Well folks, we have a first for 2013: Boulevard Nutcracker Ale is officially the first winter/Christmas beer I purchased this year. The time was early November, and I’ve enjoyed several bottles already (and a draft mug of it at Taco Mac to boot) as I sit down to finally take notes here in mid-December. And I have to say, Boulevard Nutcracker Ale really brings back memories…even though, you know, I’ve never had this beer before 2013.

I guess I should confess that I have a fondness for nutcrackers, and I have a number of them scattered about my home every year at Christmas. Perhaps that’s why I so fondly remember Mill City Old Nutcracker Ale, a beer that I enjoyed back in the nineties. Old Nutcracker Ale was a wonderful malty hoppy fall seasonal brewed by Mill City brewing of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Hence, the nostalgia when bought Boulevard’s Nutcracker Ale. The similarities, though, go beyond the nutcrackers on the labels. The beers were both dark malty and hoppy delights. My notes on the Mill City Old Nutcracker, from December of 1996, were brief:

Excellent brew. Nice toasty malt character, well-balanced hoppiness. Great

label too!

In a January 8th, 1998 article for The Hartford Courant, Kerry R. Callahan described Mill City Old Nutcracker as follows:

“deep copper in color, with a nice beige head and an aroma that's mainly roasted malt, with a hint of caramel. The roasted malt taste dominates the flavor, but the pleasant bitterness of the hops seems to hit the mouth as the ale hits the stomach.”

Now on to Boulevard’s version, before I get lost too far down memory lane. Boulevard Nutcracker Ale is not a spiced beer, but is a dark malty treat brewed in the style of a classic English Winter Warmer/Old Ale, with more hops and alcohol added for good measure. Ingredients from the website:

Malt: Pale Malt, Amber 50, Cara 300, Munich, Malted Wheat

Adjuncts: Brown Sugar, Dark Brown Sugar, Molasses

Hops: Magnum, Cascade, Chinook, Chinook (wet hops)

One of the neat things I noticed on my bottles was that Boulevard calls out some of their employees on the neck labels of Boulevard Nutcracker Ale. My bottle salutes Phil Merz in sales, “Beer Elf since 2006”.

Boulevard Nutcracker Ale has 38 IBUS and an alcohol content of 7.8% by volume. I paid $8.99 for a six-pack and $6.00 for a 20-ounce mug at Taco Mac. My bottle has a best by date of 2/01/2014; properly stored, this should last much longer I think.

Boulevard Nut Cracker Ale pours to a light brownish color with a thick rocky head formation and a delicious dark nutty malt nose laced with notes of apple and pear fruit. Taking a sip, I get more of those dark cookie-ish, nutty malty notes, chocolate, and some more of the yeasty apple-pear fruit the nose promised and, at the last, some earthy, herbal grassy hops in the aroma. There’s a balancing finish, but not an overly assertive one, and just a bit of alcohol warmth.

The maltiness here reminds me of past iterations of Red Hook Winter Hook, though this is much fruiter and stronger in alcohol, too. Perfect sipped by the fire on a cold winter’s night, with Tchaikovsky playing in the background. This is a terrific beer and a new winter favorite for me. It’s a beer that will certainly be a holiday staple from now on.