Harpoon Brewery's Main Weapon
Written: Mar 25 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good, enjoyable hop and caramel malt taste
Cons: Difficult to find; Not bold enough for some
The Bottom Line: Not an incredible ale by any means, but still very good- tasting and pleasant all- around.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Harpoon Ale |
Harpoon Brewing Company is a Boston, Massachusetts- based craft brewery that was founded by Dan Kenary and Rich Doyle in 1986. This brewery produces a full lineup of about 10 different beers, which includes regular products and a few seasonal offerings. One of the regular beers in the product list is also known for its status as the company’s first beer. It’s Harpoon Ale, an American style ale with a nice hop taste.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Poured from the bottle, Harpoon Ale is golden/copper color with a mostly clear body. Foam level is pretty substantial in this beer, and it manages to stick around for a while as the lively carbonation emits an aroma of spice, floral, and citrus notes.
The taste of Harpoon Ale can be described as hoppy, with an herbal spiciness that is crisp, pleasant and not overbearing in any way. Citrus notes are present throughout the tasting experience, along with a touch of butter. The malt taste offers some toasted flavors and mostly caramel, but the overall flavor profile of this product is one of hops. The beer finishes with a dry, slightly bitter, but enjoyable hop flavor.
Harpoon brews this product in the tradition of an American ale, with top- fermenting yeast that brings out the flavor of this pleasant tasting beer. The alcohol level is 4.9 percent by volume.
Food Compatibility:
This ale would match up nicely with a large, greasy cheeseburger topped with lots of cheddar cheese and perhaps a few bacon strips. It would also match up well with salty snacks and with certain spicy food, like Chinese, Indian, and others.
Final Thoughts:
Harpoon Brewing Company was born and raised in the city of Boston, a place that is often associated with craft beer and the microbrewing renaissance of the 1980’s- 1990’s. The company makes some good tasting brew, but it has always found itself standing in the long shadow of that “other” Boston brewery, the Boston Beer Company and its Samuel Adams product line.
Harpoon Ale, the company's flagship product, is not necessarily an outstanding beer, but it does contain enough good taste for it to rank better than the average brew. I enjoy the citrus taste and the crispness of the hops and I like the fact that the taste of the hops are not overbearing, like they can sometimes be in other ales. I thoroughly enjoy the flavor of an aggressively- hopped beer from time to time, even those that go to extremes. But on certain occasions, I prefer a more easy- going ale without the extreme taste of an IPA or other overly- hopped product. Harpoon Ale fits this description nicely. It has a fair amount of hops, and there is no mistaking that they are present in each sip. But the hop/citrus taste is kept at a moderate level.
This beer is tasty, but I found that it tastes a little better if served slightly warmer than average- like around 45 degrees or so. I realize that many members of the beer drinking public demand an ice- cold brew whenever they choose to imbibe. But this product really does taste a little bit better when it is slightly warmer. My first sip of this product came directly after it was poured from a well- refrigerated bottle and it was really too cold to enjoy all the flavors present in this product.
Harpoon Ale (and other Harpoon products) is not very easy to find. I stumbled across a sample pack one day when I was browsing through a beverage store in Kentucky. I had heard the Harpoon name, and I remembered trying a few of the beer products, but I could not remember exactly what they tasted like or what my initial impression was of each. Once I opened up a bottle of Harpoon Ale, however, my recollection was firmly back in place. I remembered that this product was very good and enjoyable, and my convictions remained stronger than ever after this second encounter.
Overall, Harpoon Ale is a pretty good example of an American Ale. It’s not an incredible, blow- your- mind type of ale, but it does taste nice, pleasant, fresh, and drinkable. It’s a good choice for those days when you crave the taste of hops, but want something a little more in the moderate range. Harpoon Ale will satisfy your cravings for hops without the excessive bitterness that is common with some of its more aggressively- hopped cousins. It may not be as popular as its next door neighbor, Samuel Adams, but Harpoon Ale is still a very good ale that satisfies on most any occasion.
Recommended:
Yes
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