Harpoon St. Patrick’s Festival 2011
February 24, 2011 by Parker
Filed under Beer Fests, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
It’s that time of year again! Time to get your crew together and head down to the South Boston Waterfront for another Harpoon Fest. Never been, or don’t remember the last one!? Well, Harpoon Fests are a must. Hundreds of beer drinkers gather at Harpoon Brewery and enjoy a wide variety of Harpoon Beers, food, music and more.
The St. Patricks Festival is always a great one to attend. The weather is getting nicer so what better reason to drink outside on a Saturday? Plus, it’s a week before actual Paddy’s day so you basically get an extra weekend of celebration.
The 2011 St. Paddy’s festival will be held at March 4th and 5th at the South Boston Brewery. It’s $20 a ticket but you’ll get a discount if you have a friends of Harpoon card. Free shuttles run from south station all day long, so no excuse.
Tickets are purchased at the door. Remember to come early! Lines are usually pretty long…
For more information visit http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/
Harpoon Brewery Tour
August 4, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Brewery Profiles, Brewery Tours, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
Welcome to Harpoon Boston!
Living in South Boston has many advantages. There’s the beaches, the close proximity to Downtown Boston and the waterfront, among others. All of that is great, but I have to say the hands-down best thing about living in South Boston is Harpoon Brewery.
Many Bostonians are familiar with the various Harpoon Festivals throughout the year, such as the October and Harpoon St. Patrick’s day Festivals, but few are aware of what else goes on at 306 Northern Avenue in South Boston. Here, Harpoon hosts many exclusive “friends of Harpoon” tasting events, beer dinners and brewery tours.
The Harpoon Brewery Tour is hands-down the best brewery tour that I have ever been on. Period. Sorry Sam Adams, Shipyard and Redhook, Harpoon has outdone you all.
Beer holder. Mmm.
What makes the Harpoon Brewery Tour so great? No, it’s not the 25-minute open bar at the end of the tour (that helps), but it’s the overall package. The tour starts out like any other, with every other tour guide yelling his tired and rehearsed jokes loud enough so all of the eager out-of-towners in the group can hear. He shows you the goods, all of the storage containers and then talks about hops, malts, barley, WORT and blah, blah, blah.
What makes this tour so special is that the tour guides (two of them switch off) actually like what they are doing. All too often brewery tours are hosted by no-personality robots who act as if they are performing a chore rather than a hobby. At Harpoon, the guides are enthusiastic enough without being annoying or fake, productive enough to ensure that the tour lasts 20-25 min (before tasting) and doesn’t bore the regulars and most importantly, they are unpretentious and real enough where you don’t feel “stupid” when asking a question about unfiltering, UFO beers and so on.
"Green" IPA
Speaking of unfiltered beers, another one of the highlights of the Harpoon Brewery Tour has to do with an unfiltered beer that is not part of Harpoon’s UFO line – the IPA. Yes, Harpoon’s flagship beer, the Harpoon IPA is sampled during the tour as a “green” beer. No, this isn’t their attempt at a Peak Organic IPA, this is Harpoon IPA before filtering, straight from the source in it’s fermentation stage.
This was definitely one of the highlights of the tour, but not the last. A walk through the brewery past cases upon cases of Harpoon, ready to be distributed led into a explanation of the Brewery’s history, and being granted the brewers license #001 in Massachusetts, and battling neck and neck with Magic Hat as New England’s #1 and #2 brewer (Sam Adams doesn’t brew in Boston). Great stories overall, which actually kept you entertained the whole time through.
Beer Tasting and Gift Shop
This leads us to the end of the tour, about 20-25 minutes, as promised, after the tour began. As you can imagine, the ending has us in a tasting room. The Harpoon Brewery tasting room is actually a small bar in the middle of it’s gift shop. With two bartenders behind the bar and a brief introduction of all the beer on tap (about 6 including 100 barrel series and Leviathan), our 2 ounce glasses are continuously attended to.
After the tasting is over (about 20 minutes long), you have a great understanding of Harpoon’s beers and a great glow to go along with it. This is great marketing on Harpoon’s part, as you are then released into the gift shop feeling as happy as ever.
Growler Koozies
If you do end up spending money after the Harpoon Brewery Tour, be sure to splurge on a growler and a growler koozie to go along with it. Simply brilliant, and perfect for a afternoon trek back to Southie.
Harpoon Brewery Tour Information:
Saturday – 11:30-5pm (every half-hour)
Sunday – 12-3pm (on the hour)
For more information visit harpoonbrewery.com
Dogfish Head Beer Tasting at Morton’s Seaport
July 12, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Beer Tastings, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Morton’s Steakhouse welcomes Boston beer lovers and BeersInBoston to sample offerings from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, out of Milton, Delaware. You will enjoy the following four craft Dogfish Head beers at Morton’s The Steakhouse Seaport location:
- Midas Touch IPA – a Turkish recipe for the oldest known fermented beverage in the world
- Raison – a Belgian style ale brewed with beet sugars and raisins
- 90 Minute – dubbed the “Best IPA in America” by Esquire
- Palo – an aged brown ale with caramel and vanilla notes derived from handcrafted wooden brewing vessels
Each beer will be paired with a selection of outstanding fine cheeses, including aged Wisconsin parmesan, cubbedu moderately aged sheep’s milk cheese, wild horseradish cheddar and smoked gorgonzola. Beers and cheese will also be served alongside signature Morton’s hors d’oeuvres.
The Dogfish Head beer tasting will be held on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 front 6-7:30pm.
$45 per guest, inclusive of tax and gratuity
Morton’s The Steakhouse will donate $5 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every event ticket purchased.
Reservations are required. Call 617-526-0410 to reserve your spot as space is limited.
Morton’s The Steakhouse is located at 2 Seaport Lane in Boston, MA
American Craft Beerfest 2010
June 23, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Beer Fests, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
Mid June is my favorite time of year in Boston. No, not because the temps break 70 for the first time all year, but because the best of American Craft Beer assembles at the Seaport Hotel.
2010 marked the third year of the American Craft Beer Fest, and again it did not disappoint. I found the lines to be somewhat long this time around, as the word seems to have gotten out amongst the city. Not like 2008 or 2009 had poor attendance, but some of the lines this year were ridiculous. Dogfishead and Pretty Things led the way with lines backed up to the bathrooms, while others such as Harpoon watched from near-empty booths.
Beeradvocate, you did a great job. Please, please host your other yearly events at the Seaport – The Cyclorama events seem to fall very short after this event.
Harpoon St. Patrick’s Festival 2010
February 22, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Beer Fests, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
The 2010 Harpoon Brewery St. Patrick’s day celebration will take place on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th. Plan to show up to the South Boston brewery early because there WILL be a line. This celebration is a rain or shine event – it will be hosted under huge tents, with the outdoor section opening up behind the brewery as the weather allows.
As you know, nobody does a celebration of life, beer, and music quite like Harpoon. The city of Boston will be in attendance, so make sure you are too!
Tickets will be sold at the door, starting at 5:30 on Friday, and 2pm on Saturday. Free shuttles will run from South Station to the waterfront brewery regularly.
A peak into this years event from the Harpoon website:
What is Harpoon St. Patrick’s Festival all about?
- Come dance the jig, enjoy Harpoon beer, and celebrate St. Patrick!
Harpoon Fest – Summer Session
June 2, 2009 by Chris Parker
Filed under Beer Fests, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
Love Beer. Love Life. Harpoon.
With a motto such as the above, it is only right that Harpoon Brewery celebrates their love for beer with their friends. 3 times a year, Boston’s beer lovers gather together at Harpoon’s South Boston’s brewery for music, beer, and good company. The annual Summer Session is the best, with the warm weather complimenting their UFO Hefeweizen and classic IPA.
Dates are as follows: June 5th and 6th 2009
For more information visit – www.HarpoonBrewery.com
American Craft Beer Fest
April 28, 2009 by Parker
Filed under Beer Fests, in Your Neighborhood, South Boston
The American Craft Beer Fest, hosted by BeerAdvocate, is the east coast’s largest American craft beer festival to date. This year, it will return to the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, featuring 75 American brewers and over 300 craft beers. The event will take place on Friday and Saturday (2 sessions on Saturday), June 19th and 20th. This is a must-attend event. Buy tickets here.
Here is a list of Breweries that will be in attendance. For the most updated list, visit BeerAdvocate.
21st Amendment Brewery (CA)
Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (CA)
Arcadia Brewing Co. (MI)
Ballast Point Brewing Co. (CA)
Bear Republic Brewing Co. (CA)
Berkshire Brewing Co. (MA)
Boston Beer Co. (MA)
Boulder Beer (CO)
Brewery Ommegang (NY)
Brooklyn Brewery (NY)
Butternuts Beer & Ale (NY)
Cambridge Brewing Co. (MA)
Cape Anne Brewing Co. (MA)
Cisco Brewers (MA)
Clipper City Brewing Co. (MD)
Coastal Extreme Brewing (RI)
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (DE)
Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (NC)
Eel River Brewing Co. (CA)
Flying Dog Brewery (MD)
Foothills Brewing Co. (NC)
FX Matt Brewing Co. (NY)
Harpoon Brewery (MA)
Haverhill Brewery (MA)
High & Mighty Brewing Co. (MA)
Honest Town Brewery (MA)
Ithaca Beer Co. (NY)
John Harvard‘s Brew House (MA)
Kennebec River Brewery (ME)
Lagunitas Brewing Co. (CA)
Left Hand Brewing Co. (CO)
Odell Brewing Co. (CO)
Opa Opa Brewing Co. (MA)
Mad River Brewing Co. (CA)
Magic Hat Brewing Co. (VT)
Mayflower Brewing Co. (MA)
McNeill’s Brewery (VT)
Milly’s Tavern (NH)
Narragansett Beer (RI)
Paper City Brewery (MA)
Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project (MA)
Pennichuck Brewing Co. (NH)
Rogue Ales (OR)
Sebago Brewing Co. (ME)
Sherwood Forest Brewers (MA)
Shipyard Brewing Co. (ME)
Shmaltz Brewing Co. (CA)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (CA)
Sixpoint Craft Ales (NY)
Smuttynose Brewing Co. (NH)
Southern Tier Brewing Co. (NY)
Stone Brewing Co. (CA)
Stoudts Brewing Co. (PA)
Terrapin Beer Co. (GA)
Tuckerman Brewing Co. (NH)
Unita Brewing Co. (UT)
Victory Brewing Co. (PA)
Wachusett Brewing Co. (MA)
Weyerbacher Brewing Co. (PA)
