Harpoon Brewery out of Boston MA presents is flagship brew, the Harpoon IPA (5.9ABV and 42IBU’s). Harpoon states that “this beer is floral, medium bodied, with an aggressive, clean hop finish.” I picked up a 6 pack of this beer at my local grocery store and considering how widely distributed this beer is, at least on the East Coast, I thought it would make an excellent review on my continuing quest for the session beer.
The color of this 12 oz. sample poured into a pint glass is thin copper, lots of carbonation. Tons of foam, almost no lacing to speak of, all told, a little too much foam for me.
I picked up barely anything on the nose, lightly hoppy some malt, but mostly fruity esters from the yeast, very unimpressive here. I have found lately that the nose tells all, and it ain’t happening here.
In the flavor department a slight bitterness starts, but its hardly noticeable into somewhat of a sour finish on the palate, vaguely reminiscent of soap. The beer feels exceptionally thin and while coming off fruity (yeasty), this brew tastes like someone dry hopped a typical light American Lager. 6% ABV and the 45 IBU’s ain’t cutting it here, even as a sessionable IPA, this beer PALES in comparison to the myriad of other choices that hop heads have regularly. Not a terrible beer, but extremely underwhelming against the rest of the serious competition in the category.
Overall, this widely available sessionable IPA will do in a pinch for this reviewer, but after drinking far too many aggressive and hoppier brews, I see no reason to give this beer a try, even to those into IPA’s and have never had it, it was that underwhelming. C-.
BA score: B
Ratebeer score: 77
Available in:
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC
You must log in to post a comment.