17/100) Boulevard Smokestack Series

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Long Strange, Double-Wide, Sixth Glass, Dark Truth Stout

Boulevard's approach to bottling doesn't disappoint where smoothness is concerned. Because they bottle condition their beers, each continues to ferment until you pop the cap and consume it. The smokestack series is no exception, and all four of these beers are characterized by that smooth finish that I've come to expect from Boulevard.

Long Strange Tripel) There was a strange nutty, fruit-like sweet/sour to this beer. It finished with a light touch of bitterness. All I can tell you is that it was okay. I've learned that I need to find a prototypical Tripel so that I know what I should be looking for in them. Tripels, like IPAs, may be a type of beer that's just not for me. ☆☆

Double-Wide) Despite IPAs not being my strong point, I rather enjoyed this one. The pour brought out a nice thick foam. The aroma was primarily a hop borne pine, but I could smell something else that changed from citrus to peach as I grew accustomed to the taste of the beer. Bitterness was present on the finish, as ought to be expected from an IPA, but it was accented by a touch of malt. A very unusual IPA, and one I rather enjoyed. ☆☆☆

Sixth Glass) This beer danced like a little devil on my tongue, even though I didn't make it my sixth glass for the evening. The strength of the alcohol in this Quadrupel comes through in the background, but the initial was nice and light. No bitterness in this beer, but nor was there a lot of complexity to the flavor. Instead it was simple and straightforward. Not my favorite Quad, but a very easy to drink Quad. ☆☆☆☆

Dark Truth Stout) The smooth light initial of this stout lead into a rich finish that moved from a deep malt to a wave of roasted caramel. The hidden dark truth of this beer was that your linger built up some bitterness. Not enough bitterness to paralyze, but instead, just enough to make you want to drink more. ☆☆☆☆


Bonus!
Ole the Tower Keeper is the Hans Christian Anderson Tale where the name Sixth Glass originated.
You can read the story here: http://hca.gilead.org.il/towerkee.html, but here's the portion directly related to the drink.

"The sixth glass! Yes, in that glass sits a demon, in the form of a little, well dressed, attractive and very fascinating man, who thoroughly understands you, agrees with you in everything, and becomes quite a second self to you. He has a lantern with him, to give you light as he accompanies you home. There is an old legend about a saint who was allowed to choose one of the seven deadly sins, and who accordingly chose drunkenness, which appeared to him the least, but which led him to commit all the other six. The man’s blood is mingled with that of the demon. It is the sixth glass, and with that the germ of all evil shoots up within us; and each one grows up with a strength like that of the grains of mustard-seed, and shoots up into a tree, and spreads over the whole world: and most people have no choice but to go into the oven, to be re-cast in a new form."