Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Bottled, BB 2/15/11. Poured crystal-clear lighter orange with a short, but persistent cap of yellowy-beige head. The aroma picked up juicy oranges and pineapple upfront, with some floral notes around.. honey and pineapple meat followed.. very aggressive, with a lot of messy sweetness evident. The flavor found more of that messy sweetness.. pineapple, orange zest, and caramel were heavy at the core, with the related citrusy bitterness and some pine resin surrounding.. peppery alcohol amplified everything.. hot, sweet finish. Medium-plus bodied with a thicker feel on the palate and moderate-plus carbonation.. a big beer, no doubt, but unkempt and unenjoyable.

Sampled on draft at Lost River Brewing Company in Wardensville, WV. Pours a clear copper color with a medium head. Good head retention and lacing. Big resiny hop aroma with some caramel malts. Taste is very bitter and hoppy with earthy, resiny and herbal notes. Lots of toffee and brown sugar toffee notes as well. Medium-full bodied. Sticky.

2009-07-26. Crisp orange body with a modest off-white head. (3+) Pleasant hoppy aroma, sweet floral and fruity hops. (7+) Flavour is a rather nice blend of sweet and bitter citrusy hops, mild malt base is supportive by not a major player. Touch of lemon comes out strongly after have a nip of cheese. Rather lovely. Smooth average plus palate. (3+) Very drinkable. Bottle from Premier Gourmet

Pours gold with a nice whote head. Smells of citrus and dry malt. Tastes astringent and citrussy with a peppery finish.

Sample at Neil’s HSC initation. This brew is a hazy orange-amber color with a medium and creamy light beige head that diminishes slowly. Stringy lacing on the glass. Floral hops aroma with some malt in the background. Medium body with a moderately bitter hops character that has pine and floral notes. Sweet malt and caramel undertones as well. The finish is hoppy with a lingering citrus aftertaste. Pretty good overall.

on tap at Coles
Appearance: clear dark amber with mid plus creamy top. 3+
Nose: Fresh , citric hop character , light vegetable green , mild malty base. 7+
Flavor/Palate : Mid full bodied , good crisp hop bitterness . Full lip smacking bitter strong ale . Mature work.

Pours gold with 60 second head that started two inches tall. The aroma is up front grapefruit hops, some mild pine hops, grassiness and aged malty sweetness. The taste begins with a fresh pulse of grapefruit and tangelo hops. The sweet malts are there the whole time too but take over midway as the hops recede into the background. It ends with fading malt and caramel sweetness and a persistent grapefruit and orange peel hop bitterness. Pretty nice malty IPA below average IIPA.

bottle, lean amber color with short frothy foam, aroma of sweet pineapple, flavors of bitter melon, lemon, light resin, finish is tacky, bitter

355mL thanks to D Master P. The pour is a clear, lighter orange with a disappearing yellow head. No lace really sticking. Aroma is heavy kumquat, bitter cantaloupe rind, light fruity alcohol, vanilla extract, light coconut and pineapple rum. Actually much better than I expected. A far cry from strawberry cheesecake that most old DIPAs exhibit ad nauseum. Taste has an oily texture, sweet mango, pineapple rum, sharp but tolerable alcohol flash, bitter peel. Palate is bitter, oily, thick. Carbonation is pretty soft. Nice stuff. Much better than I expected.

Bottle (12oz). Bright clear deep amber pour, large lasting off-white creamy/fluffy head - thick lacing, too. Terrific resin/pine/grapefruit aroma, slightly mango-sweet, only mild alcohol - solid, just the thing. The taste carries the sweet tropical fruit, slightly overripe, but the bitterness is simpler, drier - resin and grapefruit pith, a little boozy. Average body, astringent and mildly carbonated, very long pithy bitter linger. Solid dIPA, and nice to have it in a smaller bottle.