Why we picked it: Returning to the winter theme, Harpoon is a solid brewery out of New England.
What Harpoon has to say: Cinnamon and nutmeg in a beer. When we first introduced this beer, let’s just say that people weren’t exactly sure what to make of it. But after close to three decades of brewing this classic, there is no greater fervor for any of our seasonal beers than this one right here. Bring on the spice!Brewed since 1988, this beer has become a New England seasonal classic. Cinnamon and nutmeg dominate the aroma. The taste is a rich combination of the holiday spices and the hearty malt backbone. There is a mild sweetness to the finish along with the lingering flavor of the spices. .
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: 23
Fun Fact: In August 2014, Harpoon became an employee-owned company, with 48% of the company given to employees through the establishment of an ESOP. An E-what? ESOP stands for Employee Stock Ownership Program. It is a mechanism by which a company contributes to its employees’ retirement by allocating shares to them which it repurchases…..yadda, yadda, yadda… Here’s what it means: we are employee owned, we are an independent craft brewer, and you bet we’re damn proud of it.
Nutmeg and cinnamon have no place in my beer. 1 mistletoe.
ReplyDeleteNow this is what I think of when I think of the 24 days of beer. A serious nutmeg bomb. Not sure I'm getting much cinnamon but then again, I've had so many holiday beers in my day that I think I may be unable to distinguish cinnamon from nutmeg. But I still vote nutmeg. This seems much "lighter" than your average winter nutmeg bomb. I like that. Maybe the world needs a nutmeg pale ale. I may also be biased since after years of maligning the Harpoon Brewery, I had an outstanding visit there during a carbo loading period a few years back. So anyhoo, I am quite enjoying this. And once again, I seem to have finished it quite rapidly while taking "tasting note sips" during this blog entry. I give it 3.27 Pudges. Oh wait, that seems low. How about 3.75 Pudges (let us never speak of Game 7 again and may Pete Rose spend the rest of his days selling autographs for a dollar with Roy Moore in some off-strip casino that peaked when his career did). There is only one all-time hits leader. ICHIRO! I have clearly digressed at this point. And may be drunk. Good night. Oh wait, it's 6:40 pm.
ReplyDeleteI looked at this bottle and thought oh no, cinnamon and nutmeg in a beer, that's an awful idea. Then the first sip wasn't that bad. After that though my initial thought was confirmed. Cinnamon and nutmeg belong in eggnog not beer. Still I've had worse beers with spices in them. 1.25 Scrooges.
ReplyDeleteThe eggnog I had earlier was good though. Great for dunking Christmas cookies.
I kinda like it. I tend to agree that cinnamon and nutmeg shouldn't go in beer. but this tastes like a liquid Christmas bread. In a good way. Maybe its my current mood, but it is going down really well.
ReplyDeleteI really like this one - this is (almost) everything a holiday beer should be to me. It could be I'm on a rebound from last night's Brooklyn (that I was really pretty disappointed in) but I am really enjoying the spice and flavor in it. Bonus: I am not creeped out or otherwise made strangely uncomfortable by the label. I give this 4 Liquid Christmas Breads, because frankly I love that description (props to Ethan), and I really like this beer.
ReplyDeleteHad this last night, but fell asleep on the couch before I could comment. That probably says something. This is the prototypical "holiday beer." Nutmeg, cinnamon, blah, blah. Beer is good, but this is just a uninteresting to me. It reminded me of ... Zzzzzz. Sorry, I dozed off again. 2 holiday sleeping caps (apparently that used to be a thing).
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