Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

First Brewed: 2008
Brewery Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
ABV: 10%

History & Availability: The second beer in Harpoon's Leviathan series, which features beers with abnormally high ABVs, the Imperial IPA is also the only beer in the series to be brewed year-round and regularly distributed more frequently than the others. Because of its relative popularity, this beer should be easier to find than others of the Leviathan series. I'm not actually sure how well Harpoon distributes nationwide, but you can definitely find this beer in most specialty shops in the New England area.

Appearance: A medium to dark amber color with a very thin, white head that dissipates quickly. Mostly clear and with medium to low carbonation. Nothing special here, looks a little darker than an average IPA but other than that, par for the course. I'm actually surprised that there's so little head retention but then again I'm sure it must be almost impossible with such a high alcohol content.

Smell: The Imperial IPA has a very dark and heavy smell that doesn't really hit you unless you take a strong whiff, and then it really pops out. Smells like a roasted apricot or orange to me, that's really as well as I can describe it. It's tough to extract more because of the nature of the aroma being so tough to get a good strong hit of. I expect it'll taste pretty bitter given the prominent bitterness in the scent.

Taste: Really, really bitter. We're talking 120 IBU's bitter (that's a full 3 times as bitter as Harpoon's regular IPA, for comparison's sake). A little bit of a spicy taste, not overpowering, but enough so that you can clearly notice it, especially in the aftertaste. I can taste a little bit of a dark cherry or spiced grapefruit or something in the background, which might have been nice if it was a little more prominent, but it's just so overwhelmed by the hops that it's tough to tell that it's even there. You can definitely feel the alcohol in this beer in the aftertaste, which is unsurprising given its ABV. Sticks on your breath for a good while, so you'll be feeling the taste of hops all night.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied tending towards heavy. Little enough carbonation to not be a pain. Finishes dry enough. The feel is I think meant to just be uneventful enough to allow full permeation of the taste, rather than a star of its own.

Drinkability: The strong bitter taste hurts the beer in this category a little. It's really overpowering, enough so that even if you find it delicious you wouldn't want to keep drinking too much. Of course, given how high in alcohol it is, you won't ever want to have more than a couple anyway. Certainly not a beer to session. I got drunk doing this review.

Overall verdict: C+. I'm definitely in the minority on this one; beeradvocate has it sitting at an A-, but its extreme bitterness masking all other flavors ruins this beer for me. You might find it better suited for your palate.