Will there be no Boulevard Chocolate Ale next year? (Update)

News is leaking via tweet out of the IKC 2012 conference being held at H&R Block headquarters that Boulevard founder John McDonald told an audience that there will be no Boulevard Chocolate Ale next year. Tweets complaining and questioning the story are coming in at a fast clip.

Early each year, the limited-release brew sets Boulevard hounds on a citywide scavenger hunt for bottles and for bars with it on tap. The bottles are so coveted, a Fat City post earlier this year had its comments section partially turned into a Chocolate Ale black market.

This year’s release drew broad complaints for the flavor of some batches. The taste was so bad, McDonald announced that the brewery would offer refunds for those bottles. So far, there’s no official word from Boulevard about the reports.

UPDATE: Boulevard communications manager Julie Weeks just sent us a statement. Read it after the jump.