Strange Brew: Harpoon IPA & Summer Beer

Why You Should Drink It: Whether you’re headed to a your favorite music festival, or just grilling in your backyard these are must drinks this summer – easily portable, and 100% recyclable – and once again proving that you can drink great tasting beer out of a can. Their Summer Beer, is an extremely easy drinking German-style Kolsch, that’s both light in color and body, and finishes with a slightly hoppy crispness to it and in my opinion on of the better “summer” style beers out there. Harpoon’s IPA has been one of their staples since 1993, this cooper-colored beer has that floral aroma and slight dry bitterness on your tongue, but isn’t so over-the-top hoppy as so many other IPAs out there are.

Brewer’s Description:

• IPA – The origins of India Pale Ale (IPA) dictate its flavor profile. As a result of needing a beer that could withstand the trip from England to India via unrefrigerated sailing vessels, the English brewers took advantage of two natural preservatives: alcohol and hops. Harpoon IPA is an interpretation of the classic English style using hops and malt grown in the United States.

• Summer Beer – Harpoon Summer Beer is a Kolsch style ale. Originating in the Rhineland city of Cologne (Koln), Kolsch ales have the characteristics that many people associate with lager beers. Kolsch is brewed with an ale yeast, but like other northern German light ales, it is straw gold in color and light bodied. The flavor is mild. The hopping levels provide a crisp, dry finish that make this beer particularly refreshing.

Availability: The brewery will produce a limited number of 12-pack cases that will be available for the 2010 summer or as long as supplies last.

Beer Geek Stats:

IPA – Style: India Pale Ale, History: brewed since 1993, Orig. Gravity: 15.5 P, Color: Copper 15 EBC, ABV: 5.9%, IBU’S: 42

Summer Beer – Style: Kolsch-style ale, History: brewed since 1999, Orig. Gravity: 13 P, Color: Brilliant Gold 5 EBC, ABV: 5.0%, IBU’S: 28

Have you tried Harpoon’s two new craft canned offerings? Leave your thoughts about them in the comments section below …