Well, today’s Friday! *moonwalks* Crazy week at work, and while I wanted to head over to Malakor Thai to have their tasty Saketini, I instead stopped by my local booze shop for some new beers to review. All for you, my hunks of burning love. [insert googly eyes]
As a reminder, when it comes to beer, a few terms you’ll need to become familiar with are: Alcohol by Volume (ABV), which describes how much of the beer is actual alcohol, and International Bittering Unit (IBU), which describes the bitterness level. Beer falls within 2-12% ABV range with most falling between 4-6%. They’re best enjoyed at 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit for paler or lower alcohol beers, and 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit for darker or higher alcohol beers.
HARPOON INDIAN PALE ALE
ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 42
Brewery
306 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
United States
336 Ruth Carney Drive
Windsor, VT 05089
United States
First things first the date on the bottle read “best by 9/15/12“. I bought on 12/14/12. Err, ok!
I began by pouring the IPA into a clean clear glass where it formed a nice foamy head. As the head dissipated, it left lacing on the sides of the glass. I found the smell extremely pleasant… so much that it even went up my nose and I considered dabbing some behind the ears. Okay, the last part may have been a joke.
Harpoon IPA has floral notes, I get a bit of citrus as well. It has a clear caramel-like color. In terms of taste, carbonated & bubbly. Left a lingering bitter taste, which I’m not too fond of but I guess is the trait of an Indian Pale Ale. If I’m just to guzzle this, I’d enjoy it minus that bitter aftertaste. It seems to do what I think a good beer should do, which is to have you wipe your upper lip and expel a contented sigh.
Overall, I can’t say that this is a bad beer… just not something I’d keep on standby or lunge for when making a beer run. I did finish the bottle though and by then I don’t think I noticed the aftertaste that much. Coincidence?
On my radar from Harpoon:
UFO White, Harpoon Cider, Grateful Harvest Ale, UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen.
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Reviews are not solicited, just my journey in expanding my palate and chronicling the experience.
Related Posts:
- Beer Buzz 101: What’s an IPA? (azcentral.com)
- The ABC’s of IPA’s (the idiot’s guide) (epinions.com)
- What’s that extra bitter taste in IPA’s that make them so delicious? (chowhound.com)
- Brew Beer: How to Flavor Homebrewed Beer (about.com)
- Review: Dundee’s Original Honey Brown Lager (cookmixmingle.com)
4 Comments
Clare Shore
I could almost taste this beer just reading your comments, Lawrence! Now I’d love to read your impressions of that Saketini…
Lawrence
haha Clare, I need to have another Saketini to refresh my memory. 🙂
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