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. 

1- BeerZeal: 101 / Landon's Intro

What's that, you said?

(What I hope will be) An experience outside the pint glass.

Good day, my fellow zealots! 

My name is Landon. I've created BeerZeal as a side-project/outlet/learning adventure to assist me in my journey to learn more about libations, blogging, and life. For this blog, I'm not setting any bounds - meaning that even though I coined up the fancy name of BeerZeal, I may talk about a scotch, whiskey, or even a tequila - hell, I might even tell you about the smoothie Lauren (girlfriend) made me this morning (it's rarely boozy, but usually delicious, and always different).   

That's Lauren on the right. She likes
 regular beers, but loves sour beers,

My intention with the blog isn't to be revolutionary in the way I talk about beer, but simply to put my two cents in on an industry that my friends and I love. If i'm lucky at all, I will be able to rope in some of my friends to do guest opinions, have a few hangouts a month to discuss a new drink - and basically to create a place where we all get together and do what we love - have a drink and talk about life.

One neat thing that my work (I organize fairs...yes, like county fairs - more on that later) allows me to do is travel - so my tastes won't be limited to my beloved East Tennessee home of Knoxville. (Go Big Orange!)

I love a weekend trip to Asheville, NC or a weeklong trip all around the south, and promise to never be afraid to try something wild (no samples, I'm a Man). I'm sure I'll spend plenty of time giving my take on beers from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina - I spend weeks each year in those locales and have only recently discovered the budding beer culture in each.

I also have some great excuses (pronounced friends) to travel to the Washington, California, Denver, Texas, New York, Kansas, Ohio and more to try and create some diversity in my taste for the barley, water, and hops.

As American as these look, they are
actually Portuguese. MUSA, Lisboa, Portugal.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I can think of a few opportunities I'll have coming up to discover new brews and document the experience. A trip across the state - through Nashville and down to Memphis - my native land. I imagine I'll take some time to try one of those awesomely labeled Mantra Beers from middle TN and then stop through and find out a little more about how a few brewerys in my home land coined names like Wiseacre & Ghost River.

And with that, I've discovered in this first post what I really want this blog to be about. It's not only going to be about the contents of the pint I'm sipping on that day - but about the brewery. A little history, a small piece about a brewer or brew-tender with whom I enjoyed speaking to;  There is always something to know, even if the beer isn't your favorite - something or someone to learn about. An experience outside the glass. Hm...maybe I should have gone with that as the blog name.

A little history, a small piece about a brewer or brew-tender with whom I enjoyed speaking to;  There is always something to know, even if the beer isn't your favorite.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I'll be taking a cross-country trip from Nashville all the way to Seattle. My pal Bryan got a new job working for the man, and it's a great excuse for us to get on the road and discover a new beer or two at the end of each day - We'll make stops in Kansas (not as bad as it sounds), Colorado, Idaho, and finally end up with a cold one in the Pacific NW. Maybe it'll be a coffee stout - lord knows we'll need one after 38 hours of driving in 4 days.

If you've read this far, then I guess we're well on our way. I'm looking forward to honing my blogging, documenting beers, and hearing from some old friends while making new ones as well. Good day to you, my fellow beer-zealots, and I'll see you soon!

Cheers! Prost! Salute!

-Landon

No, I won't be blogging about wine -
 unless I've had too much of it, that is. 

P.S. - If you have input, questions, or comments - share with me! I will create a schedule of areas I'm going to be in or near, and if there is a beer or drink or drinking oasis that I shouldn't live without, then tell me -  It'd be pretty selfish of you to keep it to yourself!