I'm still surprised that Boulevard has good enough distribution that I can get this Kansas City, Missouri beer over here in Tennessee. I'm thinking about several Pennsylvania breweries that I don't see anywhere around here and, similarly, how none of my friends in other states have commented about the ability to get ahold of Bearded Iris beers - which is a shame for them.
The unfiltered beer is suitably murky and gold overall. The head is fairly minimal before running away and leaving only a very scattered dusting of small bubbles that get replenished form the depths of the hazy beer. The aroma is light citrus and grains. The citrus is mostly lemons and oranges, and it really smells good. Maybe I’m just thirsty.First sip is less bombastic in its citrus than the smell. Instead, the grains are heavy and the malt is almost leaning into tart as the citrus makes very little impact from its seat in the upper deck. Effectively, the beer is pretty middle of the road – which I would not have guessed from the smell. This thing smelled like a top-notch wheat beer, but it sips at below average.
Tip-in is heavy wheat grains with a skin of citrus coating it while carbonation burns the citrus away. The middle cranks up the carbonation as the grains flow heavy through the middle with the citrus lollygagging about the sides, not having much impact at all. The finish is where the tart starts a bit when the citrus goes away completely and the grains leave nothing but the bitter hops behind.
Bottom Line: There are better wheat ales out there.
2.0/5