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…

Harpoon Brewery

For more information visit http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/

Ah. Fall. Colder weather. Colorful leaves. A complete saturation of the market in pumpkin beers and octoberfests. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good pumpkin beer (Shipyard Smashed pumpkin, especially the bottle from last year I aged and just cracked!), and certainly like a good Octoberfest/Harvest beer (Note to self: write up how awesome the Mayflower Harvest Ale is). But, like anything, I can only take so much. Everyone has a fall seasonal now, and they are mostly pumpkin and/or spice laiden.

Harpoon Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale

Enter the Harpoon Thankful Harvest Cranberry Ale. Not your (well, my) typical “fruit” beer. This isn’t very sweet. Not really at all, in fact, and certainly isn’t like any cranberry beer creations I’ve had before- I’m looking at you Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic. It pours clean and clear, with a pretty minimal head that clears off in a hurry. Clear and amber in color, with a hint or ruby red to it, it looks as malty as it tastes, but it doesn’t end there. There is just the right amount of tart-ness (thank you, wife, for the vocab help) to this ale. I can’t stress that enough. Its just the right amount of tart. Its there, and you noticed it pretty early in the taste and it holds on through the finish, but its not over-powering, or mouth puckering. It’s as if (and this sounds gross, but after this beer not so much), you took a nice, simple matley ale and splashed it with cranberry juice.

To top it off, $1 from each 6 pack sale goes to local food banks. Perfect for the Thanksgiving Season. I say go for it, give it a try. I’m sure glad I did. Its a limited brew, so who knows when you’ll see it again, if ever. And hell, its something different out of the normal crop of Pumpkin-Spice-Fest beers.

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

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?

• Kick off the St. Patrick’s Day Holiday season in Harpoon style!
• What better place to begin the season than inside the largest brewery in Boston?!?!?!
• Food vendors selling Corned beef & cabbage along with other delicious food
• Cash bars offering a selection of fresh Harpoon and UFO beer featuring Celtic Ale
• Featuring live Irish and Rock and Roll bands from the Boston area
• Come dance the jig, enjoy Harpoon beer, and celebrate St. Patrick!

MENU

Starter 

Crispy Chicken Crouqette
filled w/ Manchego Cheese, Pears & Roasted Garlic
served over a micro green salad w/ blood orange vinaigrette
paired w/ UFO White

1st Course 

Grilled Duck and Veal Bangers & Mashed
atop Whipped Sweet Potato Champ w/ Grilled Green Onion Gravy
paired w/ Harpoon Celtic Ale 

Main Entree 

Surf & Turf
Irish Curry Braised Short Rib over a grilled shrimp potato boxty & sweet chili emulsion 
paired w/ Harpoon IPA 

Dessert 

Apple & Oats Bread Pudding
w/ cider soaked dried cranberries, fresh cinnamon cream & vanilla creme anglaise 

COST

$40 per person. Reservations are requested.

Visit the Peddlers Daughter for more information

B&G Chef Stephen Oxaal and The Butcher Shop Chef Robert Grant, Harpoon Brewery, and Island Creek Oysters have collectively created an amazing four-course beer dinner at B&G Oysters featuring the launch of the Island Creek Oyster Stout, the 30th installment of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series.

A limited-batch creation, The Island Creek Oyster Stout features a rich body and smooth feel that is especially perfect for pairing with oysters.

Start the evening with passed appetizers, freshly shucked oysters from the Island Creek Oyster Bar, and samples of Harpoon beers. Stay on for a seated dinner featuring fabulous dishes from the chefs, each thoughtfully paired with a seasonal Harpoon beer.

Harpoon Brewer Katie Tame and Island Creek’s Skip Bennett will be on hand to discuss the collaboration and beer as well as to walk through dining room for table talks throughout dinner. 

MENU 

Passed Appetizers
paired with Harpoon Celtic Ale

Island Creek Oyster
prosecco mignonette

Island Creek Oyster Ceviche
blood orange

Fried Island Creek Oyster
tartar sauce, celery

Island Creek Oyster Chowder
oyster crackers, potato

Vegetable Crudite
bagna couda

Ricotta Gnocchi
beurre monte, truffle oil

Beet Cured Salmon
horseradish, blini

Baked Stuffed Clams
chorizo

Sit Down Menu
Yellowfin Tuna Carpacio
avocado, crème fraîche, black radish vinaigrette
paired with UFO Hefeweizen

Rock Shrimp
black trumpet risotto, smoked butter
paired with Harpoon IPA

Pork Belly
island creek oyster stout, cabbage puree, brussels sprouts
paired with Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Island Creek Oyster Stout

Chocolate Cake
ganache, carmelized walnuts, korova
paired with Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter

Cost:
Cocktail Hour Only (6 to 7 PM): $30 per person
Seated Dinner (7:30 PM): $75 per person, includes cocktail hour

Harpoon Chocolate Stout

THE POUR: Harpoon Chocolate Stout poured dark and opaque topped with a thin brown head with almost a twinge of purple

THE AROMA: The beer smelled strongly of roasted malts and an occasional sniff of chocolate.

THE TASTE: Good bitter flavor, likely from the roasted malt. Hop flavor is not very present, not should it be in this style. The chocolate gives the taste an added element of sweetness.

THE DECISION: Very good beer, would go great with a piping hot bowl of chili or beef stew. I’ve seen it suggested to top  a bowl of vanilla ice cream, I’d prefer Hershey’s Syrup.

THE GRADE: A-

Beer Stats:

16 degrees Plato, 190 EBC, 5.9% ABV, 40IBU

From Harpoon Brewery – Chocolate Stout

Harpoon Ginger Wheat

THE POUR: Pours a clear pale gold with foamy head. Small bubbles of carbonation float to the surface as the head settles to a thin later.

THE AROMA: Greeted by the sweet aroma of honey. Strong scent of ginger, awakening the nose.

THE TASTE: The taste is of a mild wheat beer at first, with the ginger appearing boldly towards the end of a sip. The ginger obscures any other flavors, almost overpowering.

THE DECISION: I like ginger in foods, and I now know I do not like ginger in beers. Lots of potential, but I can’t get past that single flavor.

THE GRADE: B-

This beer is #29 in Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series, a limited production of specialty beer styles.

Harpoon Ginger Wheat can be found in select beer stores throughout New England for a limited time. Great for the holidays!

In New England, Harpoon’s annual beer production is second only to Anheuser-Busch and is greater than any other New England craft brewer.

At their south boston brewery, Harpoon hosts various member-only tastings, called friends or Harpoon, tours, and annual parties which are open to the public.

Harpoon Brewery

For more information about Harpoon Brewery, visit www.harpoonbrewery.com