Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

This is a special limited release ale, part of the Smokestack Series from the Boulevard Brewing Company of Kansas City, Missouri. It is 11.8% ABV and is based around their Sixth Glass Belgian Abbey-style ale. The beer ages with cherries. The beer is aged for varying lengths of time in bourbon barrels. The aged beer is then brewed with freshly brewed ale 16% fresh and 84% bourbon barrel and cherry aged.

The beer pours a medium dark chestnut brown with orange and garnet tints. There is a head about an inch tall, fizzy and foamy, very light brown in color, it settles down to thick and nearly creamy. The aroma is cherries, vanilla, oak, very light bourbon, burnt sugar, dark roasted sweet malt. The taste follows the aromas, with much cherry, vanilla, and dark sugary malts, lighter on the bourbon and oak. The oak does add a dry finish, which is moderately bitter. There is a bit of a burn from the alcohol and barrel aging. It has the fine and intense carbonation typical of a bottle conditioned ale.  This drinks like a cherry bourbon and Coke cocktail, but richer and more nuanced than such a simple cocktail would be. The aftertaste is heavy on the cherry. This is a winner.