Harpoon Summer Beer

Brewery: Harpoon

Location: Boston, MA

Style: Kolsch

Brewery Website

Rating: A-

Today we're welcoming in the summer with a review of Harpoon's Summer Beer. While I always enjoy a few Harpoon Summer Beers over the course of the summer, this was my first time enjoying it in canned form. Harpoon Summer Beer is a pale straw-gold in color and pours up a huge white clumpy/sticky head. The nose has a lagery malt note with herbal and piny hops and a hint of fruity esters.

The Harpoon Summer Beer is very clean on the palate. It is off-dry with a light grainy/pasta malt note. There are some hints of fruity yeast esters, but nothing in the ballpark of a fruity witbier. Hops are here with a touch of a piny bitter kick as well as some herbal hops notes. The Harpoon Summer Beer is light-bodied, crisp and smooth. The finish has a lingering pasta dough malt with herbal and pine hops in the background.

Harpoon Summer Beer is exactly what you want in a summer beer. This is a great, easy-drinking Kolsch. The malt and drinkability are close to a typical lager, but there is a nice hint of weissbier-like fruity esters that add some interest. It's not a full-blown Leinenkugel-esque fruitiness, but there is just the right amount for my tastes. This is a great summer seasonal, and is perfectly suited to can form.

Harpoon Belgian Style Pale Ale

Brewery: Harpoon
Location: Boston, MA
Style: Pale Ale
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

In my glass today is Harpoon's Belgian Style Pale Ale. The Belgian Pale Ale is golden in color with a hint of copper. It pours with a short, off-white head, and a considerable amount of fine carbonation. The nose has a Cascade-like citrus note along with sweet malt.

The Belgian Style Pale Ale leads with a fruity hop note up front followed by a piny hops kick. The hops fade into a sweet malt note of multigrain bread. There is a hint of witbier flavor here (most notably a banana-like sweetness), but it is just a highlight in the background. The body is light-to-medium with fizzy carbonation. The Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale finished with sweet malt over fading hops undertones.

Harpoon has crafted a refreshing, unique pale ale with their Belgian Style Pale Ale. This basically drinks like an amber with a touch of witbier. This is a nice option for pale ale fans looking for something just a bit different.

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Location: Boston, MA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Tonight we have the Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA. This is a big IPA, weighing in at at 10% ABV. The Leviathan IPA is golden amber in color, and looks a bit on the light side for a big IPA. It pours with a thick, bubbly, off-white head that leaves a trail of sticky lace on the glass as it recedes. The nose has piney and floral hops aromas, along with some grapefruit and a hint of sweet malt.

The Leviathan IPA has a hoppy twinge up front and the bitterness slowly ramps up from there. There are notes of winy alcohol, sweet cereal malt, bubblegum and sweet corn. The hops flavor is led by floral and herbal notes, along with some pine. There is a long, herbal-hop finish with lingering bitterness. The body is on the heavy side with a tannin-like astringency.

The Leviathan IPA is rather unique in the way the hops take on primarily a floral/herbal flavor profile. Matched with a bit of sweet maltiness way in the background, and the bitter notes from the hops, these flavors are reminiscent of an herbaceous liqueur. While these flavors are tucked away in the background it does add an interesting layer of complexity to the flavor profile. This is quite an interesting take on an IPA without reaching way out into left field.

Harpoon Leviathan Big Bohemian Pilsner

Brewer: Harpoon Brewery
Style: Pilsner
Location: Boston, MA
Brewer Website
Rating: B+

Tonight's beer selection is from Harpoon's Leviathan series. This is Harpoon's line of "big beers". These are beers with high alcohol content and big flavor to match. The Big Bohemian Pilsner is a light gold color with some haziness. The head likes to hang around with larger bubbles holding together on a thin layer of foam for quite some time after pouring. The nose is dominated by fruity hops, with a hint of sweetness.

On the palate the fruity hops continue to play the lead role. There is a light malt character, reminiscent of a hefeweizen or a European lager. There is some lingering sweetness and a hint of warming alcohol. The Big Bohemian has a fairly heavy body compared to most lagers and pilsners of this style. While there is a great amount of hop flavor, there is little bitterness to this beer. The Big Bohemian is reminiscent of a good European lager, but with a powerful fruity hops component. This beer is definitely a sipper compared to its lighter-bodied brethren due to its heaviness, alcohol and sweetness, but what it loses in quaffability it makes up with flavor in spades.

Harpoon Winter Warmer

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Style: Spiced Ale
Location: Boston, MA
Brewer Homepage
Rating: B

There's nothing like sipping a spiced beer while watching the snow fall. To me, Harpoon Winter Warmer just tastes like Christmas.

Winter Warmer is a deep, rosy amber color with a golden head. The nose picks up aromatic cinnamon and nutmeg with some sweetness, like a pumpkin pie baking in the oven.

Winter Warmer's lead note is a smooth malt flavor. There are cinnamon and nutmeg spice notes on the palate, but they are not overpowering as the aroma may lead you to believe. The spices play a complimentary role to the malt. There are some bitter hops up front that fade rather quickly. There is a moderate-length finish that is highlighted by the spices with a touch of sweetness.

Harpoon IPA

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale
Location: Boston, MA
Brewer Homepage
Rating: A

At the intersection of hoppiness and drinkability we find Harpoon IPA. To many New Englanders (including myself), this is the gold standard to which all IPA's are compared. On a personal note, this was the beer that introduced me to the world of microbrews. I never really enjoyed beer until I realized that beer could have such distinctive flavor.

In the glass, Harpoon IPA has a golden-copper color. Fine, prosecco-like bubbles continue to rise long after the beer has been poured. The nose has a powerful hop-flower aroma.

On the palate hops again takes the center stage. Bitter hops are well balanced with floral/fruity notes. There is a long, crisp finish as the hops slowly fade away. There is a pleasant, almost fizzy mouthfeel that really compliments the crisp hops notes. Despite the dominant hops character of this beer, the bitterness never gets to the point where it affects the drinkability. This is a perfect beer for a warm summer day.

Please feel free to share your own tasting notes for this beer in the comments section below.