Harpoon Black IPA - Harpoon Brewery

Billolick

New York

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Typical Harpoon 100 BS bomber bottle.

Pours pretty much black, larger then average and lasting darker tan head, leavesa thick collar, ample low sheeting and bits and bars of sticking lace.

Earthy, grassy hopped up nose

Pleasant black ale, with hops some what on the tame side for an IPA. Tastes more like a slightly hoppy stout, with minor roasty character.

Finish is where the hops start to come into their own, however in a subtle and reserved fashion.

$6.99 for the bomber makes this a decent value.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 02:59:46 | More by Billolick

avalon07

South Carolina

2.85/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and a cloudy consistency. There was a huge, off white, long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: A severely muted aroma of hops, coffee and malt.

T: Tasted of some hops (not enough in my opinion), a bit of malt, and some coffee. Flavor is extremely unbalanced and fairly bland, with an acrid quality to it.

M: A good amount of carbonation, but the acrid quality is especially noticeable in the finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This is not one of the better examples of an ABA. It does not have nearly the power or complexity of other beers of the style.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 14:59:11 | More by avalon07

Beer4Baltimore

Maryland

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a best buy date of 05/15/12
A - a watery black with a good four fingers of head leaving behind some sheets of lace.
S - lightly floral hops with a slight trace of chocolate malts.
T - bitter hops with a very light malt sweetness.
M - moderately light with good carbonation but a definitely some soapy feel to it.
D - becomes more astringent with warming which dampens the enjoyability.
It's pretty much an acceptable IPA with a touch of the black. This is often what black IPA's turn out to be for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 03:10:34 | More by Beer4Baltimore

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.15/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown to black with oxblood highlights. Creamy beige head leaves a thick blanket or retention but only a small rash of lacing.

Beautiful floral, earthy, viney pine sap hop aroma but where's the roast malt?

Earthy, spicy, pine sap hops pop out first but are fairly balanced by a reserved chocolatey/roast malt character. From recollection the malt in Black IPA is pretty similar to a slightly bigger Harpoon Munich Dark. I never really liked Harpoon's house yeast in dark beers and again it comes through as watery and steely.

Not a favorite for the style or Harpoon. Despite the aforementioned flaws it does come together fairly nicely.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 18:06:21 | More by donkeyrunner

Brad007

Vermont

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Always nice to see Harpoon tackle this style. It could go anywhere at this point.

Pours a dark brownish-black with a burgundy hue and thick brown head into my glass.

Lightly hopped with a grassy feel. Otherwise, more about the malt than hops.

Sweet with grassy hops. Very chewy. Absolutely no roastiness whatsoever, which works.

Licorice and grassy hops linger at the back of the throat. Again, very basic.

A decent example that I feel is lacking in hoppiness. It's still balanced enough to where you can enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 03:20:56 | More by Brad007

HardTarget

Texas

3.65/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Deep brown, almost black glass gives very thick ruby edges that shows good clarity, but gives a somewhat thin appearance. Gives up tide marks of lace.

Smell: Light vanilla sweet edge to a burnt grain bubblegum confusion. Hints of earthy hop leaves poke through, but don't say IPA. Mild soapy note.

Taste: Roasted grain is restrained, letting some malt sweetness and a pale ale strength hop flavor come through. A slight banana clove yeast flavor that's not expected. The complete package is interesting, but fairly mild.

Mouthfeel: Medium low carbonation, medium body, slick texture with a long fade.

Overall: A tasty beer, but a little modest for the category. Malt seems a bit weak, the hops don't punch, the roasted malt seems just for color. Almost sessionable where I expected a bit more of a celebration beer. Still, a pleasant flavorful beer that I'll enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 01:18:00 | More by HardTarget

coachdonovan

Rhode Island

3.33/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle into a tulip. Best by date of 5/15/12, this one was released in the last few weeks. Pours a near black, and the 1" head is not quite as creamy as a pint of Guinness but it's not far off.

Aroma is spot on for the style; fruit-forward but also a nice backbone of roastiness. Taste is similar, with a piney, almost sour bitterness mixed with some significant dark malts. I pick up some unsweetened chocolate, which only adds to the bitterness.

As I make my way through the bottle, there is a metallic astringency that becomes fairly unpleasant. It's not awful, but after a while it's all I can focus on. A disappointing end to a beer I'd been looking forward to trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 22:06:36 | More by coachdonovan

ShogoKawada

Rhode Island

3.63/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

new 100 barrel, sweet. into short's large pint glass.

A- nice deep rootbeer brown on the pour. Much darker in the glass. A 1-finger brown sugar head settles to a film on the beer. Lacing looks nice but fades quick.

S- The chocolate and coffee come off strong with a bit of pine sap as well.

T- This one's more than sufficiently bitter. Nice hop wallop on the tongue. Lots of dark roasted malt. Chocolate is bitter, like baking chocolate. Peppery, piny hops.

M- Pretty full body, but all black IPAs seem a bit hefty to me. I like it, though, easy drinkin'.

O- Pretty good stuff. Personally, I'd like to see it ramped up a bit (a la hoppy shoes 1.5) and be rolled in to the Leviathan series. As it stands it's good but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 23:06:55 | More by ShogoKawada

PicoPapa

Connecticut

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22oz bottle with a Best By Date of 5/15/12. Pours a black color with ruby hues. Small amount of head with some lacing. Aroma is of sweet citrus. Maybe some caramel and a bit of chocolate. Flavor is of grains, some citrus and somewhat earthy. Some floral flavor towards the end. Kind of a metallic aftertaste. Light mouthfeel. This isn't all that great. Pretty light and watery for the style and there is an odd metallic floral aftertaste. Overall, "meh".

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 05:11:28 | More by PicoPapa

Thads324

Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark brown, barely see through. A bit of ruby on the edges. A small tight tan head dissipates quickly, just a hint of lacing. A light citrus hop aroma with some zest. Only a bit of sweet malt. Starts watery, followed by a hit of hop juice. The hops are a bit piney, black pepper spice, some citrus and more resin like pine. Very little malt at all. Mouthfeel is medium-low body with a high carbonation.
A lot of hop in this bad boy with a malt profile simply to carry the hops. Tasty but could use a semblance of malt flavor. Still very nice

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 01:23:29 | More by Thads324

rdilauro

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I liked the total blackness of this brew. Almost like the darkest of nights. It could have been a porter or a stout, but instead a black IPA!
Instead of picking up the aromas of chocolate and coffee from most stouts, this Black IPA gave you an complete overload of HOPS... but not overdone. Instead it was really balanced. The fullness of the black beer combined with the hops and malt made this one very good interesting beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 22:40:06 | More by rdilauro

jdaelhousen

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour produces an almost opaque colored body, with a small amount of tan head on top. Aroma contains notes of floral hops with a trailing roastyness of grain. Flavor contains a center of flowery and citrisy hop bitterness, caramel malt mingles well with the hop flavoring. Tobacco mixes in. Finish provides increased spice on the palate, increased carbonation bite, and black patent malt roast that lingers into the aftertaste. Aftertaste also leaves plenty an abundance of spicey hop flavor on the palate. Overall, quite a solid brew from Harpoon's 100 barrel series.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 22:10:58 | More by jdaelhousen

andrewinski1

Maine

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass. The head is huge and fluffy; about 2 inches maybe a little more. The color of the head is light tan. The body is very dark amber which looks black.

The aroma is full of chocolate malt and is full of piney, zesty hops. The hops also add a little bit of dank and dirt aroma.

The taste has some nice coffee notes to go with a bit of molasses bread. The hops are well emphasized as is appropriate for the style, lending to a nice zesty, piney hop finish.

This is light and well carbonated; not quite smooth, kind of bubbly.

Very delicious. Drink this one now.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 03:33:21 | More by andrewinski1

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a tumbler pint, the beer is black, with ruby highlights when held up to light. A thick, frothy, foamy, one inch head that is off-white and big bubbled. The head clings all over the glass as you move the beer around a bit. Aromas are rich cedar and pine, with a slight roasting and a decent resiny presence. The beer's flavors are dry, with a hoppy blast of pine tree and earthy notes, as well as a steady tang of citrus throughout. The beer has a roasting character throughout it, and that transitions directly into the aftertaste, along with an earthy and grainy profile. The finish is quick, with only a slight linger to it. A bit astringent at the end from the hops, cleaning the palate. Good beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 00:23:11 | More by GarthDanielson

jimmy82063

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Was lucky enough to get this before it went on the shelves, thanks Dan!

Poured into a brandy snifter.

The appearance is a nice opaque black, the nose is a dominant pine and the taste follows up on that with some slight cocoa and coffe. Very easy drinking!

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 02:22:46 | More by jimmy82063

SawDog505

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass. Pours a slick black, with a fluffy 3 inch cream colored head, with lots of lace, and nice retention. Smell is piny hops, citrus, hints of chocolate, and some bread. Taste is all of that with citrus and chocolate the dominant flavors, with a burst of pine in the finish. Body is medium, very easy drinking, plenty of life, and really lush for the style. I was really excited to find this today and be the first to review. A very nice version of a style I love.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2012 21:21:48 | More by SawDog505