Second Stop – Boulevard Brewing Company

I barely know where to begin with this one. I suppose I should start with a HUGE “thank you” to Julie Weeks, the Marketing Communications Manager for Boulevard. She went above and beyond to make sure that I was taken care of today on my visit to Boulevard.

<--Me with Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels

Boulevard’s bottle caps and much of their other artwork features drawings of their iconic brick smokestack. As I drove down Southwest Boulevard looking for the brewery I was more than a little frustrated from the complete stoppage on I-35 on my way into Kansas City. My mood sank even further when I realized that I must be lost because I had driven significantly past where the brewery was supposed to be. The landmark I had been searching for, the ubiquitous smokestack from all of their advertising, was shrouded for repairs. Also of little help to me was the fact that the side of the brewery facing the street is is just simple red brick that blends perfectly into the neighborhood. Aesthetically it’s nice, but I giant gaudy flashing sign would have been of significantly more help to me!

The building’s back is much more impressive! Four foot tall lettering spells out “Boulevard Brewing Company” across the roof and the architecture of a modern brewery is clearly visible. I was still forty minutes early so I took the opportunity to make a few laps around the brewery complex. I was impressed by the employees leaving with six-packs of beer to take home. I was later told that most of it was the brand new Smokestack Series beers that were being packaged in 12 oz bottles for the first time ever. Sure, they were going to have to let them sit in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks, but they still get to take home what is absolutely the freshest beer around.

The one sad thing about my walk around the brewery was the number of broken Corona bottles strewn around the outside. Sure, the brewery is in a Hispanic neighborhood and it isn’t the richest area in Kansas City, but you can do better than THAT! You’re literally standing on the property owned by an excellent craft beer maker and you’re drinking….Corona? I don’t think I could do that if I tried!

Once inside my afternoon consisted of a tour of the brewery and an absolutely delectable lunch with each course paired to a Boulevard beer that was prepared by the executive chef of Lidia’s Kansas City, Dan Swinny. Each month Boulevard does one of these “Brewmaster Luncheons” featuring different local chefs. The event is limited to 35 participants but every month hundreds of people are vying for those spots. Then a lottery is drawn to see who is lucky enough to attend.

Are you ready to be jealous? If so, read on.

The lunch consisted of butternut squash stuffed ravioli in sage brown butter and toasted almonds paired with the relatively new Amber beer. Brewmaster Steven Pauwels said that he and Swinny chose that combination because of the way the toasted almonds and the sweetness of the amaretto in the pasta filling match with the amber. The meat course consisted of a succulent lamb shank coated in Venetian spices with sweet potato Swiss chard mash that paired masterfully with Boulevard’s Sixth Glass beer from their Smokestack Series. Finally for dessert we were treated to a copa of Boulevard stout ice cream, barley malt ice cream, and Boulevard stout granita. Atop all of those were lightly toasted grains of barley. This pairing was with another beer from the smokestack series, Long Strange Tripel. Despite being one of my favorite beers from Boulevard this pairing didn’t work nearly as well as the others. The amber and sixth glass matched almost seamlessly with the food. They each complimented the dishes in an ideal way which brought out the flavors in both the food and the drinks. The tripel was great, the desserts were great, I just wasn’t in love with how they mixed.

While the food was being served Steven Pauwels walked from table to table to talk beer with the diners. His friendly demeanor, in-depth knowledge, and passion for what he does helped make a great event even better.

In my book I’ll be detailing some of my conversation with Pauwels, the history of Boulevard, and many of the interesting things I found out about the brewery today. The important thing to take away from today’s post is that if you’re in the Kansas City area make sure you’re putting your name in for the lottery every time one of these evens happens, you’ll be happy you did!

Up next I continue south of I-35 to the Co-op Ale Works in Oklahoma City.