Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #39 - Vermont Spruce Tip Ale

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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On Tap at The Holy Grail- pour is a Light amber, Small white head..Nose is Spice, Pine..Taste is Earth and Crisp with hints of spruce, Nice palate with lingering spice/ earth taste..I went out of my Style range for this and was not let down..This is a very Solid beer

From a bottle with an expiration date of 03/15/2012. The pour is a handsome medium to dark amber that reminds me of pine tree brown. Lots of carbonation and a small head. The aroma is earthy, piney, and slightly malty. The body is rotund but not bold. Whereas the aromas and balanced but not overpowering, the flavor is a bit more so with an obvious earthy, pine hoppiness and a sweet malty character. There is a slightly different earthiness to it that is notable. It finishes on the dry side.

Pours with a good amount of head, medium carbonation. On the nose, it’s boozy with a good amount of funk. There’s some hops in there but also with some faint fruit flavors. Color is medium brown, slightly red. On the tongue there’s some vanilla, cherry, wood flavor, slight alcohol burn. Light to medium body. Some Christmas spice in the background, but doesn’t come together all that great. Enjoyability 3/5.

Bomber: Pours a clear orange with a medium white head, aroma has pine and light fruits, starts and ends lightly bitter with a juicy ending, medium bodied with average carbonation and a lingering bitterness. It is hard to tell where the hops end and the spruce starts.

Sampled on draft at the Headkeeper this beer poured a dark nut brown color with a small creamy beige head that lingered and left decent lacing. The aroma was lightly tart with vague spice, caramel, fig and only a hint of spruce. The flavor was tang with a light vague fruitiness and notes of caramel, fig, nutmeg, spruce and mint. The finish was long and dryish with notes of caramel, nutmeg and spruce. Medium body. Rich yet pleasant.

(22 oz. bottle from Bootleggers) Pours rusty amber, mostly clear. Four fingers of biege head that slowly recede to a lasting cap. Aroma of caramel, vanilla and spice. Mouthfeel mostly smooth, medium-full, very light pebbliness. Flavor of sweet, lightly toasty caramel, light vanilla with a light pleasant spiciness not particularly spruce or pine-like. Mostly malty with a light-medium bitter pinch in finish.

Bottle. Poured orange with a fizzy, quick off-white head. Aromas of malt, dark fruit, and faint pine. Initial flavor of sweet fruits. As warmed, roasted malt, light spice, and a hop background. Medium body, light bitter, yet slightly sweet.

Pours deep amber into a Sam glass. White head with medium retention recedes to skim surface. Earth and pine aromas. Medium bodied with sweet earth, bark and leaves upfront turning to mild pine in the bitter finish.

Cold, 22oz bottle: Pours a clear, medium orange color with an off-white head that dissolves. Aroma is of pine, flowers, and malt. Taste is of a nice blend of malts, spruce, and hops. Medium bodied and smooth, with playful carbonation. Ending is of light caramel into mint.

UPDATED: DEC 4, 2011 Location: Draft at Hop Devil, 12/3/11

Aroma: The nose is interesting, woodsy, but not piney, earthy notes too
Appearance: The pour is a clear orange-caramel color with a wispy head and spotty lace
Flavor: The taste is lightly sweet, somewhat earthy, herbal notes, a fairly bitter finish to it
Palate: The body is medium, the carbonation is average, and it finishes dry and a bit odd on the tongue
Overall Impression: Second rater of this one. This is a solid offering, but it was quite different then I expected. I guess I was sort of expecting it to be kind of a pine/resin offering, but really it is more of a woodsy beer. It isn’t like drinking tree sap or anything like that, it just give you a feeling like you are surounded by trees.