Harpoon Brewery Tour
August 4, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Brewery Profiles, Brewery Tours
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
Harpoon St. Patrick’s Festival 2010
February 22, 2010 by Parker
Filed under Beer Fests
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!
Better beer for Boston Bars in 2010
December 30, 2009 by Parker
Filed under News and Events
The new year is around the corner. Many people will join a gym, promise to quit smoking or drinking so much, or tell themselves that they will find a better job in 2010. All great resolutions, but all will be forgotten once the weather turns. In the spirit of resolutions, I challenge the owners and managers of Boston’s bars and pubs to take up a resolution in 2010. Sell better, and more beer. Mix up the taps. Sure, Harpoon IPA and Sam Seasonals are great, don’t get me wrong, but how about throwing some variety into the mix. Let’s see some smuttynose, shipyard, cisco and ipswitch. Keep it local, but spice it up. In particular the bars in the financial district, southie, and back bay need a change. Let 2010 be the year of craft beer!
Harpoon Fest – Summer Session
June 2, 2009 by Chris Parker
Filed under Beer Fests
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
Harpoon Brewery
May 11, 2009 by Parker
Filed under Brewery Profiles
Harpoon Brewery was founded in 1986 by Dan Kenary and Rich Doyle after extensively traveling Europe and drinking diverse, fresh and local European beers. They were most intrigued by the community aspect of the European breweries, which is a cornerstone of Harpoon Brewery and its core mission statement, Beer is Best Enjoyed Among Friends and their motto, Love Beer, Love Life, Harpoon.
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.
For more information about Harpoon Brewery, visit www.harpoonbrewery.com
