Time for a quick double-review of a couple of limited series beers from the Harpoon Brewery (@harpoon_brewery) out of Boston, MA. These are both part of this 100 Barrel Series brews... the Pott's Landbier and Oak Aged Dunkel! These are numbers 32 and 34 in the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, and as far as I know they aren't avialable in Louisiana. I've seen other Harpoon products in town, especially the popular IPA and UFO Hefeweizen, but never any of this series. I picked up these two at Spec's in Houston... so on to the reviews:
Up first is the Pott's Landbier... a Vienna Lager styled beer that I poured from a bomber into a pint glass. It's a deep orange color, clear with lots of bubbles and two fingers worth of frothy white head. Good retention and lacing.
It smells crisp, with just a hint of malt and hops but nothing too dominant. Kinda faint, really and unimpressive. The flavor is better, hops are most dominant and it's a little bitter due to a lack of balance. It could really use some more malt flavor to me.
The mouthfeel is fine other than the awkward bitter aftertaste. It has great body for such a low alcohol beer. Unfortunately the weird bitter taste keeps me from really wanting another, but it's not going to keep me from finishing this bomber easily! A slightly above average beer, but nothing worth seeking out again before they are all gone.
It smells crisp, with just a hint of malt and hops but nothing too dominant. Kinda faint, really and unimpressive. The flavor is better, hops are most dominant and it's a little bitter due to a lack of balance. It could really use some more malt flavor to me.
The mouthfeel is fine other than the awkward bitter aftertaste. It has great body for such a low alcohol beer. Unfortunately the weird bitter taste keeps me from really wanting another, but it's not going to keep me from finishing this bomber easily! A slightly above average beer, but nothing worth seeking out again before they are all gone.
My Rating: C+
Lager
The second in line is the Oak Barrel Aged Dunkel, another European styled lager, but this one is taken the extra step of aging time in American oak barrels. Just like the Pott's Landbier, I poured the dunkel from a bomber into a pint glass. It's a deep red color with an off-white head, about two fingers worth. Just like the one above this one is a good looker.
Like the Landbier, the aroma is pretty weak. I like what I'm picking up, rich dark malts, but it's just not very powerful.
The taste is far better... sweet rich malts, chocolate and toffee flavors. There was a flash of an off-metallic taste but then it was gone. Tasty, I like this one a lot... not really picking up much of the oak aging, but it's a solid dunkel.
It has a really nice mouthfeel full despite the low abv, creamy even. Easy to drink, this one is a winner. Clearly the better choice of the two 100 Barrel Series brews I've tried, and I think I'd pick up a few more if I saw them on the shelves.
Like the Landbier, the aroma is pretty weak. I like what I'm picking up, rich dark malts, but it's just not very powerful.
The taste is far better... sweet rich malts, chocolate and toffee flavors. There was a flash of an off-metallic taste but then it was gone. Tasty, I like this one a lot... not really picking up much of the oak aging, but it's a solid dunkel.
It has a really nice mouthfeel full despite the low abv, creamy even. Easy to drink, this one is a winner. Clearly the better choice of the two 100 Barrel Series brews I've tried, and I think I'd pick up a few more if I saw them on the shelves.
My Rating: B+
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