by Jimmy Cocktail
21. September 2010 03:32
Every once in a while Ms Cocktail will bring me back something from the store with this blog in mind. The other day, what she brings back is a bottle from the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series. Now I hadn’t heard about this before so I went to the Harpoon web site and found this tidbit of information:
The Harpoon 100 Barrel Series is a return to our brewing roots. We call it the 100 Barrel Series because that’s exactly what it is— one-of-a-kind limited batch creations fashioned by a Harpoon brewer. Every couple of months a different Harpoon brewer will choose a style, develop a recipe, and brew the beer—from selecting the ingredients to the final filtration. You will find that brewer’s signature on each bottle of beer from their batch. So if you like the beer, you’ll know who to thank.
The bottle that Ms Cocktail brought me was Session #31, the Single Hop ESB. As is says on the label, this brew is crafted entirely with a new varietal of hops called Delta. If I had to, I would say that this hop has some Cascade as its parent but I don’t know for sure.
I poured this beer into a 16 ounce pint glass and got a nice two fingered head for my efforts. The head lingered even though it did not provide much lacing. The beer itself is amber with a redish hue, a very nice coloration that carried just a touch of haze. The nose actually changes on you a bit, when you first smell it you get the malty notes with some citrus riding on top. That citrus quickly gives way to a more floral hops note.
On the tongue you find that this beer gives a bit of caramel to go along with the malty base. The hops provide a distinct flavor of grapefruit, however, this is a wonderfully balanced beer with neither the hops or the malt dominating. There is also a touch of creaminess on the mid palate to tie it all together. It has a nice mouth feel with just a touch of creaminess. A very easy to drink beer although one that doesn’t completely stand out in any given way.
Subscribe