Mybeerbuzz.com Highlights Harpoon Brewery Hoppy Adventure & UFO Winter Blonde

If you’re a resident of the Mid-Atlantic states or more specifically Pennsylvania, you’ll know we just went from 70F and raking leaves on Saturday afternoon to 28F and 6-inches of snow on Saturday night.  I guess that’s typical for November weather; but even with the crazy weather, Harpoon Brewery was nice enough to help soften the transition by releasing one beer for each side of the temperature curve.

Tonight we’re sampling the new Harpoon Brewery Hoppy Adventure as well as the new UFO release, Winter Blonde. 

Playing the role of “raking leaves,” I present to you Harpoon Hoppy Adventure.  This new Double IPA began life on Harpoon’s 10-barrel pilot system back in 2014 as a “hop experimentation” exercise, and the beer re-emerged again in fall 2015 as a draft-only release.  Thankfully Harpoon listened to the beer’s fans and decided to release Hoppy Adventure in 16oz canned 4-packs.  I’ll admit I love hoppy beers, but I really love double IPA’s packed in 16oz cans, so this one is right up my alley.

Hoppy Adventure pours a really bright golden color with loads of citrus, stone fruit and hop aromas.  This beer will really grab your nose (in a good way) and I honestly couldn’t wait to sip it.    The flavors launch with tropical fruits, grapefruit and a nice sweet fruit balance.  We kept finding peaches in the flavor and a really nice balance of hop forward characteristics, without the burn-out-our-palate hop aggression.  Hoppy Adventure finishes with a nice bitter/sweet balance, and at 7.8%-AbV and 58 IBU we found this beer to be really drinkable and not the typical over-the-top double IPA.

Playing the role of “6-inches of snow” I present to you the new Harpoon UFO Winter Blonde.  This beer is a winter seasonal release form Harpoon and it is a “Vanilla Cold Brew” ale.  Rather than trying to describe exactly what vanilla cold brew means, I thought we’d just jump into the sampling.  This beer pours slightly hazy with a soft golden color.  While there is just a tiny bit of coffee in the aroma, you can’t miss the presence of vanilla in the nose.  UFO Winter Blonde has a really nice mix of sweet vanilla, coffee and some inviting milk chocolate.   The beer has a soft mouthfeel, and if all of these flavors are saying “stout” in your head, you’ll be surprised.  This beer is a really drinkable light-colored ale with just a hint of vanilla…but that hint really lingers in a nice way.  Harpoon UFO Winter Blonde hits a really drinkable 4.9%-AbV and a sweet 11 IBU; and it is packaged in 12oz cans (the perfect size for this beer).

Both of these new releases from Harpoon are available now so be sure to let them help you transition from fall to winter.  Get out there and try Harpoon Hoppy Adventure and UFO Winter Blonde for yourself and as always, when you do, be sure to let us know what YOU think.
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