Florida beer drinkers, be happy. Boulevard Brewing is finally coming to the Sunshine State.

This is a happy day for me. You see, as a graduate student in Kansas (Go K-State!) I consumed many a pint of Boulevard’s flagship Unfiltered Wheat on weekends (And during the week. Let’s be honest). And, even though I’ve been able to get it in places like Oregon, California, Texas, and South Dakota, I never thought I’d ever see it at home.

For those of you unaware, Boulevard Brewing was founded in 1989 just on the outskirts of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. They’re still there, but they have expanded quite a bit since I remember living in the area. I remember looking at their website and seeing that it was just a small cadre of employees, and your big incentive was a Boulevard leather jacket if you worked there for a year or more.

Times have changed. They were sold to Duvel last year, and Duvel promised to keep them the same quality-focused brewery they always were. Maybe with a few changes. I sure hoped that having the influx of additional money meant they would be able to expand south to this area.

And it’s happening! Yay!

The beer Boulevard seems to be pushing is their Tank 7 Farmhouse, a saison that has some bright, crisp flavors. It’s in the bigger 750 ml bottles, but it fit in my suitcase coming home from LA and didn’t last too terribly long.

(Edit – Tank 7 will also be available in 12 oz bottles.)

The other two beers I was able to get, thanks to a stopover in North Carolina, start with Long, Strange Tripel, a wonderful, malty, slightly hoppy belgian beer with a rather interesting picture of Harold Hogue, one of their longest-working employees. I love belgians, and this is a great example of an American twist on them.

The other is the beer that got me into beer, a beer that makes up a sizable amount (maybe half?) of Boulevard’s brewing production, Boulevard’s flagship Unfiltered Wheat.

It’s beautifully cloudy, has a nice, bright aroma and flavor, and has some of the fruity esters of normal hefeweizens which don’t overpower in the taste. It’s usually served with an orange wheel on draft. My only concern is that I had heard from someone that Unfiltered Wheat isn’t part of Boulevard’s initial push into Florida. I certainly hope this isn’t so. I want to be able to head home with a case the first day this hits stores.

(Edit – Unfiltered Wheat will be coming to Florida as part of their initial push. Happy dance ensues.)

Boulevard will finally hit store shelves in early October. It’s a day I’ve waited a long time for, but I guess I can wait a few more weeks. I don’t want to, though.

Back to the normal Florida beers tomorrow, dear readers.

Drink Florida (and Missouri, today) Craft,

Chris

@floridabeerblog

floridabeerblog@gmail.com

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