Continuing on with Boulevard week, we now come to the second session with the Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ). This is a Quadrupel that has been aged in oak bourbon barrels for at least a year with tart cherry added along the way. Before bottling it is blended to create what some people here call the best high-gravity beer Boulevard makes. It is part of the brewery’s Smokestack Series limited release lineup and literally flies off the shelves as soon as it’s released. If you sleep for even a week you can miss your chance to get one of these bottles. When Tim and I poured this one into our Boulevard tulips it became pretty apparent that there was a cherry element based solely on the color. It has a very nice rich ruby caramel color with a healthy amount of light tan soapy head that dissipates somewhat quickly. The aroma is of figs, prunes, dates, tart cherries, and caramel. It is only subtly met with a faint amount astringency and booziness that rounds it out quite nicely. The taste lives up to the aroma and highlights the cherries first but then follows everything up with the deep sticky fruits and caramel afterwards. At 11.8%, it’s certainly one that is good to share with one or two other people, but ultimately the goal should be to let this beer sit for at least six to eight months if you buy them fresh. Time is of the essence here and this beer is miles ahead of where it was when I bought them. Now Kansas City has the best BBQ (food) and BBQ (beer). How can you be unhappy with that combination? Up next: Boulevard Imperial Stout
Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: M83 “Kim & Jessie”
Brewery: Boulevard
Beer: Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ)
Style: Quadrupel (Quad)
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
ABV: 11.8%
Rating: 96/100
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Posted by Big Mike on July 21, 2010 at 7:46 AM
Sounds like a real nice quad. I like the play on the BBQ name too. Very clever. How widely distributed is Boulevard?
Posted by Bobby Digital on July 21, 2010 at 11:07 AM
I find myself calling it Bar-B-Que all the time.
Posted by theReaper16 on July 21, 2010 at 10:59 AM
BBQ has gotten me so much good stuff from around the country in trades. Buying 8 bottles of it last Fall was a worthwhile investment. I only have two bottles left for myself though.
Posted by Isaac on July 24, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Man that beer looks good. Hope I can find one around here. We have Blvd but I haven’t seen this one yet. The moment I see one it’s on.
Posted by Kevin on December 28, 2010 at 7:13 PM
you should do a new section of the show, dedicated to aged brews. like reviewing another bbq a year after the first you had with its new complexities giving it a new score as well as telling us about the changes that have occurred over the course of aging. you’ve built up quite a list now and a lot of them are getting close for a second aged review.