Rec. League
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

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From:
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
Ranked #871
ABV:
3.8%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,463
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 8.06%
Reviews:
43
Ratings:
144
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 22, 2024
Added:
Oct 05, 2018
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  22
Thirst-quenching, hazy pale ale brewed with buckwheat, chia, sea salt, and a tropical, citrus-forward blend of Cascade, Mosaic, Ekuanot, and Citra.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

3.56/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a can into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a very lightly hazed straw-yellow color with a one finger head of fizzy white foam. The head fades quite fast leaving just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a grapefruit citrus smell mixed with a bit of bread and cracker and some notes of a sweeter citrus of orange and tangerine. Along with these smells comes a bit of lemon and a touch of tropical fruit of mango and papaya.

Taste – The taste begins with a crisp cracker malt paired with some fruit and hop, with the fruit being a mix of tropical fruits (mango and papaya) and the citrus being of a grapefruit hop and tangerine. Along with these tastes comes a little bit of a lemon and a touch of graininess, with both getting slightly stronger as the taste advances. At the same time there is a bit of herbal hop that develops as well, leaving one with a moderately crisp and hopped taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium to light in nature for a 4.0% abv brew with a carbonation level that is moderate. A little higher carbonation would have likely been better for the style, but all in all, it was OK.

Overall – A decent low abv session style brew. Good for hot days when just hanging out and sipping throughout the day.
Feb 22, 2024
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a slightly hazy golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of citrus, little else. Taste is mango, oranges, a touch of lemons, smooth and refreshing. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall this is a pretty good beer.
Feb 04, 2024
 
Rated: 3.75 by Gkruszewski from New York

Jan 24, 2024
Photo of FreePal88
Reviewed by FreePal88

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I thought the whole appeal of regular Harpoon is that it's not a hazy. But, every brewery's gotta make one hazy (or a few, or a dozen). At the very least, it's not very New England-ish. Anyway--ultra light. Thin (despite the haziness), piney, a little tangy and acidic, some grapefruit and lime, and a little herbal bite at the end. The most widely available thing I could compare it to is Founder's All Day IPA. Not much going on tastewise but very balanced and overall nice enough. I could see this being a decent go-to session/light beer.
Dec 28, 2023
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.08/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
easily, and i mean extremely easily, one of the best low calorie ipa types ive had to date, and its good enough to sit at the table with the good hazy types regardless of nutrition statistics, this doesnt feel reduced or cheapened at all, its intentional and thoughtful and delicious, insanely drinkable, and nuanced as they come, super refined, i was truly impressed by this! its brewed with buckwheat and chia, not sure if that is part of the calorie reduction, but its a smart call either way. its nice to have a hazy with a different base, not thick with oat protein or cream, not all wheaty and hully and heavy, but still earthy, grounded, and flavorful, fluffy feeling and in nice support of the hops, this immediately hits as different in an inanely samey style space right now. pale straw yellow in color with a puffy two inches of white head and just a tiny bit of sediment, not at all unappealing and pleasingly light. aroma and flavor are somewhat subtle for a hazy, but well layered. citra hops pop as fresh and pungent early, even almost cryo level intensity. i get some stone fruit to the hops too, peach specifically, a little ripe melon, and some softly bitter grapefruit late, really nice mix of hops here, nothing green or forced, no massive double dry hop, this is fully approachable. the grain elements are cool, even if chia is not specifically identifiable, i think the combination does enough to distinguish this, light early spice in here, bread crusts, that hearty character i get from toasted quinoa. its so dry and with such a clean ferment too, the technical side of this is as good as the flavor, and its crazy to me this is presented as a low cal thing, its so good, they have perhaps cracked the code on these. i would pick this over regular hazy ipa types, its that good. subtle in the right ways, distinct in the right ways too, dry as a bone, nicely hopped, and really dialed overall. not sure i get much salt in it, could be a mouthfeel thing, if in fact its still made with salt, maybe more an electrolyte thing, neat. hopefully this marks a new chapter for this sort of thing, grossly underrated, ill remember this one...
Oct 18, 2023
 
Rated: 3.66 by zotzot from Vermont

Sep 09, 2023
 
Rated: 2.8 by harsley from Massachusetts

Aug 14, 2023
 
Rated: 3.94 by TonyStarks2231 from New York

Jul 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.88 by ElGallo from New Hampshire

Jan 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.55 by KC_beerman from Missouri

Jan 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.45 by bigpoppa67 from Wisconsin

Sep 24, 2022
Photo of ewpass
Reviewed by ewpass from Canada (PE)

3.97/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Hazy light gold with a large loose head. Full grapefruit hop nose. Light malt body, a little dryness and a pleasant light hop bite. Crisp and crushable.
Sep 06, 2022
 
Rated: 3.76 by Wer34truh from Minnesota

Aug 05, 2022
 
Rated: 3.69 by plaid75 from New York

Jul 12, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by PaleAleWalt from New York

Jun 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.43 by Tiernan from Texas

May 31, 2022
 
Rated: 4.03 by TheItalianStallion from New York

Feb 13, 2022
 
Rated: 3.51 by Silke_Neryn from Sweden

Dec 08, 2021
Photo of Specialmick
Reviewed by Specialmick from Connecticut

3.65/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Look...Hazy yellow with a white carbonated head.
Smell...Not as much as this style requires but decent. Mild tangerine citrus and smell of light hops.
Taste...definitely juicy out front followed by a tangerine tang with a rind finish of pulpy. i am always looking for a full taste session that hits the mark so well. I believe it is easier to get the taste of a pale ale(so called light beer)) than an IPA in a session this is an observation i have made.
Feel..A prickly carbonation that really helps the fullness of this beer. I will absolutely dig this on a hot summer day
Overall...A little PO'd at myself for not finding this in the heat of the summer. Always a little skeptical of the big boys of the microbreweries I really grew up with here in New England. The explosion of great craft brewing in Connecticut and New England today has introduced doubt to me for the big boys try doing Hazy PAs and IPAs
Have to try their options more often. I think it is mostly being spoiled by so many others. Many of their beers were staples for me for years
Nov 18, 2021
Rec. League from Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 144 ratings