Had this one out of the bottle, so I'm fairly clueless as to the appearance.
It has a solid, sweet, bready malt-forward smell. Big and smooth in the feel, with a good grassy bitter kick to it, but still feels maltier than most barleywines. Glad to see it, too. Most breweries think they have to hop the style up beyond recognition, so a maltier version is a good find.
Showing posts with label Leviathan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leviathan. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Harpoon Brewery's Leviathan Baltic Porter
This is the first Baltic porter I can remember, and if it's not going to be in or from one of the Baltic states, I'm glad it's from a decent brewery.
Pours nice and inky brown, with a huge small celled tan head. Looks great so far.
Nice. Great grainy, yet vinous smell, with a bit of chocolate instead of any real roasted grain smell.
Excellent porter taste. Moderately hoppy, but no real grainy or grassy flavor. The bitterness almost comes from the chocolate taste, like an unsweetened chocolate. Very smooth feel and excellent tannins, just like a porter should have. Despite the fact that the hops are indistinct, they still taste sharp and fresh. A solid malt sweetness also comes through right after the hops fade.
Very good beer and my favorite Harpoon so far.
Pours nice and inky brown, with a huge small celled tan head. Looks great so far.
Nice. Great grainy, yet vinous smell, with a bit of chocolate instead of any real roasted grain smell.
Excellent porter taste. Moderately hoppy, but no real grainy or grassy flavor. The bitterness almost comes from the chocolate taste, like an unsweetened chocolate. Very smooth feel and excellent tannins, just like a porter should have. Despite the fact that the hops are indistinct, they still taste sharp and fresh. A solid malt sweetness also comes through right after the hops fade.
Very good beer and my favorite Harpoon so far.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Harpoon Brewery's Leviathan Imperial IPA
I've heard a lot about this beer, but couldn't find it in Texas. Finding any Harpoon beer was difficult, but this one was pretty much nowhere for me. So, I was glad to see it at Spec's today.
Pours a light amber with a large-celled tan head that sticks. The color and clarity are disappointing for an imperial IPA, but the big head that doesn't thin tells me there may be more to it than the rest of the appearance would indicate. Almost no carbonation, and what there is is very slow so there might be more body than the looks show.
Great grassy hops smell. definitely bigger than a standard pale or IPA, and it's clean. Not muddled, it's a crisp, bitter grassiness that fades a bit to reveal a slightly sweet malt.
Surprising. Aside from the head, it looks wimpy. But uber-filtration aside, this beer is a great example of the style and lives up to its hype. One of few beers that I can say that about. You get a solid bitter zap that is slightly grassy, a heavy feel to the body, and a sweet malt backbone to finish it off. Probably the most surprising part is that even as it warms, which brings out the sweetness in the malt a bit more, there is almost no hint of the 9.3% ABV that many beers would be absolutely unable to hide. Many imperial stouts with a huge roasted or coffee flavor can't hide the alcohol this well.
Great beer. I had one or two set aside to give to a buddy, but no more. I'm keeping them.
Pours a light amber with a large-celled tan head that sticks. The color and clarity are disappointing for an imperial IPA, but the big head that doesn't thin tells me there may be more to it than the rest of the appearance would indicate. Almost no carbonation, and what there is is very slow so there might be more body than the looks show.
Great grassy hops smell. definitely bigger than a standard pale or IPA, and it's clean. Not muddled, it's a crisp, bitter grassiness that fades a bit to reveal a slightly sweet malt.
Surprising. Aside from the head, it looks wimpy. But uber-filtration aside, this beer is a great example of the style and lives up to its hype. One of few beers that I can say that about. You get a solid bitter zap that is slightly grassy, a heavy feel to the body, and a sweet malt backbone to finish it off. Probably the most surprising part is that even as it warms, which brings out the sweetness in the malt a bit more, there is almost no hint of the 9.3% ABV that many beers would be absolutely unable to hide. Many imperial stouts with a huge roasted or coffee flavor can't hide the alcohol this well.
Great beer. I had one or two set aside to give to a buddy, but no more. I'm keeping them.
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