Day 19 of the 2nd Annual Advent-ure Calendar

Day 19: Boulevard Brewing Co. Nutcracker Ale

We have been obsessing over Boulevard beers since our road trip across the country. We had a stop in Kansas City and indulged in many Boulevard beers. They only recently started distributing in Ohio and we made all of our friends try their beers.  We’re especially fond of their sours and fruity beers.  This beer according to their website: “Nutcracker Ale is Boulevard’s holiday gift for real beer lovers. This hearty, warming brew is a classic winter ale, deep amber in color, with hints of molasses balanced by the spiciness of Chinook hops.”

REFLECTIONS

Beard & Broad
Beard: I wanted to like this more cause Boulevard is one of my favorite breweries, but something was missing from this for me.  I think it’s just a bit too dry with the other stuff going on here. The dry bitterness isn’t pleasant to me.  I might have something against earthy hops.  Let me be clear, I’m not gonna dump this out, I just think there’s better examples of this style of beer out there.

Broad: Ah, I love this! Boulevard can do no wrong and they hit a home run again with this beer. The initial smell is sweet and malty and normally I wouldn’t want to continue to drink a beer that smelled like that. However the taste is smooth, a bit drier than a normal super malty beer and it has the perfect amount of holiday spice. I can really taste the nutmeg and cinnamon but again, its not overpowering, it’s just real tasty.

Adam & Alex
Adam: This comes as no surprise as boulevard makes great stuff but I really like this beer. Nothing stands out as incredibly unique from a flavor profile. It’s still the standard holiday mix of molasses and nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. but they’re all really well balanced. There’s no overwhelming syrupy flavor or copper that we’ve had in the past. Just a well balanced winter warmer. This will be purchased again. Also please note my wife’s nutcracker army. We literally have no fear of The Mouse King in this house.

Alex: I really like this beer, as I do the majority of Boulevard’s brews. It also is called Nutcracker, which as you can see by the photo, I’m a crazy nutcracker lady, and I do not apologize for it. It has the holiday spices that I associate with a holiday beer, but not in an overwhelming way. It’s super easy to drink, and I can taste the cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious.

Scott & CT
Scott: Another good one! We’ve been on a nice streak lately with great beers, all of which have been very different. The Winter Warmer brings us back to the traditional, winter-spiced beer and I’m happy for it. This is the beer that warms you up in the cold, pun absolutely intended.

CT: This beer is delicious! I get a nose of cinnamon and maybe syrup? It’s sweet and warm, almost like French toast. It even has some spiciness to it too that’s hard to put my finger on. I really, really like it. It makes coming home to 21 degree weather, after spending 5 days in 75+ a little easier to endure.

Lou & Jen
Lou: My only experience with boulevard beer was this summer while I was on a work trip to Kansas City.  The companys’ beers were all over the KC Royals ballpark where I watched the Indians blow a lead in the 9th inning.  With that aside, this beer is fine.  It checks all the Christmas/winter beer boxes, and has just the right amount of hops to separate it from our local holiday ales.  It also came in some creative packaging for a six pack, a box that resembled a Christmas gift.  So it has that going for it, which is nice.

Jen: This beer was light with just subtle holiday spices. Minimal hops and went down very easy. I enjoyed this one. It wasn’t anything crazy but nice understated flavors.