BeerGenius will be reviewing Boulevard’s Collaboration No. 1 soon, but until then, you can mark next Monday, January 18th at 8pm on your calendar. Boulevard, along with the brand-spankin’ new Oread hotel in Lawrence, will be hosting a release party for the inaugural collaboration brew, an Imperial Pilsner. The event will take place in their Bird Dog bar on the main level of the Hotel.

For those of you who are unaware, Jean-Marie Rock of Orval (yes, the famed Trappist brewery) came over from Belgium in late October of last year to brew beer with Steven Pauwels, Boulevard’s Brewmaster and the man behind everything that comes out of the progressive brewery from their Unfiltered Wheat to the infamous Bourbon Barrel Quad. I had a chance to catch up with them in October – you can read about it here.

The brew is said to have been done with the traditional method of “wort hopping” – a recently rediscovered method of adding hops to the boil kettle before the wort comes to a boil, as opposed to the normal way of doing things – the middle and end of a boil. This allows the hop oils that are normally insoluble to spend some time with the unboiled wort; the method is said to produce a finer bitterness and a more well-rounded beer.

What did you just read? Don’t worry about it – just know that this will be a fine-tuned beer.

So – The Oread, a brand-new hotel in Lawrence, is really very cool. As a disclaimer, I am helping to open the hotel, and will be working on their beer list to make it one of the premier spots in and around Kansas City to get quality beer. The hotel is located at 1200 Oread Avenue in Lawrence.

The hotel combines old-world style with stone archways and a warm solid feel with the new and trendy, including a rooftop terrace bar that will surely be the place to party in warmer months. In addition are several restaurants catering to all tastes, styles, and moods.

The Oread has 99 guest rooms and is currently taking reservations, should you want to come into town (and stay) for the evening. You can call them at 785.843.1200 to make a reservation.

This is shaping up to be an excellent event, and I’m very happy to welcome Jean-Marie Rock back to this part of the world. I’m absolutely thrilled that Boulevard Brewing Company would choose Lawrence as a launch pad for this special beer, although it’s not a huge surprise, given the fact that John McDonald – the founder of Boulevard – is a KU graduate. Kudos to Boulevard on their first collaboration brew, and congratulations to The Oread on their grand opening.

BeerGenius will have a review of this special brew in just a few days. Expect the brew to hit store shelves early next week.

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