Boulevard Smokestack Series - Harvest Dance Wheat Wine

Brewed by Boulevard Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Kansas City, Missouri USA

Serve in Snifter

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The appearance combines a large, foamy, white head, a golden orange color, and a small-grained sediment floating throughout; also, the aroma is a little reminiscent of a tripel with its aromas of wheat, citrus hops, and soured white grapes. The taste combines a mildly sweet and slightly sour, and the palate combines an average carbonation, a thin texture, medium body, and a slightly astringent finish.

Moving out of KS rate-a-poolza. 750mL cork & cage bottle poured into Blvd tulip glass. Best by 06/2013, bottled in 2012, this came out at the end of the year. Big thanks to Bobby from Lukas for getting me this bottle, did not think it would sell out so fast around town. People in KC love Blvd.

More interesting stuff: first of all what is going on with this awesomely crazy label. Its got a great old timey tint to it, as well as the fake wear on the label. The image itself is an antique style, like naive woodcuts. On top of that its FREAKING DEATH DANCING WITH WHEAT. And its a jolly dance but Death does not let the scythe stray too far. I love it! Its almost surreal, especially since the description of the beer never mentions anything related to the label. Now, I get the idea of a "harvest" dance and the role of wheat. But what does Death have anything to do with it?

The first time I drank a version of this beer was a little while before the first batch. It was a test batch of bottles at the brewery. There were two bottles each with a different bottling sugar - one with white grape extract and the other with red grape extract. They were pretty awesome, I loved the shit out of them. They were super grapey in flavor. When I drank the first batch of the beer I got some of that same character but nowhere as strong. That was probably a good choice for the wider audience. Now, lets actually move onto this rating.

Cork pops super hard. Pours with a slick, slightly rose hued but mostly orange colored with a vortex of rushing carbonation right at the center of the glass. Medium sized head with a very good retention. Its a real nice shade, good clarity in the beer but I cannot see through the beer. The whole package (including the packaging) makes me go all the way to a 5. Aroma is fruity malt and hop mix (not yeast). The hops are strong, yet not hopcentric on this beer. Kind of like not sugary yet sweet gum. Maybe some wildflower, some faint tropical fruit. Mostly floral perfume-like and hop touched. Flavor is much lighter than expected for a barley(wheat)wine and definitely for a 9.5 abv beer. A bit floral, generic hops, just slightly sweet with some lightly alcoholic malt touches. Its a cool beer, much lighter and really flowery perfume kind of feel to it. Light yet felt body with a nice carbonation finish. Cool stuff but completely lacking in the grape flavor I experienced in previous batches.

Batch # 2010-1 A - Pours a turbid glowing orange with a milky wet head. S - Dank wheat, mild but pungent hops, citrus peel and sugary fruit, pears, over ripe apricots, clove, white pepper, hints of alcohol. A potent perfume floral scent comes out as it warms. T - Starts off with lemon citrus. Sugary apricots and various stone fruits, doughy wheat bread resides under the citrus hops. The hops cling to the sides of the tongue and wick away any sweetness, yet the fruit esters stay. Finishes dry with an herbal and almost minty character. M - Super soft and creamy, heavy side of medium. Flows across the palate nicely. Very complex. There’s a rawness but it’s weaved together in a delicate way. It’s fruity, raw, mellow, sweet, dry, bitter, and much more. Serving type: bottle 08-20-2011

Pours a lighter orange color than i would expect from a barley wine. Not as hoppy as a barley wine is either. But still quite good. Bit sweet with some grass in the flavor.

22 ounce bottle for $6.99. Aroma is wheat husk, crushed malt grains, lime, banana, and peppermint. Appearance is dark, grey yellow with a lot of foam. Taste is lime, paprika, cornbread and orange zest. There’s a wooden earthiness that adds a complementary dimension. Palate is medium bodied and heavily carbonated. Overall, it’s crisp, filling due to the big carbonation dose, refreshing, sweet. Pretty good.

Draft. Clear golden yellow. Whit head nice lacing. Warming from the alcohol. A little burn. A definite try more ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Corked 750 mL bottle split with TheRon. Great label. Definitely bottle conditioned. Pours a bright golden with a ridiculous amount of floaties. Yeasty aroma, coupled with some booziness, tropical fruitiness, and vanilla. Quite the complex beer. Flavor packs a ton of tropical fruits, apricots, pears, a bit more yeast and oak, with a wonderful quick, dry finish that leaves only the warmth of the alcohol behind. Very nice.

From the March 2013 3R6P tasting. +++ Sampled from a 750 ml brown bottle this beer poured a very cloudy- almost murky peach color with a large foamy orange-white head that lingered and left good lacing. The aroma was boozy with faint candied pear and apple and a bready undertone. The flavor was a bit rough and boozy with notes of bread, pear, cardboard, faint apricot and pepper. Medium length boozy pear and bread finish. Moderately full bodied. Decent.

Serving: 750 ml. bottle from Total Wine Sterling. It pours a slightly hazy deep orange color with a dense and lasting light tan head. The nose rich with oranges, caramel, and a bit of spice. Potent on the tongue, the citrus really shines with orange and tangerine notes, slight wheat, caramel, and spice. Full bodied with ample but softer carbonation leading to a lingering finish. I found it hard to put the glass down with this one.

750 ml Bottle. Pours a golden orange color with big white head. Caramel, citrus, wheat aromas. Oak, grainy, citrus, and dry white wine flavors. I really like this beer. Some barleywines have such a powerful flavor that it can be a little difficult to drink. This wheat wine is pretty refreshing and pretty easy to drink for a higher alcohol barlywine-type beer.