4- Rundown - Boulevard Pale Ale (Sampled in Manhattan, KS)

Boulevard Brewing Company | Pale Ale

Pale Ale 5.4%

Kansas City, Missouri

Missouri, not Kansas. 

Look:  5/5 What you expect from a Pale Ale - a nice golden. 

Smell:  4/5 Slightly fragrant & hoppy smell.

Taste:  3.5/5 Slightly bitter, dry, with a hoppy profile. 

Feel: 3/5 Light, subtle but not fully clean finish. The hops resonate.

Drinkability: 3/5 There’s room for three in my belly.

Overall: 3.6

After a long first day of goin' up the country, Bryan and I stopped for the night in Manhattan, Kansas. We have some close friends, Jordan & Justin that live there. Justins in the service, and they could move to Las Vegas sometime in the future, so maybe I should invite them to do the blog too. Good idea, zealots! 

So, the 'Little Apple' is actually a pretty cool town. It's flat as all get out, and you never hear too much about it, save for Kansas State being there (Go Wildcats) - but, that doesn't mean that everyone isn't extremely nice and there's nothing to offer. There were quite a few spots I wanted to try out, but being as we were only in town for 12 hours, we had to land on but one spot. 

Aside - Next time we do this, we are absolutely taking a day in between for each city we stop in. I'm worn out just thinking about 1900 miles in 4 days. 

That spot, as it turned out, was a neat, hip pub on Poyntz Ave named Bourbon & Baker. 

We scoped a few places out, but after seeing the cocktail menu here, we figured we'd be losing at life if we didn't try drinks named G.F.B.C. (Good-F*ck!n Bourbon/Coke), Mascara on a Mule, or Redundant Redhead. Our curiosity actually led us all around the drink menu, and if I recall correctly, we ended up having tequila, a few GFBC's, a bourbon or two, the ended (Sorry in advance that this post isn't about this last drink. I was a little sloshy at this point) on an absolutely beautiful glass of Sinatra's Select Jack Daniel's. Damn was that sip was delectable (No - I was drunk - was it actually that good?). 

If I'm not mistaken this also led to a walk home within which many a Christmas light was enjoyed, all to a wonderful holiday melody sang by a Cher.

But, before all of this went down - I did start the night off with a beer. This particular beer was from Boulevard Brewery - about 2 hours away, in Kansas City, Missouri. And yes, the brewery is on a boulevard (Southwest Blvd, to be precise). Born in 1989, this brewery instantly gained some clout with me, being that we were some of the last, and greatest things to ever come out of the 80's. 

The Boulevard Pale Ale was, well - Pale. It had a great flavor, color, and taste. It was a bit dry, which I liked. Maybe best in the warm evening months. Even as I like a juicy ale most of the time, something about the drinkability of this one had me sold. I would have had 3+ if I wasn't planning on waking up at 5:30 the next morning!

Alas. I feel like there is so much more ground to be covered in Manhattan. I honestly dont think I'll have too many more experiences in Kansas, but when I do, I think the best setting would be in the eastern part. Why you ask? Because the drive from Manhattan, Kansas to the next stop we made was straight and long and booooooooooring. But that's another post for another day. Cheers, Kansas!

A little history with my friend, Jordan. 

3- Rundown - Mother's Brewing Lil' Helper

Mother’s Brewing Company Lil’ Helper

Midwest Coast IPA 7.0%

Springfield, Missouri

Mother Knows Best

Look: 5/5  A bit on the darker side of IPA’s

Smell: 3/5  There's not much of a scent to this one - simple and clean. It wasnt bad by any means, but left a little to be desired.

Taste: 4/5  This IPA, as described, is a decent bit hoppy, not by any means overwhelming, though. It has a mellowness as it goes down, with almost a honey or mollasses sweetness towards the back. I like it.

Feel: 4/5   The body is light to medium- goes down smooth and easy. 

Drinkability: 3/5  Halfway through this beer, it really hits its stride. Easy to have a few. I love an IPA, and whatever a Midwest Coast IPA is, I will have another. Which as Scott says, is the best compliment you can give a beer.

Overall: 3.9/5

Missouri State's Logo

The journey from Memphis, TN to Seattle took Bryan and I about 38 hours over 4 days. After riding 6 hours on Day 1, we found ourselves in a small city by the name of Springfield, Missouri. No, I'd never heard of it - nor did I have any idea what to expect. But after a bit of yelping, we found a cool corner restaurant/bar by the name of Riad's. Riads is a unique combo of Mediterranean (didn't spell that right the first time) entrees, american sides, and craft beer with a bit of a college twist. I can imagine the place being packed with students on a Friday night - Riad's is right on the edge of Missouri State's campus (Remember Cuonzo Martin, Basketball fans? That's where he cut his teeth.) Go Bears!

So, Bryan and I sit down, order some food - a gyro, in my case -  (sorry, it was gone by the time a photo was taken) with a side of garlic parmesan fries - incredible.  We then took a look at the selection of Mother's Brews on tap. They had 4 or 5 (you can see them above), and I wanted to try them all. Alas, I've told myself that my reviews will only be on the first beer of the day- for the sake of giving each one a fair shot and not letting another throw off my opinion. So, naturally, I went for the IPA. The Lil' Helper Midwest Coast IPA is a bit darker than I imagined it would be, and lacked any real bouquet of hops, but you know, I never let that put me off on a pale ale, most are simple and clean smelling anyway. The head on this one was pretty thick, too. The best word I could use to describe the Lil' Helper is simple. And not in a bad way! It went down with medium-light body - really smooth for an IPA. The taste was mellow as IPA's go, and had the slightest bit of sweetness on the back end, like a honey or molasses, almost. 

You know, I can't say that I have paired up and IPA with a lamb gyro too many times. But with as well as this combo turned out, I might just do it a bit more often. Tzatziki Tzatziki!