100 Barrel Series #05 - Alt Ale
Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Altbier Regular|
Score
6.67
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2004 bottle. Pours a dark brownish copper, with some lighter magenta and rusty orange colors. Big light beige colored head. Aroma of light nutty grains, hints of dry toffee, a touch of black licorice perhaps and some earthy hops. Flavor is bigger than I expected from the aroma; sweet and malty, but has a deep earthy roast quality that is very subtle but pleasing. Soft hints of light red fruits mingle with caramel and a touch of yeast. Finish remains full flavored. Palate is medium to medium full bodied and lightly spritzy. Very drinkable and very good, though perhaps a bit more sweetness and fruitiness than I would like from this style. Give me a little bit more yeast and earthiness. Still, this is one of the better alts I’ve had (not that I’ve had many).
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Copper pour with minimal head - understated aroma of caramel (almost too understated) - somewhat creamy mouthfeel, but the beer is too thin bodied to sustain it for very long - toffee dominates the flavor initially, making way for some bready qualities, along with a subtle spice - like some other harpoon brews, there is a homebrew qualitiy to this - smooth and drinkable, but it hardly warrants the special release status, especially considering the fact that the 100 barrel barleywine was so good (well, at least I thought so anyway).