Boulevard and Sierra Nevada join forces for Terra Incognita, which hits shelves Wednesday

• Boulevard
• Boulevard’s collaboration with Sierra Nevada is out this week.

Humankind can finally swallow the earth with this week’s release of Terra Incognita, Boulevard Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s barrel-aged collaboration. The dark-brown ale is named after uncharted lands and the California Trail, which separates the breweries. Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels says the dry, hop-forward Smokestack Series brew has a funky finish (via Brettanomyces yeast added during bottle conditioning) that imparts notes of oak and bourbon as it warms.

Terra Incognita is the second in a trilogy of Boulevard-Sierra Nevada beers. The breweries’ first collaboration was an ale for the Brewers Association’s SAVOR conference in 2012. The third release, another barrel-aged brew set for 2014, will be made at Sierra Nevada’s Chico, California, brewery. Pauwels and Sierra Nevada brewmaster Steve Dresler discussed their creation with The Pitch during a recent conference call.