Ölbeat 034: Boulevard Brewing Tank 7

Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Company
Country: United States
Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale
Abv: 8,5 %
@RateBeer

Lucky Tank Number Seven?

Boulevard Brewing Company, founded in 1989, is a regional brewery in Kansas City, Missouri. The brewery has expanded several times. The major expansions have taken place in 2006, when the yearly production was increased by 60 000 barrels. In 2011 the capacity rose with 35 000 barrels per year, and in 2014 the brewery produced 188 500 barrels of beer. In 2013 Belgian Duvel Moortgat acquired the brewery. Tank 7 is a member of the brewery's Smokestack Series: the beer was named after the whimsical fermenter number seven, which despite its behaviour was found to be the best one for this beer.

What about the beer?
Colour is light cloudy orange with medium to large white head. Aroma is dominated by sour lemon, with some vanilla scent on the side. Taste starts with sour-hoppy bitterness until sour lemon juice fills the mouth. Grapefruit, orange and wheat malts come along later in the palate. Aftertaste has dry grapefruit and bitter hops.

Hops and citrus meet in sour-bitter chain reaction in this one. The surly fruit is on top at the start, but slowly the lead is given to more bitter flavours. Complex and delicate brew 'til the end.

Ölbeat

Sour and bitter flavours can be associated - in addition to saison ales - to bluesy sounds. When talking about blues you can' t pass this one:

B.B. King: The Thrill is Gone (YouTube)

From the 1969 album, Completely Well, the song was written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951. As the original by Hawkins is a bluesy jazz song with saxophone-piano lead, B.B. King's version is clean-cut guitar blues with strings on the background. The lyrics tell about failed love and feeling of freedom from the first-person view. The vocals of "The King of Blues" bring beautifully out both the hurt and the happiness of the story and the guitar gently follows. Even though Tank 7 hasn't lost its thrill, bitter-sour taste is nicely combined with feeling of joy and pleasure in the brew.