Harpoon Celtic Ale - Harpoon Brewery

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BA SCORE
80
good
-
616 Ratings

rAvg: 3.51
pDev: 14.53%
Reviews: 356
Hads: 260

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Brewed by:
Harpoon Brewery

Massachusetts, United States

Style | ABV
Irish Red Ale | 5.40% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (314), on-tap (39), cask (1), growler (1), nitro-tap (1).

Notes:
Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep amber color. The flavor is malty and complex. Celtic Ale has a moderate hop finish that, along with the generous amounts of malt, makes for a medium bodied, smooth, rich beer. Try serving Celtic Ale with a hearty stew… the beer’s robust character will complement the bold flavors.

25 IBU

Reviews

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Reviews by the Alström Bros:

Jason

Massachusetts

3.93/5 rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Deep shaded reddish amber, nearly tawny with a nice settling white lace. Clean maltiness with some hints of fruitiness and light floral hop. Woody hop and faint bubble gum? Moderate body with a smooth slightly creamy mouth feel, mild hop bitterness lets the delicate malt sweetness come through with waves of toasted malt and grain. Fruit floral yeast. Touch of caramel and a subdued fruitiness in the back ground. Dry toasted grain lingers for a while. Clean, smooth and malty.

A lot of flavor to soak in here for a normal strength beer. A sensible seasonal on their part for the Boston area, this ended up being a more than just a decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2008 05:28:50 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.03/5 rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12oz brown bottle. No freshness date.

Appearance: A nice and clean looking rich red / amber beer. Head is a tad off-white with a creamy foam stick and excellent head retention.

Smell: Malty, fruity, estery with a soft hop aroma in the background.

Taste: Body is medium. Mouthfeel is smooth. Malt flavours are quite fruity, dark fruits, with an even semi-sugary sweetness. Touch of roasted flavour sits in the back with some bubble-gum-like and woody flavours. Carbonation is tight, zesty and creams-up on the palate. Grain flavours follow, then some esters and a slight touch of alcohol. Hop flavours are floral, tea-like, with a thin, soft character. Some leafy feel can be detected on the palate. Finish has some roasted notes to it.

Notes: Harpoon replaced their Spring Maibock with this beer. I put that aside. They come out with an "Irish-style red ale", which is so typical. I put that aside. What's left? In my opinion a damn fine ale. It's balanced. It's simple. It's easy to drink. It has appeal.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2002 00:00:01 | More by Todd

More User Reviews:

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.5/5 rDev -0.3%

05-22-2013 16:03:42 | More by InspectorBob

seplo

Connecticut

3/5 rDev -14.5%

05-21-2013 01:15:53 | More by seplo

MacQ32

South Carolina

3.11/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

A - Pours a clear amber brown with a solid finger of dark tan colord head. Fantastic retention, nearly a quarter of an inch 10-15 minutes later. Lacing is ok.

S - Very sweet, cracker like aroma and a wee bit of sourness and spice.

T - Sweet caramel and friuts transcends into a slightly funky beady flavor. Mildly dry

M - Medium bodied, a little thick. Very smooth - really like the body.

O - Definitely on the lower end of the craft beer spectrum IMO - you could do worse however

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 21:28:12 | More by MacQ32

kkmiller76

New Jersey

4.25/5 rDev +21.1%

05-13-2013 00:54:33 | More by kkmiller76

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5 rDev -0.3%

05-12-2013 20:58:15 | More by twenty5

ShanShantheRocket

New York

3.25/5 rDev -7.4%

05-12-2013 20:52:59 | More by ShanShantheRocket

Peter

New York

4.25/5 rDev +21.1%

05-12-2013 03:59:17 | More by Peter

Xzfgiimtsath

Texas

3.75/5 rDev +6.8%

05-10-2013 13:54:32 | More by Xzfgiimtsath

cadaugherty

Illinois

3/5 rDev -14.5%

05-08-2013 00:54:18 | More by cadaugherty

ZEB89

Pennsylvania

3.75/5 rDev +6.8%

05-05-2013 23:44:56 | More by ZEB89

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5 rDev -14.5%

05-05-2013 22:52:36 | More by ejimhof

SonOfKyuss

Virginia

3/5 rDev -14.5%

05-05-2013 12:54:46 | More by SonOfKyuss

Mleblanc25

Massachusetts

4/5 rDev +14%

04-30-2013 00:22:26 | More by Mleblanc25

JoeBlevins

Georgia

2.75/5 rDev -21.7%

04-29-2013 05:47:16 | More by JoeBlevins

jkermitj

Mississippi

3.5/5 rDev -0.3%

04-29-2013 00:57:26 | More by jkermitj

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

3.11/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Harpoon Celtic Red has a thick, cream-colored head, a bit of thin lacing, some streaming bubbles, and a clear, reddish-brown appearance. The aroma is faint, but bread crust, some sweetness, and a touch of sourness can be detected with deep inhalations. Taste is of the same, with a harsh and unpleasant bitterness in the mid-to-end of the sick. Mouthfeel is light and watery, and Harpoon Celtic Red finishes lager like- crisp, clean, refreshing, and mostly dry. Some alcohol shows up in the throat. Overall, this just does not taste very good. I don’t recommend it.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 14:18:20 | More by RonaldTheriot