Beer Review: Boulevard Dark Truth Stout

For my first review in over a half a year, I needed to take a look at a really interesting beer... and the Boulevard Dark Truth Stout definitely fits the bill! I received a 4-pack as a gift from a friend but it will probably run you $10-11; a big shout out to the beer lover in question as this was an extremely generous present! This is an american imperial stout from Boulevard's "Smokestack" series (their high alcohol content beers) but it's brewed with belgian yeast, giving it that creamy belgian consistency.

The beer pours a pitch black color with a fluffy, mocha colored head that dissipates rather quickly into a thin, creamy film that crowns the beer. Upon inspection under light, the beer has a cola-like hue.

Smells consist of raisins, coffee, roasted malts; really more fruity than anything. There is a hint of rubbing alcohol in there (it is 9.7% abv after all) but it's not a dominant scent by any means. Overall a forgettable smell.

This beer has some intense flavors! At the fore are thick toasted malts and raisin/plum flavors with a little bit of alcohol on the back end of the sip. The fruitiness is really secondary to the bitter malt/chocolate notes but its certainly there. Combined with the creaminess of the belgian yeast, the fruitiness makes for a refreshing departure from your normal double stout. I wouldn't say that its a perfect marriage of the two flavor profiles, but it does a damn good job. It's worth noting again that both flavors are bold.

It's been mentioned above but I love the body of this beer; nice and thick like an imperial stout should be (in my opinion). It is on the carbonated side, but not overly so. Alcohol is masked very well.

Bottom line; this was an enjoyable beer! Downsides include a less than perfect mesh of fruit and bitter malt flavors but the body is just excellent. This beer would be a good value at $9/4-pack but I think $11 is pushing it (unconfirmed price).

Score: B+  3.75/5