Boulevard Releasing Bundle Up Barleywine 10/2

We brought you a peek at this beer back in July, and now some exciting release news coming from our pal Jeremy Danner at Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City, MO:

With summer’s heat (hopefully) behind us and crisp, cool mornings and brisk evenings ahead, we’re excited to share that Bundle Up, our first barleywine-style ale, is ready to make its debut! If you’ve visited our Tours & Rec Center Beer Hall or Tasting Room over the past six months, it’s highly likely you’ve tasted Bundle Up at a couple stages of development. While we often have very clear intentions when brewing our first pilot batches of a new beer, the feedback we receive from you often proves to be quite valuable when it comes to tweaking and improving beers for wide release.

Situated at the intersection of American and English barleywine, Bundle Up begins with a substantial malt base of pale malt, Cara 300, Cara 120, Amber 50 and Maris Otter. The chewy character of the grain bill is emphasized by additions of dextrose and malt syrup added during boiling. Against the sticky caramel/toffee flavors provided by the fermentables, Columbus, Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops answer with 59 IBUs of piney, spicy, resinous notes with just a touch of lingering citrus. With a finishing gravity of 7.7 Plato Bundle Up has ample (yet not cloying) sweetness to create a pleasant balance between the bitterness of the hops and specialty grains. Our comforting, warming winter barleywine finishes with suggestions of rum and raisin contributed by our house Scottish yeast strain.

Flavor Profile
Aroma – Caramel, toffee, molasses, slight chocolate notes
Malt – Rich, complex, sweet, subtle roast
Hops – Balancing, spicy/earthy
Balance – Malt
Body – Full

Characteristics
Alcohol by Volume – 10.5%
IBUs – 59
Color – 110 EBC

Food Pairings
Braised beef cheeks, $15 mac & cheese, shepherd’s pie, molasses cookies

Bundle Up Barleywine will debut starting in the Greater Kansas City Area on October 2^nd (draft) and 3^rd (750 ml bottles) with other regions to follow in the coming weeks. Expect to find this new Smokestack Series release in locations that typically see Smokestack Series Limited Release and seasonal beers like Saison Brett, Rye on Rye on Rye and Love Child blends.

– Jeremy Danner, Ambassador Brewer