Boulevard ZON

[Andy B]

Some of you are at least vaguely aware that I enjoy drinking beer. One of my favorite styles, particularly during the summer, is Belgian witbier or "white" beer. It's a wheat beer brewed with coriander and orange peel--light and very refreshing. My favorite beer that I have ever had is Mannequin Pis, which is a wonderful example of this style. Hoegaarden is a very good example and is widely available (the mom & pop liquor store across the street from me usually has it). There are others.

Last summer, I stumbled across Boulevard ZON. This is the only American attempt at a witbier that I've come across that even comes close. Boulevard is probably my second favorite American brewer after Bell's of Kalamazoo, Michigan.* I live in Minnesota, and not all of the west coast beers get this far east, so I might be missing something (I drink Otter Creek when I visit my sisters in Connecticut).

Anyway, I was at a beer tasting yesterday, and my buddies wanted me to try Boulevard ZON and Hoegaarden side-by-side. I preferred the Hoegaarden, but they both went with ZON. I'm not going to argue too hard with them. It's that good.

Boulevard makes several other varieties, and their pale ale, porter, and dry stout are all excellent. I also rather like their Nutcracker Ale, a spiced, winter brew which comes out in December. They're in Kansas City, and I think they get fairly limited distribution. It's widely available in Minnesota, but I guess they don't distribute to Wisconsin at all (one more thing for us to gloat about). Anyway, if it's available in your area, check it out.

*I'm excluding brew pubs here.

[splashpot]

Good to know, I'll go look for it.

[Andy B]

Well, you're not likely to find it in Massachusetts.