Celtic Red
Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Amber / Red Ale - Irish Regular|
Score
5.97
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Having brewed in South Boston since 1987, it was probably only a matter of time before we decided to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day (Evacuation Day - coincidentally a holiday - in Boston). It’s a beer that we thought would pair well with the late winter as well: malty enough to stand up to the cold but balanced enough to hint at Spring.
Description - Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep ruby color, medium body, and a balanced malt bill created by Irish Ale malt and a touch of roasted barley. Rich in tradition and sessionable in character, Harpoon Celtic is the ideal Spring seasonal. Available on tap: January-March.
Description - Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep ruby color, medium body, and a balanced malt bill created by Irish Ale malt and a touch of roasted barley. Rich in tradition and sessionable in character, Harpoon Celtic is the ideal Spring seasonal. Available on tap: January-March.
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6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Unfortunately Harpoon seems like one of those brewers that just doesn’t live up to their potential. The beers are consistent and well-made but the flavor just is not there on a lot of them. Seems to me they could easily be a GLBC or Bell’s caliber brewer if they would just decide they wanted all their beers to be less boring. Anyway this Killian’s-ish beer is clear amber with a thin ivory-colored head and minimal lacing. Caramel and malt aroma. Medium-bodied and dry with malt, caramel and light nut flavor. The finish is short and hoppy. Smooth and easy to drink, but again there should be more to this.
Tried
on 27 May 2005
at 10:11
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
(Bottle 35,5 cl) "Hibernian" another word for "Irish" and in style this is a true Irish Red Ale - from Boston, the Irish capital of the US. Dark amber with a weak light brown head. Nutty smell and also nuts in the aroma with a touch of caramel and a nice, dry bitterness. Reminds me a lot of a typical British Bitter.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Mar 2005
at 13:41
3.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
2005 bottle. Yikes, this stuff made the Harpoon IPA taste good (and that’s not a good thing). Weak, amber-orange color, more yellows than anything, with a quickly dissipating off-white head. Aroma of very mild fruity ale yeast, mineral water, very faint toasted malt in the background. Flavor begins dry, papery, bland and lightly astringent from the lack of malt. Dry, nutty flavor with toast, papery yeast and water. Would it have killed them to add some flavor to the beer? Yes, because then they couldnt sell this crap to the masses during St. Patricks day. Light body, little flavor. I’ve seen bad brewpubs make a better amber ale than this. Horrible forced carbonation and a watery, bland body will make the BMC drinker feel right at home. It’s official, I’m done buying Harpoon beers. P.S. Drainpour.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Mar 2005
at 09:58
4.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
Amber beer with some nice malts, but rather thin, with not enough hops to make it interesting. bof!
Tried
on 04 Dec 2003
at 18:47
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6
Amber colour with a nice slightly off-white head. Subtle smell with a decent amount of malt detectable in the nose. A normal ale, nothing too special throughout.
Tried
on 18 Mar 2003
at 12:29