann deutlich bitterer, weiche Getreidigkeit, vollmundig, dann noch schokoladiger, voll, kurz brennend. Süffig. 12/13/13/14/12/13

Black with a small tan head. Toasty malts and a little oak on the nose. Thick black coffee malts, cocoa, and a hint of vanilla. I was told this was a defected bottle I was drinking, but it was so good.

Bottle 14512, Batch 2
Almost black beer, slight tan head. Aroma of malts, bourbon, vanilla, roasted malts, American oak, slight red wine notes. Rather sweet malty, wood, vanilla, candied dark fruits. The slight sourness in the background balances it well. Full body, quite thick. Wood and burned malts in the finish. Very, very nice.
(From 75cL bottle @ RBBWG 2012, Antwerpen. Thanx for sharing, tderoeck!)