Harpoon IPA

First Brewed: 1993
Brewery Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States and Windsor, Vermont, United States
ABV: 5.9%

History & Availability: The India Pale Ale style was created in London when merchants needed to find a way to keep beer fresh during trips on unrefrigerated ships from England all the way to India. As a result IPAs have noticeably higher hops and alcohol content than an "average" pale ale. Harpoon was the very first craft brewery in Massachusetts after several decades of the state being completely without local beer, and this is their flagship beer. As one of the most well-established brands in the northeast, it should be easy to find their IPA pretty much anywhere in the region year-round.

Appearance: This IPA pours a light apple juice color with a thin, fizzy, off-white head. Carbonation is about average for the style, but probably not enough to keep the head present throughout the drink. Clarity is excellent.

Smell: As expected I get a lot of hops from this beer. However, they are not quite as bitter as I expected, and instead there is a distinct floral scent. Interestingly there is almost no malt at all so it can't be a non-floral scent masked by the sugar to seem flowery, this has to be a real fresh hops smell. Not much else of note here.

Taste: Very floral. This is a really interesting brand of hops. I was honestly a little nervous since I generally don't like IPAs, since they tend to go way overboard on the malt-to-alcohol transition and leave no sweetness behind, but even though I'm sure Harpoon has made the same decision in regard to their malt, they've managed to get such an infusion of floral hops that it really ends up being ok.

Mouthfeel: Medium- to light-bodied and with not too much carbonation to slow you down. Leaves behind a fairly prominent residue and floral aftertaste that I'm not a huge fan of.

Drinkability: Decent but nothing special. Unlike Long Trail I can't see myself really having any more after I finish my second. Again, not because it's overly filling, but simply because the taste is beginning to wear on me.

Overall verdict: B, pretty good for a style that I don't really care for. I personally wouldn't choose it over many of the other Bs but it's important to cater to all tastes.