I'll preface this review by saying this is far from my favorite style, granted I've not had a ton of them.. but of the ones I have had I only like one and that would be this one and I look forward to it every year.

To say I like this beer would be an understatement.. this is one of the many reasons Fall is my favorite season.

The beer pours to a orange color, with slight red tones.

The head solid, though doesn't last as long as I would like. A nice thin lacing throughout the entire glass.

The smell is just like one would imagine.. pumpkin.. to be more specific pumpkin pie! It reminds me of Holidays and brings a smile to my face. Pumpkin, Cinnamon and nutmeg are all there and in full force. Very nice to be sure.

The taste is akin to a liquefied pumpkin pie... if you have even a slight liking toward pumpkin pies, you will likely enjoy this beer. It follows the smell and the same things are brought to the forefront. Pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon all there and in tandem with a nice malt backbone.

It might be time for me to sample more pumpkin ale's as admittedly it's been awhile since I tried the others that I disliked.

Regardless though, I'll be buying a few six packs of this come Fall time.. why must it be such a long wait?

Hop Rod Rye review.

Hop Rod Rye is a rather interesting beer. Take a well hopped IPA... add a nice amount of Rye to it and what do you get? This!

The beer pours to a dark amber color with a nice fluffy head, that slowly goes away upon drinking.. but leaves a nice consistent lacing throughout the entire glass.

The scent of hops hits the nose instantly upon smelling and it's truly a thing of beauty for anyone who considers themselves a hop head.

From the first sip, you know this is a hop lovers dream. Sure there's some malt backing, but the hops dominate from the start. Piney, slightly citric and just plain delicious. The rye doesn't have a huge presence, but you can still tell it's there and if anything it helps to balance things out a little.

This beer is insanely drinkable and worthy of the hype it receives

A world class beer that I would recommend to anyone.

As I type I'm enjoying a Boulevard Sixth Glass and think to myself..

That it's about time I set up a beer blog. Beer has been a important part of my life for sometime now. I remember the days when I was underage.. at that point in time I would drink beers at parties, but these beers consisted of flavorless macro lagers... keystone or natural light were the usual suspects, Budweiser or MGD if we had a little more money to spend.

I hated beer and felt that I would always hate beer. I didn't possess the slightest knowledge or understanding about just how vast the world of beer can truly be. I saw beer as being the swill that I was used to at the time and upon turning 'legal' felt I would turn my back on beer and never look back.

Then came my 21st birthday. It was November 10th of 2000. I bought a case of keystone light for a party and reluctantly chugged down a few cans (well ok more than a few) I had fully intended to go an extended period between that initial *legal* purchase and any other beer purchase. This didn't end up happening...

On nothing more than a whim within a week of turning 21 I bought a six pack of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I was curious about the world of better beer and not being able to sedate this curiosity, I simply had to try something beyond the bud/miller/coors/schlitz/hamm's of the world.

To say it was love at first taste, would quite honestly be an understatement of Dewey beats Truman proportions . While these days I've tried beers that make ole Sammy Boston Lager look pretty basic by comparison, (including some of Boston Beer Company's own beers... I *heart* The Dopplebock and consider it vastly underrated) I still owe Jim Koch a thanks and because of that I go back to Samuel Adams and The Boston Lager on occasion

From there it was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and then Bell's Two Hearted Ale... Rogue Shakespeare Stout.. Chimay Grand Reserve... Rochefort 10 and the rest was history.

Back to The Sixth Glass... great great beer to be had here. Quads are not easy to make and this is one of the reasons you see so few of them.

While it's not Rochefort 10, St. Bernardus 12 and especially Westy 12... a beer I've only had the pleasure of trying once, it's pretty remarkable for being an American brewed example and I love that a brewery from right here in Missouri is behind it.

Between this and the also exceptional Double Wide IPA, I am thrilled to see Boulevard moving in this direction. I love The Bully Porter and to a lesser extent The Nutcracker, but in general consider Boulevard to be a good... though by no means great brewery. The Smokestack series is going to go a long long way toward reaching the great level.