QUICK REVIEW #1: Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat

About a year or so ago, Boulevard Brewing Company began distributing their Smokestack Series of beers in Massachusetts, much to my delight. Up until then, I hadn’t tried any of their highly acclaimed beers.  I think my first was Saison Brett, followed by Tank 7, Sixth Glass, Nommo Dubbel and my favorite Long Strange Tripel. I remember drinking Long Strange Tripel, turning to Amanda and saying something with a number of long pauses along the lines of, “this…might…be…one…of…the…best…beers…I’ve…ever…had.” For sure, they make some of the best domestic Belgian style beers I’ve tried. Long Strange Tripel might not be the best beer I’ve ever had, but it certainly ranks in the top 10.

Anyway, just this week, Boulevard started sending some of their year-round beers to the area and I, of course, had to give them a try.

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Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat

Their website claims this is the most popular beer in the Midwest, I can see why.  It isn’t a blueberry wheat or an apricot wheat or even a wheat spiced with lemon and grains of paradise, no, it’s simply an American Pale Wheat Ale.  Those amber waves of grain? That’s what’s in this beer. Nothing too complicated and certainly a great brew.

It pours a light, hazy, golden-yellow with a lively white head. The aroma is incredibly bready with hints of citrus and a very mild tartness. Flavor is also bready, but less so, with a very mild hop contribution.  The finish is yeasty and bready and quite refreshing.

I picked up the other year-round beer from Boulevard: Single Wide IPA. It awaits my review, but if it’s anything like the other beers from Boulevard it should be nothing short of delightful.  Keep them coming!

Summer Beer Round-Up #8 and #9: Bell's Oberon and Great Lakes The Wright Pils

Now that summer is upon us it's time to start drinking autumn beer! Just kidding, but I'm not too far off. I'm sure you'll see Sam Adams Octoberfest by mid-August or even sooner. But that isn't going to stop me from drinking seasonally and on a resent trip to the lovely state of North Carolina I was able to indulge in a few "out-of-market" brands from two of the nation's larger better beer brewers.

Number 8 and number 9 in this series are Bell's Oberon and Great Lakes The Wright Pils. These two Midwest breweries are quite prolific, just not in New England...

Oberon pours a golden yellow with a lively white head. Slightly hazy with hints of mild peppery spice and citrus. Very slightly tart with some lemon pith-like hops and a pleasantly grassy finish. I drank this one after unloading a moving truck in near 100 degree heat, so I might be slightly biased as to the refreshing nature of the beverage, but it cannot be overstated that it provided said refreshment while delivering fragrant and flavorsome hop characteristics.


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The joke I made at the time (mostly to myself) while drinking Great Lakes The Wright Pils was, "is there a wrong Pils?" If there is you'll not find it in this beer. I deeply respect brewers who produce Lagers, mostly because it shows me that they're willing to tie up a fermentation tank for a longer period of time to brew the beer that they want. The Wright Pils is a Bohemian or Czech style Pilsener with a prominent noble hop character, slightly spicy, herbal with a rounded earthiness. The overall effect is crisp, drinkable with a slightly grainy finish.


Once again, I'm glad to have sample two fine out-of-market products. These two beers are great examples of summer brews at their finest.

Summer Beer Round-Up #7: Baxter Celsius Summer Ale

The daiquiri, at its best, is a simple cocktail. White rum, sugar and lime juice. It was said to have been the favorite beverage of both Ernest Hemingway and John F. Kennedy, the latter seeming somewhat odd considering the spirit inherent and its prominence in the country just 90 miles to our south.

What we find in the latest beer from Baxter Brewing Company is nothing short of beer meets daiquiri. Celsius Summer Ale is the first seasonal offering from this Lewiston, Maine brewery, specializing in canned beer. If this beer reminded me of a daiquiri it was because of several additions, notably lime and lemon peel, Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, each contributing a degree of citric complexity that complemented the sharp hoppiness and tang of wheat. With a touch of floral sweetness and a moderate 4.7% ABV this is a great summer seasonal and would pair perfectly with anything from grilled fish to a summer salad.

Summer Beer Round-Up #6: Wachusett Summer Ale

Firstly, special thanks to Amanda for letting me sample one of her beers for Summer Beer Round-Up #6…the glass also belongs to her. ;^)

Just off the Mohawk Trail in Westminster, Massachusetts is a brewery that has been around since 1993*. Founded by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates and friends Ned, Kevin and “Quinny”, Wachusett Brewing Company can be somewhat unassuming, especially with a flagship beer with a fruity twist.

How many of you have had their Blueberry Ale? Okay, how many of you have had another beer from their line-up? Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I urge you to take a closer look. This brewery produces a fantastic variety of beers and in recent years have expanded to include a number of limited release beers that have blown me away. Most notably a Milk Stout and a beer known as Larry, a 7.5% ABV Imperial IPA brewed in collaboration with the Publick House in Brookline, MA.

Wachusett Summer Ale drinks similarly to their Blueberry Ale, minus the blueberries. With just a hint of lemon and mild Noble hops the beer starts with a hit of both and ends with a sack of grain-like breadiness. Refreshing and drinkable is the name of the game when it comes to summer beers, and in Waschusett Summer, we have them both.

*Their website says 1993, but the glass says 1994. It appears the company was founded in 1993 and after some experimentation Wachusett Country Ale was introduced to the public in 1994.