Boulevard Brewing Company

Infobox Brewery
name = Boulevard Brewing Company


caption =
location = Kansas City, Missouri
owner = Boulevard Brewing Company
opened = 1989
production = 140,000 US barrels (2008)
active_beers = brewbox_beer|name=Pale Ale|style=Pale ale brewbox_beer|name=Unfiltered Wheat|style=American wheat beer brewbox_beer|name=Lunar Ale|style=American dark wheat beer brewbox_beer|name=Bully! Porter|style=Porter brewbox_beer|name=Dry Stout|style=Stout brewbox_beer|name=Zōn|style=Belgian witbier brewbox_beer|name=Irish Ale|style=Irish ale brewbox_beer|name=Bob's 47|style=Lager brewbox_beer|name=Nutcracker Ale|style=Spiced beer brewbox_beer|name=The Sixth Glass|style=Quadrupel brewbox_beer|name=Saison|style=Saison brewbox_beer|name=Double-Wide IPA|style=India Pale Ale brewbox_beer|name=Long Strange Tripel|style=Tripel
seasonal_beers =
other_beers =

Boulevard Brewing Company is an independent regional craft brewery located in Kansas City, Missouri. The Brewers Association currently ranks Boulevard as the 7th largest craft brewery, and the 18th largest active brewery in the United States. The sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev made Boulevard the largest independent brewery in the state of Missouri. Boulevard's beers are available in thirteen Midwest and Great Plains states.

History

Boulevard was founded in 1988 when founder John McDonald started construction of the brewery in a turn-of-the-century brick building on Kansas City’s historic Southwest Boulevard. A vintage Bavarian brewhouse was installed, and the first batches of beer were produced in the fall of 1989.

Based on the historic example set by the local and regional breweries that were once common throughout the United States prior to Prohibition, the brewery has a focus on providing locally-brewed beer for the Kansas City region. The brewery's first half-barrel was delivered personally by McDonald in his pickup truck to Ponak's Mexican Kitchen, located nearby. The brewery is now the largest craft brewer in the Midwest, with capacity reaching an estimated 700,000 barrels from an expansion project completed in 2006. Boulevard's beer is available throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of Illinois and Wyoming. Boulevard also began distribution to Texas and Tennessee in late 2007/early 2008. In 2007, 132,000 barrels of beer were produced at the new brewery.

Expansion

Boulevard underwent expansions in 1999 and 2003, but in March 2005, Boulevard broke ground on a $20 million expansion project that increases brewing production capacity by an estimated 700,000 barrels/year. The new brewing and packaging building was constructed adjacent to the existing plant.

Designed by 360 Architecture, the new addition is convert|68500|sqft|m2 and includes a two-story state-of-the-art brewhouse and a kegging/bottling facility with a skylit atrium. The third floor, in addition to housing Boulevard Brewery offices, has two large hospitality rooms, with a terrace overlooking downtown Kansas City. A glass skywalk links both pedestrian circulation and beer piping between the old and new brewhouses.

The completed expansion facilitates the brewing of Boulevard's "Unfiltered Wheat Beer" and "Pale Ale" beers, which together comprise more than 80 percent of Boulevard's sales. "Unfiltered Wheat Beer" is the best-selling beer of its style in Boulevard's entire selling region.

Introduced in late 2007, the "Smokestack Series" joined Boulevard's family of beers as a rotating, limited edition line of artisanal selections packaged in 750 ml bottles. These bold, complex varieties were inspired by Belgian Trappist beer, and share several characteristics including their higher alcohol content. The first Smokestack beers were "Double-Wide I.P.A", "Long Strange Tripel", "The Sixth Glass" quadrupel, and "Saison".

Boulevard offers one-and-a-half-hour tours on Saturdays where visitors may sample their four seasonal and five year-round brews. [ [http://www.visitkc.com/things-to-do/attractions/local-favorites/index.aspx Kansas City Visitors & Convention Bureau: "Local Favorites: Attractions"] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.boulevard.com Boulevard Brewing Company]