Tap Handle #205: Boulevard - Unfiltered Wheat

This tap doesn't look that impressive in the photo, but it is more so when you're holding it in your hands...I like this one. It's pretty common, and is made to resemble the big brick smokestack outside the brewery, right down to the big "BOULEVARD" painted on the side. The only difference in the varieties of taps are in the label at the top - and some have a square top instead of round.

Boulevard was founded in 1988 in Kansas City, Missouri, by John McDonald. He 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.
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 600,000 barrels. Boulevard's beer is available throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Indiana, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and parts of Illinois, Colorado, Alabama, Idaho, Minnesota, Utah, Texas, and Maryland. Boulevard underwent expansions in 1999 and 2003. In March 2005, Boulevard broke ground on a $20 million expansion project that was constructed adjacent to the existing plant, and included 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.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer is a lively, refreshing ale with a natural citrusy flavor and distinctive cloudy appearance, and is the best-selling beer of its style in the Midwest. It also won a gold medal at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival. Recommended food pairings are bread, mozzarella cheese, pizza, salads, seafood, and sushi. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.04 out of 5.

Boulevard Official Website (this is a nicely-designed site)