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.

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