Boulevard Nutcracker Ale

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Kansas City, Missouri USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

12 oz bottle, via ericmc83. Cloudy light brown pour with a small off-white head. Generous amounts of carbonation retains head well. Deep resiny hop aroma up front, with a sweet toffee malt base. Very sweet malt up front with a resiny/earthy hop bitterness in the middle. This just lacks any sort of depth or complexity. My vote for the style of this is Dumbed Down Barley Wine. Pretty thin with a watery finish, fine carbonation but too much of it. Boring mouthfeel. Not so good this one. Very weak in both flavor and complexity. Pretty confused after I saw so many high ratings when I entered this.

Courtesy of Secret Santa July 2011

Bottle: The aroma is rather light and consists of caramel/toffee, light spice, and a touch of citrus. It pours a cloudy dark reddish-orange with a two finger beige head with decent retention. It leaves behind some spotty lacing. The flavor starts with a quick dose of caramel and toffee. The finish has a citrus tanginess, nuts, and faint ginger. It’s medium bodied with moderate carbonation, but manages to feel a bit thin at times. Overall, it’s decent but a little under-spiced from what I’ve come to expect from a "Winter Warmer."

Having seen the high rating and having read some of the ratings of this beer, I must be drinking the wrong stuff. I found the beer to taste of sour mash and to be surprisingly bitter. It looked like an inviting ale and the aroma was somewhat intriguing. However, the beer itself left me wishing for more. Maybe the next one will change my mind.

The bottle looks a bit complex, the beer in the glass is okay. Hoppy and fruity-sweet aroma. Starts modest dry, notes of clove. The finish is a bit weak, modest dry in the background. Too boring!

2007 12 oz bottle from mreusch; BB 02/01/08; Nose of brown sugar, caramel, and light vanilla; lightly hazed copper with a big beige head; flavor has pepperiness, caramel, and molasses with a lightly bitter finish. Decent ale.

Bottle... Poured orangish/amber with a thin, khaki head. Strong, malty aroma. Mild palate with a moderate carbonation. Very malt driven with an earthy hop balance. Lightly spiced and also with light esters. Grainy, herbal, vegetable-like finish.

Draught at Old Chicago in Coralville, IA. Attractive hazy reddish-brown color with thick bubbly off white head that laced the glass. Sprucy hop aroma and flavor balanced by sweet malt and a hint of alcohol. I though this one was stronger than 6%. Very tasty beer.

UPDATED: DEC 26, 2004 2003 bottle. Pours a deep red with some dark fiery oranges. Lightly hazy, and unfiltered but not bottle conditioned. Big oatmeal colored head. Smells of alcohol, toasted malt, chinooks and a light yeasty brown bread aroma. Opens up smooth, fluffy and almost creamy. Great carbonation (very little), no thinning whatsoever. At first, when about 45-50 degrees, the flavor is mainly a lightly sweet malt mixed in with some alcohol. But as it warms a beautiful chinook flavor emerges and spices things up. Cherries, almonds, more toasted grains and some sweet molasses. Body is medium and for all of its smooth texture and lack of thinning, it does not exactly pour on the flavor. Very subtle and restrained. Damned good though and I can really appreciate the relatively low alcohol. Great stuff, and many thanks to Jeffin for sendin this to me. 2003 bottle aged one year Much smoother, more mellow and less carbonated. Still, the flavor is not exactly intense or even very full, but the body is good and smooth as I have come to expect and enjoy from boulevard. Lazy bubbles arise, some light yeast notes from the bottle conditioning, chocolate in the distance; but no real purpose, it seems.

UPDATED: NOV 30, 2006 In the bottle at the 2004 Crescent Moon Vintage Beer Tasting. This bottle was from 1996. Spices are mellow at this point. Medium body. Has possibly lost a little carbonation. This winter, I should give a fresh bottle a chance. UPDATE 11/2006: Orange with a yellow colored head. Slightly orange in aroma. A good hoppy citrus flavor. Quite good on tap at the Crescent Moon.

Hazy dark orange/brown color with creamy off-white head. Not very interesting. Caramel malt, toffee, hints of dark fruit, and a bit of piny hops.