Fierce Beer "Beach Boulevard"

Thank you to T.G from Untappd for the photo; thanks for not having your feet in it!

Welcome back to Booze Reviews! This entry is all about a beer called “Beach Boulevard” brewed by Fierce Beers from Aberdeen, Scotland.

Fierce Beers was founded in 2015 and did not have a beer to sell until the middle of 2016. In the seven years since that first beer was released, they have won a plethora of awards, including 14 medals at the 2020 Scottish beer awards, going on to be named the Scottish Brewery of the Year in 2021. Of all the breweries I have seen so far in this review series, Fierce Beers seems to be the largest in scale; they export their products to over 20 countries and have an extensive catalogue of beers that they create, with 32 separate products are listed on their website. These beers span almost the entire width of beer, ranging from the more traditional IPAs and lagers to some very adventurous beers, such as a stout aged for nine months in Bourbon barrels, with a strength of 12.5%, and a tart rhubarb pale ale. I would like to mention that Fierce Beers has a good selection of gluten free beers in their core range, and a large number of their beers are vegan, meaning that their beers can be enjoyed by almost anyone. Fierce Beers have also branched out into owning bars. Currently they run three, in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester. These establishments do not only sell Fierce Beers own beers, but also help showcase beers from other independent global breweries.

The “Beach Boulevard” beer that I am drinking is sadly not mentioned on their website, an annoyance I have become all too familiar with whilst writing this series. I cannot tell if this is because it was created exclusively for Beer 52, like the last three entries, as there is no mention on either the can, of which there was for the last three beers, or on Beer 52’s website. The can does state it is a limited-edition product, so this could be the case, but I cannot say anything definitively.

So, what are my opinions on this beer? I’m not the biggest fan of it if I’m to be honest. It is the first beer from the selection to be specifically labelled as an IPA, admittedly with the “hazy” prefix this time, but it has much more the “hoppy” taste in comparison the “Conn=cted” IPA. Like that beer it has some strong citrus notes to it, but rather than the bitterness associated with grapefruit, it has a sweeter citrus note to it. The scent is sweeter still (but still pleasant, unlike the abomination that was the Jam Shed Malbec that started the idea for this blog), maybe a orange or lime scent? A quick look to the can would show that nectarine and lime peel are two of the listed aromas (honest to god, I thought of those two things before looking at that section of the can), but the addition of “cut grass” alludes me entirely. Would I drink it again? If I had to then yes, but it’s not a beer I’d come back to if I didn’t have too; the florality and bitterness that take over in the middle combine in a way that I’m not personally a fan of, and whilst it hasn’t made me shudder whilst drinking it yet, I fear if any aspect of it was even 5% stronger, I would struggle to drink it.