100 Barrel Series #39 - Vermont Spruce Tip Ale
Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Other Regular|
Score
6.96
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8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Only reviewing this so late with fresh notes due to the fact, that this brewery was once a better brewery.
This was poured into a nonic pint glass. The appearance was a ruddy burnt amber almost brown color with a finger’s worth of sustaining white foamy head that glimmered and fell off at a moderate pace. Slight stringy lace, somewhat sticky.
The aroma had a sturdy clean malt bill: dark bread, clean caramel/toffee qualities, subtle earthy hops and then what I was hoping for: that \"fresh\" clean SPRUCE TIP tenderness, full, bright, ripe and absorbing.
The flavor melds wonderfully between all of these aromas to carry finely into the aftertaste and finish - smooth, roasty, fresh, clean and ripe!
The palate was about medium on the body with a pretty good sipping quality despite an ABV that wasn’t too high. Carbonation felt fine.
Overall, why am I uploading these thoughts only today? Well, why do monkeys eat bananas only in the zoo? Maybe I miss the days of seeing more reviewers on here and maybe, just maybe I realize the glory days of beer are over. Guessing the craft beer bubble is going to break any day now. And wishing Harpoon would bring this one back, though it probably won’t prevent the bubble from breaking.
This was poured into a nonic pint glass. The appearance was a ruddy burnt amber almost brown color with a finger’s worth of sustaining white foamy head that glimmered and fell off at a moderate pace. Slight stringy lace, somewhat sticky.
The aroma had a sturdy clean malt bill: dark bread, clean caramel/toffee qualities, subtle earthy hops and then what I was hoping for: that \"fresh\" clean SPRUCE TIP tenderness, full, bright, ripe and absorbing.
The flavor melds wonderfully between all of these aromas to carry finely into the aftertaste and finish - smooth, roasty, fresh, clean and ripe!
The palate was about medium on the body with a pretty good sipping quality despite an ABV that wasn’t too high. Carbonation felt fine.
Overall, why am I uploading these thoughts only today? Well, why do monkeys eat bananas only in the zoo? Maybe I miss the days of seeing more reviewers on here and maybe, just maybe I realize the glory days of beer are over. Guessing the craft beer bubble is going to break any day now. And wishing Harpoon would bring this one back, though it probably won’t prevent the bubble from breaking.
Tried
on 13 May 2017
at 17:10
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle from a trade with BlackIPA. Pours clear copper color with off white head. Aromas of caramel malts and pine. Sweet caramel flavor with mild pine. Medium body with moderate carbonation thanks Shawn.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 May 2012
at 17:50
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Subtle wood and unripe strawberries. Clear copper, thin yellow head. Fair amount of wood, but not much of anything else. A bit fizzy. Overall, it lacks intensity but is fairly enjoyable.
Tried
on 12 Apr 2012
at 17:36
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
22oz bottle-pours amber with a dissipating white head. Aroma is sweet light/medium malt-caramel, berry, resin. Taste is pine hops, sweet light/medium malt-caramel. Easy, very quaffable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2012
at 14:03
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
"Acquired this at Harpoon Brewery where I stop by every 2 months to pick up whatever is new along with a Growler full of their Raspberry Wheat beer. Poured into a Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Glass at 39 degrees. A - Very bronze beer super clear but still very bronze. No sediment. Poured a 7 finger head but that was probably cause I was being careless. S - Nice piney smell with spruce and other syrups that we all have available in new England. Sweet and like morning due. I love these 100 barrel beers. T - Just as the label suggests. Spruce tips but I’m getting some brown sugar and lovely caramel noted. Maybe some vanilla or lavender? Not sure M - Medium beer yet a light mouthfeel and finish. A lot of bite from bitterness at the finish. O - It’s not a bad beer but the bar was set pretty high with this series. I’ve had the last 15 of 39 barrels put out by Harpoon and each one is really special. This one just tastes bland and normal. It’s not a down the drain beer but it’s certainly a hard beer to warm up to."
Tried
from Growler
on 31 Jan 2012
at 15:21
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Sampled on draft at the Headkeeper this beer poured a dark nut brown color with a small creamy beige head that lingered and left decent lacing. The aroma was lightly tart with vague spice, caramel, fig and only a hint of spruce. The flavor was tang with a light vague fruitiness and notes of caramel, fig, nutmeg, spruce and mint. The finish was long and dryish with notes of caramel, nutmeg and spruce. Medium body. Rich yet pleasant.
Tried
from Draft
on 19 Jan 2012
at 19:35
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Pours deep amber into a Sam glass. White head with medium retention recedes to skim surface. Earth and pine aromas. Medium bodied with sweet earth, bark and leaves upfront turning to mild pine in the bitter finish.
Tried
on 20 Dec 2011
at 15:26
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Location: Draft at Hop Devil, 12/3/11
Aroma: The nose is interesting, woodsy, but not piney, earthy notes too
Appearance: The pour is a clear orange-caramel color with a wispy head and spotty lace
Flavor: The taste is lightly sweet, somewhat earthy, herbal notes, a fairly bitter finish to it
Palate: The body is medium, the carbonation is average, and it finishes dry and a bit odd on the tongue
Overall Impression: Second rater of this one. This is a solid offering, but it was quite different then I expected. I guess I was sort of expecting it to be kind of a pine/resin offering, but really it is more of a woodsy beer. It isn't like drinking tree sap or anything like that, it just give you a feeling like you are surounded by trees.
Aroma: The nose is interesting, woodsy, but not piney, earthy notes too
Appearance: The pour is a clear orange-caramel color with a wispy head and spotty lace
Flavor: The taste is lightly sweet, somewhat earthy, herbal notes, a fairly bitter finish to it
Palate: The body is medium, the carbonation is average, and it finishes dry and a bit odd on the tongue
Overall Impression: Second rater of this one. This is a solid offering, but it was quite different then I expected. I guess I was sort of expecting it to be kind of a pine/resin offering, but really it is more of a woodsy beer. It isn't like drinking tree sap or anything like that, it just give you a feeling like you are surounded by trees.
Tried
from Draft
on 03 Dec 2011
at 16:39
7.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pours a medium copper color with a huge bubbly white head that sticks around forever as well as to the glass. Smells of caramel and bready malt with a fair amount of non descript fruitiness. Slightly earthy hop aroma mixed with a bit of herbal and medicinal aromas. Really not what I was expecting when I cracked this one open. Taste is caramel and toffee malt sweetness balanced with an earthy herbal almost licorice flavor. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet slick mouthfeel. Decent brew, but not really what I expected. The spruce is there but its not overpowering and comes across as more of an herbal nuance in this brew. I enjoyed it enough that I would drink this again if I saw it on tap somewhere.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 Dec 2011
at 16:58