Boulevard of Broken Dreams

80 acre hoppy wheat aleBoulevard Brewing is located in Kansas City, MO and produces 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat Ale, which is an American Pale Wheat Ale. 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat Ale comes in at 5.5% ABV and 21 IBUs and is available 24/7 365.

Wheat ales are a great way to spend an evening drinking. They generally taste great and are very easy to sit down and session with. For my first review for Just A Guy I decided to review a little known beer that has a relative that is quite famous. If you fancy yourself a “beer snob” then you will no doubt have heard about 3 Floyds Brewing out of Hammond, Indiana. Chances are that if you are relatively recent to the whole beer scene that you will have had a hard time finding some of their beers, which are snatched up faster than cheaply made LED displays at a Wal-Mart Black Friday sale. Gumballhead is one of their most hoistable session beers so it’s one of the first ones to clear shelves when it’s shipped. So what’s a guy to do when he hits up the local liquor store and there are no 6 packs? Buy a 6 pack of Boulevard Brewing’s 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat Ale. It is, for all intents and purposes, Gumballhead hiding in a bottle from Boulevard. Serving was in a Tulip Pint Glass.

Appearance: 80 Acre is a fantastically hazy straw color when poured into a tulip pint glass. Head is about a half finger that fades slowly into faint lacing on the side of the glass.

Aroma: Lemons and citrus upfront with some bread dough on the back-end. Hops are promised to the nose. Joy!

Taste: Lemons at the forefront that fade quickly into a grassy slightly bitter finish. If you prefer your beer slightly more bitter then let this baby warm up a bit as this seems to bring the bitterness out.

Body: Lightly carbonated with a medium body but still on the dry side; crispy.

Overall this is a very pleasant beer to enjoy even as we head into the winter months when darker, maltier beers are the staple. An interesting twist on a classic. The hops somehow got missed between the nose and the mouth. My palate isn’t as sharp as it usually is so it might just be me. On a side note, if you find yourself looking for 3 Floyds at Binny’s, they get their shipments on Thursdays. Guess where I will be headed after work?

Rating: 3 stars

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Matt is a college dropout currently pursuing a degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Hard Knocks Chicago. In his free time he enjoys watching the Blackhawks, Bears and White Sox (because who really likes the Cubs?) and drinking as many different beers as he can.

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