2006 bottle consumed on 2/3/2006.
The bottle yields a brassy looking liquid, with strong copper highlights and a bit of softer hay-colored tones. Head is quite foamy, rather heavy/rocky and forms about two-fingers high, initially. Off-white/white colored and slowly diminishing to cover, with some minor, spotty lace. Though the beer was just bottled, there is light sediment, already noticeable, at the bottom.
The nose explodes with ripe hallertauer-like hops. Not so much floral or spicy as it is tangy, juicy and herbal (dill, fresh cut grass, fresh basil). Strong hop presence in the nose is balanced by a very rich, thick honey malt, with strong doughiness, bits of sourdough even and just a whisper of crusty, earthy toasted grains.
The flavor, not surprisingly, is incredibly hoppy up front. Plenty of bitterness, more herbal notes, green, leafy, pungent flavors all combine to really whack at the palate. The malt is fully in support, with a strong pils-like honey flavor, lots of dough and fresh, but dry yeast on the end. Hop bitterness makes a reprieve on the end, adding much needed dryness, but almost a soapy, shampoo-like flavor as well (minor though).
Mouthfeel, due to the lack of filtration, is much more comforting than the normal Harpoon beer. Tighter, less prickly bubbles convey the hop livliness wonderfully and allow for the rich maltiness to wash over the palate. However, the beer seems quite underattenuated for what I would expect a traditional kellerbier to be. The sweetness becomes borderline syrupy and the malt thickness detracts from the overall "brightness" of the beer, and certainly the drinkability. Nor is the malt terribly complex, leading to more problems as the beer wears on. But that’s just my take, I suppose you could just approach this as an atypical German kellerbier. Just seems a little too brash/crude.

Golden orange pour. Aroma of orange and grapefruit peel. Floral hoppy flavor with hints of bitter grapefruit and orange peel. Crisp, raspy mouthfeel. Medium finish, slightly bitter. A solid IPA.

I have a had a few a this company’s beers but not very often. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a chestnut color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma is spicy cinnamon and nutmeg but not much else. The flavor is sour malts with nutmeg and cinnamon and a light nutty undertone. The finish is dry with lingering spiciness.

Poured into a Harpoon IPA shaker. Caramel notes. Gold effervesence. Malty with a very fast dry hop finish. This used to be my favorite beer -- for some reason it has dropped off my list of regulars. I seem to remember the Harpoon IPAs of the mid-late 90’s as being beyond reproach. It is either that others are purchasing all the good hops that used to go to Harpoon, or others have kicked up the quality a notch that makes my rating lower than I expected it to be. Either way, still a good session IPA.

Bottle. Good, standard IPA. Nice golden color, small white head. Nice finish, nothing rough or heavy.

Orange amber ale with a thin off-white head. Aroma of cloves, oranges, pumpkin spices. Sweet malt with light pumpkin pie and faint hops. Oily mouthfeel. Rather thin. Summer 2005.

White head on a light golden body. Flowery aroma with hits of malt. Mild floral bitter flavor.

12oz bottle-pours a foamy white head with cloudy straw-yellow color. Aroma is wheat, musty. Taste follows with mild effervescence. Middle of class.