Coffee Ale – Boulevard Brewing Company

9.3% ABV
Purchased at Final Gravity ($9.99/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This ale was brewed by Kansas City, Missouri-based Boulevard with coffee provided by their neighbors at The Roasterie.  The succinctly named Coffee Ale pours a raisin juice brown with a tight, light tan head, and an eye-opening nose of nutty black coffee and dark fruits.  There are also some berry notes inherent to African coffee, and overall it was a bold choice to make this Smokestack Series beer into an ale instead of a stout or porter.  The end result is fairly similar to a coffee-infused nut brown, but I liked how the floral and berry notes played off of the hops and biscuit-y malts.  It’s a lot like pairing a coffee and a flaky pastry up front, then chasing it with a coffee-and-cream candy on the finish.

   4 Toasts

   4 Toasts