Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachussettes

Harpoon Brewery was somewhere I had never really heard much about. I had seen them on different sites on the internet a few times, maybe beernews.org was announcing they got a new label approved of someone recommended it to me on Beeradvocate. But I had never really considered them a brewery that I needed to go visit, or that I even needed to try some of their beer. However, in the North East, it is almost impossible to not have their beer. It is flooding the shelves of nearly every corner deli and is at least one of the brews on tap at all the local pubs. Still I relented from trying it, until the day before I left. My buddy called me up and mentioned that he had a few bottles or it at the bar that the distributor had brought by, and one he had been saving for me. Free beer, in NYC! I told him I was on my way.

The first one we sampled (look for the Leviathan Imperial IPA later) was the Leviathan Imperial Red, and it was scrumptious. It poured a clear, caramel red with a thin white head of small carbonation bubbles, leaving thick clear film down the side of the glass as I sipped away at my frosty friend. The aroma was fairly typical for a red: sweet, roasted caramel with a surprisingly big grapefruit aroma to it as well. The most noticeable part of the nose was the total absence of alcohol, beings as the Leviathan Imperial Red comes in at a solid 9.2%ABV. Heat was also absent from the taste of the beer, making this quite the formidable and dangerous foe. The flavor profile was phenomenal, full and well balanced. Sweet Caramel and malt up front until a hoppy blast of bitterness made its entrance and mellowed into a drying grapefruit finish.

As far as imperials reds go, the Leviathan from Harpoon Brewing was stellar. A red on crack blended with a big IPA. A huge red for IPA fans for sure. The sweetness of the brew is quickly balanced with a hop assault that totally hides the alcohol in this beer. I was very impressed with the work of the guys down in Boston. So impressed I went on to have their Leviathan Imperial IPA. Check back soon for the review!