John McDonald was thirsty in the summer of 1984 and he just so happened to be in Europe at the time. He went into a bar specializing in Belgian beers where he ended up getting hooked on the taste and aroma. When he went back home to Kansas City he couldn’t stop dreaming about those beers and wishing that the United States had more than just those big commercial beers. The sad part was Kansas City was once home to more than a dozen craft breweries before big beer took over.
After John went to art school he became a carpenter. However, he couldn’t get rid of the memory of those fantastic beers he had in Europe and so he started considering his options. It was then that he started homebrewing. He put his business plan together and even sold his house to raise funds for his passion.
Now don’t worry that was not the only thing he did to raise funds. He started talking to potential investors however he kept running into this one question, “You want to do what? You want to compete with the biggest brewer in the world on the other side of the state?” to which he said “no they do what they do really well. I want to do something different. I want to make big beers, a variety of beers, beers with color and flavor and aroma and body, beers for real beer lovers.”
Luckily it was easy for John to find a place to get started. He worked and lived in an old brick building on Southwest Boulevard that was originally used for laundry for the Sante Fe Railroad. I know not ideal but it worked. It took over a year and every penny raised to retrofit the facility, find equipment, and get everything running. That hard work paid off in November 1989 when the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was ready. John then loaded it in the back of his truck and brought it to a restaurant down the road to sell it.
For that first year Boulevard only did draft but John knew he needed bottles. The thing was they had no money and bottling lines were not cheap. After being rejected by a bunch of banks, one bank finally saw his vision and put together a loan to get a small and used bottling line.
Word was spreading that Boulevard was making good beer surprisingly. The original business plan only planned for 6,000 barrels per year and they were making 7,000 barrels in just their third year. The original brewhouse was only designed to make a few thousand barrels per year but by 2004 they were selling 100,000 barrels. So with that a decision had to be made.
Consultants were telling John that the smart thing to do would be to move locations but the brewery was already tied in with the city and its culture. So in response they started a $25 million expansion project in 2006.
So now what does the future hold for Bouldevard? Well one beer that captivated John in 1984 was Duvel so when Michael Moortgat president of Duvel approached John, he did not hesitate to answer. In 2014, Boulevard Brewing became part of the Duvel Moortgat family. Don’t worry though, Boulevard still stays true their original mission to better American beer and redefine it.
Now that you know the history of Boulevard lets get into the beers:
Unfiltered Wheat Beer
This unfiltered wheat beer sitting at a very easy 4.4% abv has a natural citrus flavor and cloudy look. It is Boulevard’s most popular beer and the best-selling beer in the midwest.
80-Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer
This hoppy wheat beer is a mixture of the two most popular styles. This beer sitting at only 5.5%abv has the aroma of an IPA but the refreshing taste of a wheat beer.
American Kolsch
This crispy Kolsch sitting at an easy drinking 4.6% ABV is brewed with a European pilsner malt and Magnum hops and features an interesting blend of citrusy, spicy, and herbal notes. It has a light to medium mouthfeel with a honey-like sweetness.
Bully! Porter
This porter is Boulevard’s rendition of the traditional English porter with a complex hop flavor to balance it out. Perfect for seafood or chocolate!
Easy Sport
This one by far interest me the most and here is why: This beer sitting at 4.1% ABV starts out as a crispy blonde ale but then they add electrolytes to make a dry beer. At the end of the fermentation process they add more electrolytes and a tangerine peel to make a tart sour beer. Perfect for those with an active lifestyle!
Jam Band Berry Ale
This one was a summer favorite for me. This berry ale sits at a very easy 5.9% ABV with blueberry, tart cherry, and raspberry which tastes like summer in a glass.
KC Pils
So no this is not a Pilsner but a Lager dedicated to Kansas City. As mentioned earlier, Kansas City was home to many breweries before commercial beer took over. This beer is a salute to those original breweries. Cheers!
Pale Ale
The beer that started it all, this Pale Ale sitting at 5.4% abv is a smooth and fruity beer that you can drink all year round. Caramel malts give this beer an amber color and rich flavor, and the addition of Cascade hops adds aroma and zest.
If you are in the Kansas City area go check these guys out or if you happen to be in the Phoenix area this Thursday come to their tap takeover at Janey’s Coffeehouse in Cave Creek at 7 PM! Hoppy Travels![tp_in_our_city_fly_shortcodes destination=MKC title=”Good Flight Deals” limit=100 paginate=true stops=0 one_way=false subid=”” currency=”USD”][tp_hotels_selections_discount_shortcodes city=”19762″ title=”Hotel Deals” paginate=true off_title=false type_selections=”popularity” number_results=”20″ subid=”” city_label=”Kansas City” type_selections_label=”Popularity” link_without_dates=false]