The year was 1988. As I walked into a local liquor store to get my weekly fix of beer, all of which by this time was in what we now would consider the craft vein, I spied something new: Harpoon Ale. Ok, there was a sign at the register next to a bottle that caught my eye: THIS STUFF IS FOR LUMBERJACKS. Why they referenced lumberjacks I'm not sure, since the original bottle (which still sits on my wall among the other roughly 1600 beer bottles in my collection) sports a photo of an aptly bedecked fisherman of days gone by, harpoon firmly in hand. This stuff is for fishermen might have been more apt. Of course, I bought a six-pack of this new exciting brew. For you beer historians out there, the neck label on this hefty-weighted bottle read:

We are proud to offer the first beer in decades to be brewed and bottled right here in Boston. Carefully made in small batches, with the finest roasted malt, the freshest Cascade hops, and a rare top-fermenting yeast, Harpoon Ale recaptures the quality brewing of the original Boston beer makers.

Prophetic words. Though I'm not sure what original Boston beer makers they were referring to, Harpoon did go on to revive at least one local brand (Pickwick Ale), and even used my tasting notes to describe it on their website:

OK, so I can't resist a plug.

Harpoon Ale, introduced in 1987, is amber in color with a light head formation and a crisp malty nose. The palate yields crisp pale malt at first, but gradually segues into a firm, dry slightly bitter hop finish. This is a clean, malty ale with little fruitiness but lots of body. There is an herbal, spicy character here that lends uniqueness to the brew but doesn't keep it from being very drinkable.

Oddly enough, I love this beer with oregano-laden pizza, perhaps a dish that less flavorful beers usually accompany. Harpoon Ale, however, has the flavor to stand up to such spicy fare in my opinion, not merely wash it down as a Bud or Miller might do.

Update 5/3/2015:  For May of 2015, Taco Mac here in Georgia is featuring the Harpoon Brewery as beer of the month, and I'm happy to have this chance to revisit an old friend in Harpoon Ale. This time I'm enjoying with Taco Mac signature Buffalo Wings instead of pizza, but the beer is just as I described it above: clean, malty, crisp with a balancing bitterness and slightly floral hop aroma. It may have a tad less body than in the past I think.

Harpoon Ale is quaffable indeed and speaking of quaffable, Taco Mac has a special on 25 ounce mugs full of any beer of the month for $14.99, and you keep the mug. I filled mine with Harpoon Ale, which you can get in a pint (or 20-ounce mug for Brewniversity Bachelors and up) for $5.50. A deal in these parts at $8.99 a six-pack too for a taste of home.



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