The last time I had Boulevard’s Imperial Stout (BIS) was about two years ago. I would say my palate at that time, while still quite astute, was not fully capable of enjoying all the intricacies that some craft beers have to offer. I had only liked imperial stouts for a short time but not on the level I do now. So I was really excited to pop the cork on this big boy to see how it measured up to my memory from two years ago. Keep in mind I’ve had a zillion beers since then and it’s hard to remember every little detail of them all. However, it only takes a quick sniff of this beauty to know that you’ve got a beer that hangs with the best of them. Personally I couldn’t help but just let out a flabbergasted laugh when I smelled it because it was just pure happiness. That joy didn’t stop until the end of the bottle. BIS pours exactly like you’d hope from a beer of this caliber – BLACK! Its head is a touch lighter than most I’ve seen in this style and is surprisingly large for an 11% ABV beer. It’s the first drop of this beer, however, that just dominates all other stouts I’ve had to date. Its simultaneous subtlety and intensity are far beyond what I could have hoped, and the alcohol burn was in just the right amount. Now…I know I’m going to catch flack from some people for giving this beer a perfect score, but I don’t care. As Tim and I worked through the rest of this beer off camera it just became more and more obvious that this is a transcendent beer. Two years has done some very amazing things to it, and I was blown away like I haven’t been in a very long time. What’s even more interesting and ironic is that I have one of the world’s best imperial stouts lined up next for my celebratory 100th session on The Hopry, and I’m anxious as hell to see how it lives up to this beer. I hope it brings its big boy pants because this stout could very well be the best beer I’ve ever had. Yes folks… in my book this is up there with Pliny the Younger and Hopslam. Up next: The Hopry’s 100th Session Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout
Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Tame Impala “Solitude Is Bliss”
Brewery: Boulevard
Beer: Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
ABV: 11%
Rating: 100/100
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Posted by Leo Daly on July 23, 2010 at 8:46 AM
O lucky man! What else can be said.
Posted by Jordon on July 23, 2010 at 10:08 AM
Great job as usual this week guys. I can’t wait to try some Boulevard stuff now, especially after this review. By the way, great description and breakdown of the beer, I really appreciate it, gives me a better idea of what to expect. Thanks guys!
Posted by thehopry on July 23, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Thank you, Jordan. This one may be tough to find, but if you want one bad enough you could try to do a trade on BeerAdvocate. Surely there’s still some out there floating around. And hopefully they’ll be releasing more soon.
Posted by theReaper16 on July 23, 2010 at 10:40 AM
I thought this beer was 97/100 on release. I haven’t had one for about a year or so. I’m glad to see that someone else thinks as highly of this beer as I do. I still have two bottles of this. I really, really wish I had more.
Great job on the reviews this week. You and Tim continue to play off each other in valuable ways, and the inside-BLVD info that Tim gave was very cool.
Posted by Tim on July 23, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Tame Impala… good stuff man … you definitely listen to some good jams… I know you always mention Wilco… Do you ever watch a guy on YouTube who does Album and Track reviews called “theneedledrop” … He does all indie, psych, rock, electronica reviews and he is entertaining as hell … check out theneedledrop … he did a Tame Impala review not too long ago…. Keep up the beer reviews and good jams!!
Posted by thehopry on August 28, 2010 at 7:28 AM
I have seen a few of his reviews. I generally forget about him, but catch them sometimes.
Posted by Big Mike on July 23, 2010 at 2:21 PM
If this is anywhere near as good as Black Albert like you mentioned. Then it must be pretty amazing because that’s my favorite beer of all-time. I was able to grab 5 bottles of Black Albert last week. I would LOVE to get my hands on a bottle of this. Hopefully someone on BA has one to trade.
Awesome session and awesome week of sessions! And a pre 100 congrats! Looking forward to 100 more sessions from The Hopry.
Cheers!
BigMike