Boulevard The Calling Double IPA
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with a wave of citrus and tropical fruit — think grapefruit pith, mango, and a touch of pine resin — backed by a light biscuity malt base that keeps things grounded. On the palate, the hops dominate with a firm, assertive bitterness that builds through the mid-sip, while the malt provides just enough backbone to prevent it from feeling thin. The body is full without being heavy, and the finish is long and dry with a lingering resinous quality that hop heads tend to appreciate. It's a well-structured example of the style.
About the Brewery
Boulevard is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and has been operating since 1989, making it one of the Midwest's most established craft breweries. They're best known for their Unfiltered Wheat Beer and the Smokestack Series, a rotating lineup of higher-gravity and experimental releases. The brewery has significant regional clout and distribution reach well beyond Missouri, and was acquired by Duvel Moortgat in 2013 while maintaining operational independence.
Food Pairings
The aggressive hop bitterness and tropical fruit character here do real work alongside spicy foods — Thai green curry or a bird's eye chile-heavy dish get a citrusy counterpoint that cuts through the heat. A fatty, well-marbled burger works because the bitterness scrubs the palate clean between bites. Sharp aged cheddar pairs well since its saltiness softens the hop edge and brings out the malt underneath. Carnitas or pulled pork tacos with a bright salsa play off the tropical fruit notes in a way that feels genuinely complementary rather than accidental.
Style Guide
American Double IPAs, sometimes called Imperial IPAs, are essentially the American IPA pushed to an extreme — more hops, more malt, more alcohol, typically ranging from 7.5% to 10% ABV. The style is defined by intense hop aroma and bitterness (often featuring American varieties like Cascade, Centennial, or Simcoe) balanced against a beefier malt base than a standard IPA, which is necessary to keep the beer from collapsing under its own bitterness. It emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s out of the American craft scene, with Russian River's Pliny the Elder becoming the widely cited benchmark. Compared to a standard American IPA, the Double sacrifices subtlety for intensity — it's a bigger, bolder, less sessionable experience by design.