Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

With so many different styles of beer out there, each with its own pros and cons, and each with its own suitable weather for optimal drinking, it can be kind of hard to choose some days, especially here in Central Texas where it's hot all the time.  That being said, i think anytime is a good time for an abbey-style quadrupel, particularly when it's been aged in bourbon barrels.  The Bourbon Barrel Quad from Boulevard Brewing is a great way to start or end an evening or afternoon, but should be treated with a little caution, as its 11.2% ABV can certainly make things hazy.  Pouring a a dark brown with white head, the beer smells of dark fruit, oak, yeast, and booze.  Notes of toffee, spices, and bourbon abound with some slight hints of cherry all in a medium bodied brew.  It's quite tasty.

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Boulevard Funky Pumpkin

Finally a beer for fans of pumpkin ales and sour brews, Boulevard Brewing's Funky Pumpkin is a style unto itself, a wholly original concoction that surprised me as to how much i enjoyed it.  On paper, a sour pumpkin ale probably sounds like a terrible idea, but in practice, it totally works.  Funky Pumpkin pours a hazy gold with a light and dissipating white head and smells of bread and light spices with a tiny hint of pumpkin.  The 5.8% ABV beer is crisp and medium-bodied, sour, but not overly so with very subtle flavors of pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and yeast, all in a tart little package.  Definitely one of the more interesting beers i've tried in a while, but tasty all the same.  Fans of pumpkin beers or sours should give it a whirl.

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