(Kansas City, MO) – Boulevard Brewing Company has a new Smokestack Series release coming in August, its 16th overall. At the very least, Reverb Imperial Pilsner is new by name; Director of Marketing, Jeremy Ragonese, tells BeerPulse that the beer bears a very close resemblance to Collaboration No. 1, an Imperial Pilsner brewed with Jean-Marie Rock of Orval. Look for it in a few months in both 750mL bottles and draft. Here is some info via World Class Beverages.

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“You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where? [pause] These got to eleven.” – Nigel Tufnel, This is Spinal Tap.

To some ears, the term “imperial pilsner” might sound like an oxymoron. How can a style as cleanly balanced and refined as a pilsner be “amped up” to imperial status? Pilsner is arguably, just fine the way it is. Where do you go from there? The answer, of course: You go to eleven.

With its classic recipe and impeccable craftmanship, Reverb Imperial Pilsner echoes our Collaboration Number 1 Imperial Pilsner, produced in 2009 with esteemed Orval brewmaster Jean -Marie Rock. Like its predecessor, this new Summer Seasonal Release is a study delicately balanced contrasts. A starkly simple recipe, using only Pilsner malt and Saaz hops, combined with a painstakingly complex brewing process, produce a beer of subtle elegance. The venerable technique of “first wort hopping,” — adding hops at the beginning of the boil and allowing them to steep for a much longer time—gives the beer a refined hop aroma and flavor. Pilsner malt makes a clear yet restrained statement up front, answered by try steady, harmonious hum of hop bitterness, traces of which linger in the dry, crisp finish. Our Reverb Imperial Pilsner pairs melodiously with grilled seafood or chicken, or a wide variety of cheeses. Really, though, it goes great with whatever is being served backstage.