Boulevard of Malted Dreams
“It was the summer of 1984, and John McDonald was thirsty. On vacation in Europe, the future founder of Boulevard Brewing Company wandered into a bar specializing in Belgian beers. He tried one, then another and another, amazed by the variety, the aromas, and the flavors. He was hooked.” — Boulevard’s story from www.boulevard.com
The First Decade: 1989 – 1999
The story of Boulevard Brewing begins like other pioneering breweries of the 1980s, owing its humble beginnings to the quest for great beer. John McDonald began homebrewing to quench his thirst for beer with flavor. The American brewing scene at the time was not exactly rich with options; this was especially true of John’s hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. After completing his degree in art, McDonald made his living as a carpenter and worked out of a brick building located on Kansas City’s Southwest Boulevard that was also his home, carpentry shop, and homebrewing hobby space. Pretty soon the hobby became the subject of dreams, plans begat dreams, and McDonald’s plans gave rise to Boulevard Brewing Company in 1989.
The original 35-barrel brewhouse was pulled from a brewery in the small town of Vierkirchen, Bavaria and installed in McDonald’s now empty workshop and home. His original business plans were to someday grow the brewery to 6,000 barrels of annual production. Boulevard’s first barrel of beer to roll from brewery doors was Boulevard Pale Ale, followed by Boulevard Irish Ale, a perennial seasonal since 1990, Bully Porter, and Boulevard [filtered] Wheat. Other beers from the early days included Bob’s ’47, an Octoberfest lager, and their Christmas beer called Nutcracker.
In the beginning, all production was sold as draft beer. Thanks to a loan from a banker willing to take a chance on McDonald’s young business, a kindly-used bottling line was added to the brewery and bottle-conditioned bottles of Boulevard beer made their market debut in 1993.
McDonald needed people as his company grew and hired Bill Cherry in 1994, who stepped into the Brewmaster role after completing his masters in food/brewing science at UC-Davis. Prior to his time at Davis, Cherry was a food microbiologist for Louis Rich and Claussen (both under the Oscar Mayer umbrella at the time).
In 1996, the brewery installed a centrifuge, introduced Boulevard Dry Stout to the market, re-tooled their wheat beer process, and gave it the name Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat. At this point annual production had reached about 10,000 barrels per year, far surpassing John’s long-term production goals. Things were looking pretty good for the 7-year-old microbrewery selling most of its beer in and around Kansas City.
The decision to relaunch Boulevard Wheat as Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat was a terrific move for the growing brewery because Unfiltered Wheat became the brewery’s #1 selling brand, quickly spreading through the central Midwest, and putting Boulevard Brewing Company on the radar as a regional brewer of consistently excellent beer. Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat was hot!
Cherry remained the Brewmaster at Boulevard until 1999, during which time he was instrumental in establishing Boulevard’s quality control lab and saw the brewery grow from about 8,000 barrels per year to 36,000 barrels per year. His wanderlust led him to Vermont where he went on to establish Switchback Brewing Company in Burlington, Vermont. McDonald, who originally was attracted to brewing by Belgian beer, decided to look eastward for his next brewmaster. And this time he specifically was in search of someone with hands-on experience brewing bottle-conditioned Belgian ales. The search ended when McDonald was put in contact with the Belgian brewer Stephen Pauwels.
Pauwels graduated from the Catholic University College, KAHO Sint-Lieven in 1991 with a degree in biochemical engineering and he had practical brewing experience working at Brouwerij Krüger (then owned by Interbrew), the Domus brewery in Leuven, and at Brouwerij Riva. Pauwels joined a very small handful of Belgian brewers working in the US when he took over as Boulevard’s Brewmaster in 1999.
The Teen Years: 1999 – 2009
The next decade would prove to be huge for Boulevard. Pauwels was tasked with introducing more beers into the lineup and his first development for the KC brewery, Zon, was released in 2001. Zon, a Belgian-style witbier named for the Flemish word for sun, has won numerous Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medals in the Belgian-style witbier category, and is still on the brewery’s calendar as a summer seasonal. New brews were being developed when time permitted, but additional brewing capacity was needed and an expansion plan was launched.
Most US craft breweries planning expansions during this era were looking towards suburban and semi-rural locations to build new breweries. Not Boulevard. Named after Southwest Boulevard, the road bordering the northwest walls of the original brewery building, McDonald decided to build his expansion adjacent to the original brewery. The new building was built with growth in mind and was designed to functionally and aesthetically fit with Boulevard’s urban surroundings. The new building also featured design elements, like the wooden butcher-block floor in the brewhouse and modern and open feel of the building’s interior that reflected McDonald’s eye for art and a love of carpentry.
Krones-Steinecker, a world-renowned German equipment supplier, regarded for its exceptional packaging equipment and Steinecker brewhouses, was chosen to supply a 4-vessel, 150-barrel brewhouse as well as a new state-of-the art bottling line. The expansion, simply named “Brew-house II,” afforded the brewing staff much needed breathing room after pushing the original facility to its limits. By 2006, shortly before the new brewhouse was commissioned, Boulevard’s 35-barrel brewhouse was turning out 3,000 brews per year for a total production volume approaching 100,000 barrels. The brewing team now had the production volume in Brewhouse II to allow for the growth of core brands like Unfiltered Wheat and Pale Ale, and the original 35-barrel brewhouse that could now be used to brew the beers that they had been perfecting during construction of the new facility.
Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, named after Boulevard’s iconic brick smokestack, was launched in 2006 as a separate, high-end brand. According to Pauwels, the Smokestack Series was set up to allow failure. This sounds unusual, and when asked for clarification Pauwels explained that this brand, with a different look and reduced emphasis on the Boulevard brand, allowed him and his brewing team to more aggressively experiment and push the boundaries of their brews without worrying so much about failure.
The reader needs to roll back the clock 13 years to appreciate the brewing scene at the time. A brewery like Boulevard that was doing quite well with clean ales and lagers was not overly keen to throw a wrench into a smooth-running engine with different yeasts, bacteria, and flavor profiles that were far different from the brews that defined the brewery. Think of when Herbie Hancock transitioned from straight-ahead jazz to funk and put all of his cards on the table. That’s what risk meant to the 100,000+ barrel brewery best known for its top-selling Unfiltered Wheat, dubbed by many as a gateway beer.
Boulevard’s Smokestack brand was a move intended to protect its core brands against potential market stumbles, but the fear of failure was a case of an unneeded insurance policy. Examples of beers flowing from Boulevard’s skunk works under the Smokestack Series banner included Saison, Saison Brett, Bourbon Barrel Quad, Dark Truth Imperial Stout, The Calling Double IPA, The Sixth Glass, Double Wide IPA, Chocolate Ale, and the renowned Tank 7. These brews were all big, expressive beers that were simply not common in the Midwest when released. Not only did these bold beers draw attention from the beer aficionado community, their high-end shelf presence gave Boulevard’s public image a new and more sophisticated dimension that helped drive the sales of their core brands.
Saison was one of the first specials to be released after the debut of Zon and was inspired by Pauwels’ sensory experiences as a youngster growing up in Belgium. He wanted to brew a beer that was drinkable and thirst-quenching with earthy and hay-like aromas reminiscent of his time as a teen in Belgium helping farmers put up hay. Early versions of this beer were experimental and not sold. Over time Saison was fine-tuned to hit the mouthfeel and drinking sensation Pauwels desired, and dry hopped to provide the hay-like aromas envisioned in his mental impression of his ideal saison.
While the Smokestack Saison was a great beer unto itself, it was missing an earthy element that Pauwels wanted. Enter Brettanomyces. Clean Saison was moved to an off-site warehouse, inoculated with Brettanomyces, or “Brett,” and bottled. Brett is a diastatic yeast that secretes glucoamylase. This enzyme converts dextrins into fermentable sugars that are then fermented by Brett. Bottle-conditioned Brett beers not only become more carbonated with time, they begin to express the earthy, barnyard-like, phenolic aromatics that are the signature of Brett beers. Saison Brett completed Pauwels’ mental image of his ideal Saison. Today, Saison Brett is a beer that makes its presence every so often. There was no 2019 release of Saison Brett, but 2020 should see another release of this brew to the approval of its enthusiastic supporters.
The Sixth Glass was another bold, Belgian-inspired beer; a Quadrupel ale, nonetheless. This brew is named for a devilish literary reference that is a metaphor for the beer itself and an inspiration for the artwork. The Sixth Glass takes its name from part of Hans Christian Anderson’s Taarnvægteren Ole, translated into English as “Ole, The Tower Keeper” and “The Watchman of the Tower.” The bottom line was that the Smokestack Series beers made it clear to the beer intelligentsia that Boulevard had game.
Before we jump to the current decade, let’s circle back to 2006, when Boulevard began making beers with wild yeasts and bacteria. One may assume that a brewer with Pauwels’ past would be anxious to bring on the funk sooner than later. But Pauwels’ past brought with it a healthy respect for introducing bacteria and diastatic yeast like Brettanomyces into a clean, funk-free, brewery. Saison Brett was Boulevard’s first funky beer and the Brett added before packaging was all handled in an off-site warehouse facility that the brewery had been using for storage. This was an ideal location to house funky creations along with a small bottling line dedicated to these beers. Used barrels can also be vectors of the funk and Boulevard houses their entire barrel program in this off-site facility.
Today, Boulevard’s mixed-fermentation and barrel program includes about 5,000 oak barrels, four vertical foudres, one horizontal foudre, and a packaging line with cork and cage as well as crown finish options. Beer is moved from the brewery to this off-site facility to ensure that no unwanted microbes are brought into the process.
A New Decade: 2010 and beyond
As the brewery continued to grow and prosper, John McDonald began thinking about retirement and enjoying life after brewing. The decision was made to begin an international search for a buyer that was aligned with Boulevard’s beliefs and brewing ethos. Belgium’s Duvel Moortgat, operating in the states as Duvel USA after its complete acquisition in 2003 of Brewery Ommegang (Duvel Moortgat was an original investor in the Cooperstown, New York brewer of Belgian-style ales that opened in 1997), would be the new owner of Boulevard. In 2013 the acquisition was complete.
The community of craft beer consumers have not been the friendliest lot when the founders and majority owners of independent companies have chosen to sell their businesses, and the predictable sellout barbs were thrown at the well-liked and widely respected McDonald following his decision. But the hullabaloo settled and Boulevard fans continued enjoying the brewery’s beers, while work at the brewery went on for the sizable staff of talented folks passionately pulling Boulevard’s rope in the same direction.
Jeff Krum is now the President of the company. He was an original investor in Boulevard and gave John McDonald business advice in the early years. Krum joined the Boulevard team as the company’s CFO in 1994, became the VP of Corporate Affairs after the acquisition in 2014, and in 2016 was named President of Boulevard Brewing Company, Brewery Ommegang, and Duvel Moortgat USA, the group’s national sales organization.
Steven Pauwels has been the Brewmaster at Boulevard for 20 years and continues to be supported by a strong team including Craig Pijanowski, Boulevard’s Brewing Manager who has been with the company for 17 years, veteran Quality Manager Joe Palausky, Packaging Manager Jason Hart, Off-Site Barrel Program manager Ryan McNieve, and Plant Engineer Dalibor “Dali” Grabar, the project manager for Krones-Steinecker during the installation of Brewhouse II who decided to stay in Kansas City following commissioning.
Boulevard’s most recent addition to the brewery campus, the Beer Hall and Rec Center, opened its doors in 2016. The Beer Hall and Rec Center features a reception area with information about company history and a merchandise store on the first floor, an expansive beer hall with two bars pouring all core brands and a wide array of limited-release and experimental brews on the second floor, and a recently opened shuffleboard deck on the fourth floor. Brewery tours and special events can also be scheduled through the Beer Hall and Rec Center.
Boulevard Brewing Company celebrates it 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades, the brewery has made many lasting marks in the history pages about the rise of the US craft beer movement. The next time you are planning a beer vacation or are anywhere near Kansas City, a visit to Boulevard Brewing should definitely be part of your plans!
A Few Deep Questions with Steven Pauwels
What is your advice to homebrewers who want to brew Belgian-style (non-sour) beers at home?
When brewing high-gravity styles, get your final gravities low by using adjuncts like flaked corn, raw wheat, and sugar. Really, the preferred adjunct for this is sugar, like invert sugar, used at levels up to 15–20% of the total extract. Adjuncts make for a dryer, cleaner, and more balanced finish, especially with bigger beers.
I also suggest avoiding overly-phenolic yeast strains. When brewing Belgian-style beers, yeast selection is the most important consideration. At Boulevard, we have a house Belgian ale strain that we use in many of our beers, including Tank 7, that has a balance of esters and phenols. You know, all Belgian ale strains are POF+ (phenolic off-flavor positive), and probably all trace back to a few strains that likely mutated over time into a much greater number. I prefer the strains that are not too phenolic.
What can you tell our readers about Tank 7?
New beers come on the beer scene in waves. When I first thought of brewing a saison at Boulevard it was a reaction to what was in the market at the time. There is no right or wrong way to approach a style, but the saisons being brewed in the US at that time were not my idea of the style. They were too sweet, under-attenuated, and often spiced.
Many brewers think of DuPont yeast when considering brewing saison. But they don’t consider that the fermenters at DuPont are open, square, and shallow. The DuPont yeast produces a good balance of phenols and esters in this type of fermenter, but does not produce the same flavor profile in taller tanks. Hydrostatic pressure suppresses ester production and the DuPont strain expresses more phenolic in tall fermenters. Our house strain produces a nice balance of esters and phenols when used in unitanks.
What is the White IPA story?
Larry Sidor (Brewmaster at Deschutes at the time) and I decided to brew a collaboration beer. We met in an airport bar, I think it was before the CBC (Craft Brewers Conference) or annual MBAA (Master Brewers Association of Americas) meeting, to talk about our plans. Deschutes was brewing a lot of very hoppy beers at the time and we at Boulevard were brewing with a lot of wheat. So we decided to brew a white IPA for our collaboration, and we decided to use lemon grass as one of the ingredients. Lots of lemon grass was used because it is subtle.
I remember peeling lemon grass for two days. At Boulevard, I recruited my son’s high school friends and high school kids of my Boulevard colleagues to help peel lemon grass. The lemon grass was added in the whirlpool for aroma. Our beer was simply called Collaboration #2 and Deschutes called their beer (brewed in Bend, Oregon) Conflux 2. We only brewed Collaboration #2 once, but Deschutes brewed the beer again and turned it into Chain Breaker. The collaboration we brewed did represent a new beer style.
Under the Hood
Boulevard’s original brewhouse, a two-vessel design with the lauter tun positioned directly above the mash mixer/kettle, was plucked from Bavaria and relocated in Kansas City. Designed for use with whole hops, the brewhouse had a continuous hop separator that removes hops from wort as it is pumped to the whirlpool vessel for trub removal. Today, pellet hops have replaced cone hops because they are easier to store, ship, and handle.
Although a bit uncommon in the US, this stacked brew-house configuration was once fairly popular in Germany due it is compact and efficient use of space. This basic operation starts by mashing in the mash mixer/kettle, followed by pumping up to the lauter tun, and collecting wort by gravity flow into the kettle. Decoctions can also be performed by draining the thick mash from the lauter tun into the kettle, boiling, and pumping back to the lauter tun. A cool feature of this design is the use of a single shaft and gear motor turning the raking machine in the lauter tun and the mixer in the mash mixer/kettle. Homebrew systems like the Grainfather were patterned after this design (minus the raking machine and mixer).
As Boulevard grew and needed to brew more beer, the brewhouse was expanded by adding a stand-alone mash mixer and wort receiver. The kettle was modified by adding an internal calandria situated above a heating coil; this design permitted for the production of half batches by boiling with just the coil. These modifications allowed this brewhouse to kick out about 3,000 brews in a single year just before Brewhouse II was commissioned in 2006.
Boulevard’s second brewhouse, Brewhouse II, knocks out 150 barrels per brew and was designed and built by Krones-Steinecker in their manufacturing facility located in Freising, Germany. Brewers know Freising as the home of the Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan, and the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan located on the university campus. Not a bad place to source brewing equipment, for sure.
The brewing process in Brewhouse II begins with wet milling. The Steinecker Variomill wets the malt husk in a conditioning chamber and then introduces mash water as the malt feeds into the crushing rollers. Mash is then pumped from the mill and into the bottom of the mash mixer to minimize oxygen pick-up. After mashing is complete and the temperature is raised for mash-out, the mash is pumped to the Pegasus lauter tun.
The Pegasus has some cool brew-geek features, especially the clever use of space in a donut-like space cleared from the vessel’s inner area. Engineers at Steinecker removed the least efficient part of a lauter tun’s bottom and replaced this area with an enlarged center cone. This design moves the shaft seal of the raking machine well above the product level and makes room on the bottom side of the vessel for the mash inlet piping, with a modest addition to the diameter to account for the area taken from the center. During lauter tun fill, mash is radially distributed from the center across the surface of the false bottom, making for an even and quiet fill while simultaneously minimizing mash piping. A very elegant design, indeed.
Wort flows from the lauter tun to a wort receiver, alleviating process bottle-necks, through a wort pre-heater, and into Boulevard’s Stromboli kettle. The Steinecker Stromboli is designed for thorough wort mixing during boiling and improved Di-Methyl Sulfide (DMS) removal; these process improvements over prior designs result from how the wort concentrator and spreader hats (there are two) positioned above the internal calandria are designed. In addition to improvements to wort quality and reduced energy consumption to achieve the same analytical results, the Stromboli includes a vapor condenser in the steam exhaust stack, allowing for substantial energy recovery in the form of hot water that is used on subsequent brews for wort heating.
All fermentations at the brewery are conducted in cylindroconical fermenters, most of them multi-batch, before beer is aged and chilled. Clarification is achieved using centrifugation, with bright beers being sent through two centrifuges set up in series. This practice eliminates the need for filtration, reduces waste generated from filter sheets and/or diatomaceous earth, and eliminates a process step that can remove certain flavor attributes from beer. Boulevard continues to use bottle conditioning for all of their core brands and Smokestack Series beers. All of Boulevard’s 12-ounce bottles are filled by their Krones bottling line that was part of the 2006 Brewhouse II project. Kegs are filled in the same facility.
A state-of-the-art packaging hall devoted to canning (pictured at the top of page 68) was commissioned in 2018. Full cans of beer streaming from the 350 can-per-minute filler can either be sent directly to the dry end of the line where they exit the line as 6-pack cases and are then palletized for storage and subsequent shipping, or the filled cans of beer can be diverted through a tunnel pasteurizer prior to packing. The tunnel pasteurizer allows Boulevard to package beers containing fermentable sugars, like the fruity Jam Band, without the risk of package failures in the market.
Boulevard is annually producing about 185,000 barrels from their combined operations in Kansas City and is Missouri’s second largest brewery, behind Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.
Green Initiatives
Boulevard is committed to being a zero-waste facility and does not send any brewery waste streams to landfills. Waste aluminum, glass, paper, cardboard, metal, and wood are collected in recycling bins located throughout the brewery campus and sent to area recycling centers. Spent yeast is collected and composted by Missouri Organic, and, like most commercial brewing operations, their spent grains are sent to local farmers to be used for animal feed.
The vapor condenser on the kettle stack is another example of Boulevard’s commitment to efficiency. But how does a brewery utilize hot water to save energy? The answer is by using a closed-loop, specially designed water tank for thermal storage. The key feature of this type of vessel is stratification and the intentional establishment of a thermocline, or steep temperature gradient created by differences in water density, in the tank where the temperature above is much hotter than the temperature below. Diffuser manifolds in the top and bottom of the tank help establish the gradient.
Here is how the system works: 172 °F (78 °C) water is pumped from the bottom of the energy storage tank during wort boiling and used as the coolant to condense steam in the kettle’s vapor condenser. The vapor condenser is a type of shell and tube heat exchanger with the cooling water flowing through tubes and steam from the boiling wort passing over the exterior surface of the tubes. Think of a giant immersion chiller! As steam condenses, water flowing through the tubes is heated from 172 to 207 °F (78 to 97 °C) and returns into the energy storage tank through the diffuser manifold in the top of the tank. It only takes a single brew to get this tank primed for use.
When wort from the next brew is pumped through the wort heater located between the wort receiver and kettle, 207 °F (97 °C) water from the top of the energy storage tank heats wort from 169 to 203 °F (76 to 95 °C). In the process the hot water is cooled to 172 °F (78 °C) and returned to the bottom diffuser manifold of the energy storage tank. This process reduces total energy consumption associated with wort heating and boiling by about 33%.
Another example of the brewery’s environmental awareness is illustrated through a side business created by those in charge a decade ago. The people at Boulevard were noticing as the brewery grew and sold more beer, that more of their beer bottles were ending up in area landfills. Data collection began and they determined that there was a real need for glass recycling in Kansas City because there was none. The solution was to establish a separate company that could recycle glass.
Ripple Glass was founded by then Boulevard President John McDonald, CFO Jeff Krum, and Plant Engineer Mike Utz. The new company began collecting and processing glass in the Kansas City area in 2009. According to Ripple Glass “Kansas Citians threw away 150 million pounds (68 million kg) of perfectly good glass, including some 10 million empty Boulevard bottles, lost forever and buried in local landfills,” in 2009 alone.
Today, Ripple Glass has two major customers; Owens Corning in Kansas City, which converts the glass collected and processed by Ripple into glass cullet (small pieces of chopped up glass) for fiberglass insulation, and an Ardagh glass manufacturing plant in Sapulpa, Oklahoma that converts Ripple’s cullet into new beer bottles. Ripple’s eye-catching, purple collection containers are seen in over 80 communities in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and help these communities keep glass from entering landfills. Mike Utz is now the President of Ripple Glass.
Recipes
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Tank 7 clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.071 FG = 1.007
IBU = 38 SRM = 4 ABV = 8.5%
Tank 7 has become one of Boulevard’s most recognized brands and a terrific example of a modern saison. The recipe got its start as a riff on Saison, a brand in the Smokestack Series, when Pauwels was working on Saison Brett. The Smokestack Saison recipe was tweaked to boost the strength from 7.5% to 8.5% ABV and the beer was dry-hopped with Amarillo® hops, which were relatively new at the time. The brewers were tasting the base for Saison Brett from Fermenter #7, coincidentally a 300-barrel Mueller fermenter built in Springfield, Missouri by the author’s former employer, and really dug what they were tasting. The “clean version” of Saison Brett (essentially Tank 7 bottle-conditioned with Brett and other conditioning yeast) became Tank 7 and the rest is history.
Ingredients
9.25 lbs. (4.2 kg) North American 2-row Pilsner malt
2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg) North American white wheat malt
1.5 lbs. (680 g) invert sugar
1.8 AAU Magnum hops (first wort hop) (0.15 oz./4 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
19.95 AAU Amarillo® hops (5 min.) (2 oz./56 g at 10% alpha acids)
5 AAU Amarillo® hops (dry hop) (0.5 oz./14 g at 10% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3787 (Trappist Style High Gravity) or White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale) or Omega Yeast Labs OYL-028 (Belgian Ale W) or SafAle BE-256 yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Adjust all brewing water to a pH of 5.5 using phosphoric acid. Add 1 tsp. calcium chloride to the mash.
Mash the malts at 145 °F (63 °C) for 50 minutes, heat to 154 °F (68 °C) and hold for 25 minutes, then heat to 163 °F (73 °C) and hold for 15 minutes. Start recirculating wort. Raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for 15 minutes.
Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort. Add first wort hops and invert sugar when sparging is complete.
Heat to boiling, and boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 62–64 °F (17–18 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Dry hops should be added when gravity is about 1.016. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days. Rack the beer, prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Tank 7 clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.071 FG = 1.007
IBU = 38 SRM = 4 ABV = 8.5%
Ingredients
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
2.3 lbs. (1 kg) wheat dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (680 g) invert sugar
1.8 AAU Magnum hops (first wort hop) (0.15 oz./4 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
19.95 AAU Amarillo® hops (5 min.) (2 oz./56 g at 10% alpha acids)
5 AAU Amarillo® hops (dry hop) (0.5 oz./14 g at 10% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3787 (Trappist Style High Gravity) or White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale) or Omega Yeast Labs OYL-028 (Belgian Ale W) or SafAle BE-256 yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of water in your brew kettle to 180 °F (82 °C). Turn off the heat and add the malt extract and sugar, and stir thoroughly to dissolve completely. You do not want to feel extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Add the first wort hops while raising to a boil.
Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 62–64 °F (17–18 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Dry hops should be added when gravity is about 1.016. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for 4 days. Rack the beer, prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Bob’s ’47 clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.011
IBU = 27 SRM = 11 ABV = 5.8%
A tribute to Bob Werkowitch, former Master Brewer of Kansas City’s George Muehlebach Brewing Company and graduate of the U.S. Brewer’s Academy class of 1947. Bob’s ‘47 is Boulevard’s take on a traditional German-style Märzen/Oktoberfest.
Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) North American 2-row Pilsner malt
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.66 lb. (300 g) Munich malt (15 °L)
0.66 lb. (300 g) European crystal malt (50 °L)
0.15 lb. (70 g) European crystal malt (15 °L)
5 AAU Vanguard hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Vanguard hops (30 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
SafLager W34/70 or Omega Yeast Labs OYL-114 (Bayern Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Adjust all brewing water to a pH of 5.5 using phosphoric acid. Add 1 tsp. calcium chloride to the mash.
Mash the malts at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Start recirculating wort. Raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for 15 minutes. Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort.
Heat to boiling, and boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 50–54 °F (10–12 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Lager at fermentation temperature (50–54 °F/10-12 °C) for 2 weeks, then cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days.
If you have a spunding valve, transfer beer from primary to keg when gravity is about 1.020, close keg, pressurize to ~5 psig to seal lid, attach spunding valve, and hold at fermentation temperature (50–54 °F/10–12 °C) for 3 weeks. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days before serving.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Bob’s ’47 clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.011
IBU = 27 SRM = 11 ABV = 5.8%
Ingredients
3.5 lbs. (1.4 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.66 lb. (300 g) Munich malt (15 °L)
0.66 lb. (300 g) European crystal malt (50 °L)
0.15 lb. (70 g) European crystal malt (15 °L)
5 AAU Vanguard hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Vanguard hops (30 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
SafLager W34/70 or Omega Yeast Labs OYL-114 (Bayern Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Start with 1.5 gallons (5.6 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Steep the crushed malts in a mesh bag for 45 minutes, then remove.
Add 5 gallons (19 L) more of water, rinsing the grain bag during addition; heat to 180 °F (82 °C).
Turn off the heat. Add the malt extract, and stir thoroughly to dissolve completely. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 50–54 °F (10–12 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Lager at fermentation temperature (50–54 °F/10–12 °C) for 2 weeks, then cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days.
If you have a spunding valve, transfer beer from primary to keg when gravity is about 1.020, close keg, pressurize to ~5 psig to seal lid, attach spunding valve, and hold at fermentation temperature (50–54 °F/10–12 °C) for 3 weeks. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days before serving.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Pale Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.011
IBU = 30 SRM = 9 ABV = 5.4%
Boulevard Pale Ale is an old-school pale ale with a variety of caramel and high-kilned malts, and a blend of hops that add a zesty aroma. Pale Ale was Boulevard’s first beer and continues to be a perennial favorite.
Ingredients
8.5 lbs. (3.86 kg) North American 2-row Pilsner malt
1.6 lbs. (0.73 kg) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.5 lb. (230 g) European crystal malt (25 °L)
0.4 lb. (180 g) European crystal malt (60 °L)
4.65 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.39 oz./11 g at 12% alpha acids)
1 AAU Bravo hops (30 min.) (0.07 oz./2 g at 15% alpha acids)
1 AAU Cascade hops (30 min.) (0.17 oz./5 g at 6% alpha acids)
1 AAU Styrian Golding hops (30 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 5% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Bravo hops (0 min.) (0.05 oz./2 g at 15% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Cascade hops (0 min.) (0.13 oz./4 g at 6% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Styrian Golding hops (0 min.) (0.16 oz./5 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Omega OYL-006 (British Ale 1) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Adjust all brewing water to a pH of 5.5 using phosphoric acid. Add 1 tsp. calcium chloride to the mash.
Mash the malts at 154 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Start recirculating wort. Raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for 15 minutes. Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort.
Heat to boiling, and boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 62–64 °F (17–18 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days.
Rack the beer, prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Pale Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.011
IBU = 30 SRM = 9 ABV = 5.4%
Ingredients
4.5 lbs. (2.04 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 g) Munich dried malt extract
0.5 lb. (230 g) European crystal malt (25 °L)
0.4 lb. (180 g) European crystal malt (60 °L)
4.65 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.39 oz./11 g at 12% alpha acids)
1 AAU Bravo hops (30 min.) (0.07 oz./2 g at 15% alpha acids)
1 AAU Cascade hops (30 min.) (0.17 oz./5 g at 6% alpha acids)
1 AAU Styrian Golding hops (30 min.) (0.2 oz./6 g at 5% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Bravo hops (0 min.) (0.05 oz./2 g at 15% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Cascade hops (0 min.) (0.13 oz./4 g at 6% alpha acids)
0.8 AAU Styrian Golding hops (0 min.) (0.16 oz./5 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Omega OYL-006 (British Ale 1) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of water in your brew kettle while steeping crushed grains for 20 minutes. Once a temperature of 180 °F (82 °C) is reached turn off the heat. Add the malt extract and stir thoroughly to dissolve completely. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil.
Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Chill the wort to 62–64 °F (17–18 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days.
Rack the beer, prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Single-Wide IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.012
IBU = 57 SRM = 8 ABV = 5.7%
Single-Wide IPA is Boulevard’s take on a West Coast-style IPA, with a balanced profile coming from the interplay of malty notes from Single-Wide’s grist bill and hop flavors and aromas coming from a solid lineup of American hops and a featured guest from down under.
Ingredients
8 lbs. (3.6 kg) North American 2-row Pilsner malt
2.25 lbs. (1 kg) North American white wheat malt
1 lb. (450 g) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.5 lb. (230 g) European amber malt (25 °L)
10 AAU Topaz™ hops (60 min.) (0.67 oz./19 g at 15% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Cascade hops (30 min.) (0.54 oz./15 g at 6% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Centennial hops (30 min.) (0.32 oz./9 g at 10% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Citra® hops (30 min.) (0.27 oz./8 g at 12% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Summit™ hops (0 min.) (0.20 oz./6 g at 16% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Omega OYL-006 (British Ale 1) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Adjust all brewing water to a pH of 5.5 using phosphoric acid. Add 1 tsp. calcium chloride to the mash.
Mash the malts at 154 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Start recirculating wort. Raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for 15 minutes. Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort.
Heat to boiling, and boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe (if you can’t find Topaz™, substitute Amarillo®). Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required
Chill the wort to 62–64 °F (17–18 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete. Dry hops should be added when gravity is about 1.016. Cool to 32–34 °F (0–1 °C) and cold condition for four days. Rack the beer, prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Single-Wide IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.012
IBU = 57 SRM = 8 ABV = 5.7%
Ingredients
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) wheat dried malt extract
1 lb. (450 g) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.5 lb. (230 g) European amber malt (25 °L)
10 AAU Topaz™ hops (60 min.) (0.67 oz./19 g at 15% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Cascade hops (30 min.) (0.54 oz./15 g at 6% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Centennial hops (30 min.) (0.32 oz./9 g at 10% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Citra® hops (30 min.) (0.27 oz./8 g at 12% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Summit™ hops (0 min.) (0.20 oz./6 g at 16% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Omega OYL-006 (British Ale 1) or SafAle S-04 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Start with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Steep the crushed malts in a mesh bag for 45 minutes, then remove. Add 5.5 gallons (21 L) more of water, rinsing the grain bag during addition; heat to 180 °F (82 °C).
Turn off the heat. Add the malt extract, and stir thoroughly to dissolve completely. You do not want to feel extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil.
Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe (if you can’t find Topaz™, substitute Amarillo®). Adjust OG post-boil with RO water as required.
Follow the remainder of the instructions from the all-grain version of this recipe.
