The Sixth Glass

Another entry in the “Quadrupel” style, Sixth Glass packs a fairly serious punch from its 10.5 percent ABV and overflows with lush tropical fruit aromas and flavors. With this brew, Boulevard continues the developing trend of American brewers producing credibly authentic Belgian-style beers. When the cork pops from the bottle, the room is suffused with luscious aromas of banana, molasses and cinnamon. Tim enjoyed the solid molasses note and thought it worked well within the overall sweetness of the aroma. He did, however, feel the aroma was a bit lacking in complexity. The intense banana and clove aromas piqued Pete’s interest, and he dug deeper to discover a subtle rummy note and traces of floral hops beneath the intense maltiness. Rather cloudy, this copper-colored beer emerges from the bottle cloaked in a meringue-like tan head that seems to dissipate a tad more quickly than expected. Rum-like notes pervade the flavor and support the secondary hints of honey, clove and slightly burnt caramel. Dovetailing nicely with the fruitiness and spice, Nick was particularly impressed by the sweetish honey-like notes under the somewhat pungent rummy character. Rick also keyed in on the honey component but commented on the high alcohol profile, likening the overall flavor to Germany’s honey-based liqueur, Bärenjäger. Overall, the panel enjoyed this beer but thought it could have been a touch more attenuated to cut the just-shy-of-cloying sweetness. If your beer travels take you to Missouri, be sure to plan a stop in Kansas City to sample Boulevard’s impressive lineup.