Posted on Tue, Jun. 19, 2012
At $20 a bottle, Boulevard produces a Love Child
By JOYCE SMITH
The Kansas City Star
Boulevard Brewing Co.'s most expensive bottle of beer ever hits store shelves today.
The sour beer, called Love Child No. 2, is a blend of beers from 41 different barrels, aged up to four years. That long fermentation and labor intensive process puts the retail price at about $20 a bottle.
Only 16,800 bottles will be available. Boulevard hopes to do a limited release of the Love Child series annually.
The first batch in the series, Love Child No. 1, was ready about six months ago but Boulevard only had a small batch of about 1,200 bottles.
"We couldn't release it, even in Kansas City. There wasn't enough. There would have been a huge uproar," said Bob Sullivan, vice president and chief sales and marketing officer at Boulevard.
Boulevard gave bottles of Love Child No. 1 out as samples. Then, in February, brewmaster Steven Pauwels took beer aging from six months up to four years in 41 different oak barrels and blended them with beer aged in stainless steel. That blend was put in 750ml bottles and aged again.
"One of our brewers came up with the name, Love Child, because it takes a lot of time and a lot of love to make these beers," Pauwels said. "This is a perfect beer to have with food. You can look at it as a big bottle of wine."
Love Child No. 2 is described as: "notes of cherry, oak, olive brine and leather give way to a subtle hint of funk and a dry, earthy finish."
But the ad copy for the beer is a bit steamier: "Drawn by an attraction that would not be denied, malted barley and hops danced a hot zymurgic tango into our cozy little brewkettle. As their passion fermented, they were overcome by the seductive lure of bourbon barrels until finally Well, good taste prevents us from going further, but the evidence is plain, a Love Child was born."
To reach Joyce Smith, call 816-234-4692 or send email to jsmith@kcstar.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter at JoyceKC.
At $20 a bottle, Boulevard produces a Love Child
By JOYCE SMITH
The Kansas City Star
Boulevard Brewing Co.'s most expensive bottle of beer ever hits store shelves today.
The sour beer, called Love Child No. 2, is a blend of beers from 41 different barrels, aged up to four years. That long fermentation and labor intensive process puts the retail price at about $20 a bottle.
Only 16,800 bottles will be available. Boulevard hopes to do a limited release of the Love Child series annually.
The first batch in the series, Love Child No. 1, was ready about six months ago but Boulevard only had a small batch of about 1,200 bottles.
"We couldn't release it, even in Kansas City. There wasn't enough. There would have been a huge uproar," said Bob Sullivan, vice president and chief sales and marketing officer at Boulevard.
Boulevard gave bottles of Love Child No. 1 out as samples. Then, in February, brewmaster Steven Pauwels took beer aging from six months up to four years in 41 different oak barrels and blended them with beer aged in stainless steel. That blend was put in 750ml bottles and aged again.
"One of our brewers came up with the name, Love Child, because it takes a lot of time and a lot of love to make these beers," Pauwels said. "This is a perfect beer to have with food. You can look at it as a big bottle of wine."
Love Child No. 2 is described as: "notes of cherry, oak, olive brine and leather give way to a subtle hint of funk and a dry, earthy finish."
But the ad copy for the beer is a bit steamier: "Drawn by an attraction that would not be denied, malted barley and hops danced a hot zymurgic tango into our cozy little brewkettle. As their passion fermented, they were overcome by the seductive lure of bourbon barrels until finally Well, good taste prevents us from going further, but the evidence is plain, a Love Child was born."
To reach Joyce Smith, call 816-234-4692 or send email to jsmith@kcstar.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter at JoyceKC.
