![]() ![]() Harpoon’s sales staff could sell both products, side-by-side, each complementing the other and without any real competition between the brands.Įnter the Harpoon White. And despite my lack of fondness for the brand, UFO has proven popular with drinkers and spawned a local “1-2 punch,” along with the Harpoon IPA. ![]() To Harpoon’s credit, the brewery has never claimed (beyond the product’s name) to have brewed a traditional hefeweizen. So take my criticism of the brand with that grain of salt in mind. Instead, the UFO lead product is actually an American-style wheat beer, one of the few global beer styles (perhaps the only one) that I personally find little to no redeeming value in. I imagine the sales meetings at Harpoon in Boston must have devolved into grumbles about how Blue Moon has been kicking the UFO brand’s butt in local bars and restaurants.įirst developed and released in 1998, Harpoon’s UFO Hefeweizen was apparently inspired “by the cloudy beers drank in many German beer gardens.” While German hefeweizens (in their most popular style) are distinguished by their fruity/clovey/banana-y flavors and aromas, UFO ‘Hefeweizen’ is not really a hefe at all. With this said, Harpoon’s decision to brew this beer in an attempt to compete head-to-head with the Blue Moon juggernaut couldn’t have been an easy one. I’ve also been supportive of how Coors has chosen to treat and promote the brand, say in contrast to the efforts of Anheuser-Busch related to its “faux-craft” products. While not the most flavorful beer I’ve ever had, I think Blue Moon is a reliable choice when in a pinch at a chain restaurant and it has contributed to expanding the reach of better beer into demographics where it hasn’t previously succeeded. Now, I’m pretty much on record in support of the development and promotion of Blue Moon by the Coors people. I imagine you’ll be seeing this beer pushed very hard on draft in the local Boston market in an attempt to retake some of the omni-present Blue Moon handles secured by Coors. Details surrounding the beer remain very sketchy as news of the beer was not meant for public release quite yet. ![]() After years of being battered in the local market by the wildfire growth of the Blue Moon Belgian White (or “Blue Moon by Coors/MolsonCoors/MillerCoors” if you’re down with the Brewers Association’s quiet PR campaign), the folks at Harpoon have decided to expand their UFO line to include another beer: UFO White. A new 100 Barrel series or Leviathan release you might ask? Nope. The project is apparently of a very hush-hush nature at the Boston brewery. Nice and balanced hop flavors and quite smooth to sip on.I recently received word through sort of an unusual but reliable back channel that the Harpoon Brewery was planning to brew a new beer. Overall this is a very nice imperial IPA. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with only a warming after the finish noticed. Quite smooth to drink but is definitely a sipper. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied with a fairly creamy and slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Good amount of bitterness on the finish with lingering notes of citrus, pine, caramel, honey, and herbal spiciness on the finish for a while. Taste of grapefruit, mango, pine, orange, biscuit, caramel, honey, and herbal spiciness. Nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Aromas of big pine, grapefruit, orange, mango, grass, caramel, honey, and some spicy alcohol. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense white head with great retention that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. 12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best by.
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