Topic Archives: 100 Barrel Series
Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Rye Celebration
Session 37 of Harpoon Brewing’s “100 Barrel” series has been announced. This edition celebrates Harpoon’s 25 years of brewing with a Rye based IPA made by the founders of Harpoon.
Harpoon was founded in 1986 by Dan Kenary and Rich Doyle in Boston, Massachusetts. Rich & Dan’s Rye IPA is brewed by the duo. Heavy on rye malt, & balanced with bold hops, this beer is sure to be popular.
Availability: 22oz bombers, draft. Limited Release
Arrival: June, 2011
6.9% ABV
NEW RELEASE: Harpoon Glacier Wet Hop Ale
Harpoon Brewing’s 100 Barrel series is what the brewery calls a return to their roots. The 100 Barrel series is exactly as it sounds. Small batch, one of a kind, 100 barrels. Throughout the year, a different Harpoon brewer will create a recipe from start to finish. As a finishing touch, the brewer signs the label. It’s completely their creation. Like a piece of artwork. Glacier Wet Hop is release #33.
#33 Backstory:
For the 33rd session of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, we’re using locally grown hops and malted barley in our Glacier Harvest Wet Hop Ale, a pale ale made with fresh Glacier hops.
Wet hop beers are brewed using fresh, “wet” hops instead of traditional dried hops–hops contain about 60% moisture when they are picked. Typically, when hops are picked they are quickly dried and refrigerated to make them stable and more consistent for brewing. Freshly picked wet hops, however, need to be used within hours of harvest or they will begin to degrade rapidly.
Wet hops retain more of their natural aroma and volatile flavors that dissipate when dried. This gives wet hop beers a fresher hop flavor and aroma than that of beers hopped with processed hops. Barley grown in Maine complements the New York-grown Glacier hops. This robust pale malt can stand up to the intense, immersed hop flavor, and makes the beer a true celebration of Northeastern US brewing.
Style: American Pale Ale
Taste Expectations: Earthy hops. Slight citrus. Some toasted malts. Caramel malts. Hops are fresh & clean.
Availability: 22oz Bombers. Draft. One time 100 Barrel brew.
6.7% ABV
Brewed by by Ray Dobens, Harpoon brewer.
NEW RELEASE: Harpoon Pott’s Landbier
Harpoon’s 100 Barrel series is what the brewery calls a return to their roots. The 100 Barrel series is exactly as it sounds. Small batch, one of a kind, 100 barrels. Throughout the year, a different Harpoon brewer will create a recipe from start to finish. As a finishing touch, the brewer signs the label. It’s completely their creation. Like a piece of artwork. To date, there have been 31 releases from the 100 Barrel Series. Make way for #32.
Edition #32 is Pott’s Landbier. A little name backstory for you – Landbier is German for “country beer” or a simple, everyday session beer. It’s 4.8% ABV so it definitely qualifies. I’m not going to try to summarize this beer’s bio as Harpoon has done so well already –
“The origins of this beer go back to 2003 when a group of German brewers, including Rainer and Joerg Pott of Pott’s Brauerei, took a tour of American breweries that included Harpoon. A few years later in 2007 Joerg joined the Harpoon staff for the summer months to learn more about American craft beer.
During Joerg’s 3-month tenure at Harpoon, the idea of brewing a beer together was mentioned often, but the timing never quite seemed to work out— until now.
Pott’s Landbier, or “country beer,” is a traditional session lager with a decidedly malty backbone made up of a blend of German and North American malts. The smooth malt character is tempered by the German bittering hop Magnum, which lends a clean, crisp balance. This beer is finished with more German hops for a spicy herbal palate and aroma. Fermented with Pott’s proprietary lager yeast — and imbued with over 240 years of German brewing tradition — this is just the beer to quench your summer thirst.”
Pott’s is classified as a Vienna lager. Vienna lager was developed in Vienna in 1841 by Anton Dreher. Vienna lager is described as a reddish brown or copper colored beer with medium body, and slight malt sweetness. (There’s more to that, but you get some of the idea.)
Known Ingredients –
Hops – Magnum
Yeast – German Lager
Availability – 22oz Bombers. Draft. One time, small batch, 100 Barrel brew. On shelves now until sold.
Taste Expectations – Hot summer days make for great session beer drinking. It’s a strongly carbonated amber lager, with bready caramel malts and a noble hop flavor. It’s light and crisp.
4.8 ABV
