Boulevard Rye on Rye 2015

Boulevard Rye on Rye 2015. 12 % ABV. 47 IBU.
Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, MO.

In 2020, I'm going to open a 2015 bottle of a beer I first had when it was new in 2010. First, I will take notes on the former, and afterwards I'll share those 10 year old notes on the latter.

Once uncorked, the liquid came tumbling out of the bottle, although I handled it as well as I could. Lost a little bit, alas, alas.

Clouded, opaque, Burgundy-hued, slim beige head, drifting down to nil.

In the nose: Spice, malt, earth, whiskey. Heavy rye, of course. Dark fruits, raisins, plums, currant. Vanilla and cherry. Quite a cornucopia.

In the mouth: Huge flavors board the palate on first sip. Massive malt, abundant richness, spicy rye malt, powerful barrel presence. Very vinous, this, abundant fruity associations. Feeling like a barleywine, a bit. Oak and whiskey attributes are large, of course. This is a monster, and I'm digging it big time.

Oddly, though, I am looking through the many posters on Untappd who are also cracking open their bottles (clearing the cellar is a common theme inn quarantine), and they are saying it's past it's prime, missed it by a couple of years, and so on. Maybe theirs was mishandled, somehow, but this bottle is missing nothing.

Reading on further, it seems that many more are on my side. It's mellowed a bit, but that's what cellaring is for, no?

I have Max to thank for this gift, and now, here we have the official description, followed by my old notes:

Why Rye? This assertively flavorful grain is more often associated with whiskey than with ales. Even in that arena, it has largely been eclipsed by corn and barley, the sources of bourbon and scotch. But when we procured some seasoned barrels from our friends at Templeton Rye, we asked ourselves, “Why not?” Why not brew a rich, tawny rye ale, then mellow it in the warmth of charred oak rye whiskey casks? Two kinds of malted rye provide spicy sweetness, giving way to notes of caramelized wood and the citrusy tang of Perle, Magnum, and Saphir hops before easing into a dry, lingering finish.

April 26, 2010:
Boulevard Rye on Rye

Dense & opaque, solid, almost sludgy...gorgeous cap of rocky, lace-leaving, beige foam holds down the fort. Beautiful.

Intriguing aroma. Notes of cherries, leather, alcohol, spice. Plenty of whiskey happening here. Rich and ripe. Arousing, enticing.

In the mouth, it's ablaze with flavor. Warm and spicy, tingling on the tongue. Full-bodied, generous with the senses. A certain heat subsists throughout the drink,while the cherry and vanilla flavors wash over the palate again and again.

I'm a sucker for the whiskey barrel beers, that's for sure, but this one almost exceeds them all. Despite a huge alcohol content, I feel it's a well-balanced beer, ...for what it is. We've basically got a whiskey barrel barleywine in this one, a rich, hot sweetness, backed with formidable strength, then cool and mellow.

I think this beer is genius, and I'd be an idiot not to pick up more of these bombers.
Has to be one of the best beers I've had in a long time, not a surprise, as I've yet to have a Smokestack brew I didn't love. These guys are doing great work!