Harpoon Leviathan Red Squared

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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My bottle [12oz] shared with HogTownHarry. Pours a deep orange-amber with an average size long-lasting frothy off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt, a decent amount of hops, fruit, light spices and some sugary sweetness. Flavour of caramel malt, lots of hops, light spices and some alcohol in the big bitter finish. Medium bodied. I quite liked this.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a medium nut brown color with a large creamy orange-tan head that lingered and left a bit of lacing. The aroma was a bit roasty and had a harsh fruity and floral hop presence. The flavor was bitter and harsh pine and fruity hops with undertones of bread an pepper. Medium length finish of pine, fruity hops, bread and pepper. Medium body. Ok.

Tap at the Pony Bar UES - NYC. Pours clear, rich copper-red with a fine, creamy head. Big nose, dripping with pine and caramel, some sweat and ripe orange. Huge flavor as well, modestly boozy, with lots of caramel malts, some brown sugar, assertive bitterness of heavy pine, lightly toasted grass, ripe grapefruit and orange, along with some berries and dirt. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Lightly warming to finish, quite resinous and sticky, with lots of dirt, earth and grass, some melon and papaya, toffee and caramel. Lingering dirty grass in the aftertaste. Malts toasted to the point where they give off suggestions of cocoa. It ain’t a subtle beer, but it’s alright.

This one poured a lighter red color with a beige head. Aroma was of toasted malt, caramel, and herbal hops. Flavor was similar, a typical imperial red, too malty and bitter hops.

12 oz. bottle that I purchased @ Nikki’s Liquors, Providence, R.I. for $2.99. Deep crimson color. Nose is pine resin with sweet caramel malts that reminds me of sticky pine needles at Christmas time. The flavor is much more citrus hops and less pine then I would have guessed after the nose. Earthy malts with a sticky texture. Resin does show up again lightly in the finish. This gets a few points for being different. An interesting mix of citrus, pine and huge, Earthy caramel maltyness. I like the direction Harpoon is headed with this brew.

New Beer Distributors, NY 12oz ($3): Pours a reddish color with a nice looking head. Aroma is a load of citrus hops, some strange yeastiness, and some very particular maltiness. Taste is rather bitter, especially towards the finish where there is a dry bitter bite. However, there is plenty of malt backbone as well. Aftertaste is bitter and a little bit sweet, but there is much less sweetness in the normal taste of this here ale. Interesting and pretty good.

4-pack. Good, strong IPA. American hop flavor, but a little different from the usual three C’s. Still some mix of citrus and floral. Kind of a red-orange color, ad it tastes like it. It’s funny that the brewery downplays the malt (the brewery site says "very little malt flavor"). That goes too far, though of course this isn’t a doppelbock. It’s a tasty strong IPA.

Tasted at Pony Bar Harpoon tap takeover. Tastes almost like a rye ipa, very complex yet smooth finish.

Pretty decent hopped up high alcohol content beer. Kind of a harsh taste/ bitterness but not undrinkable.

Bottle. Pours a clear brown amber with a medium sized beige head that deflates steadily and quickly. Huge spicy hops on the nose, very pungent, deep citrus and chewy malt that picks up a tiny bit of oxidized fruit. Medium to thick bodied, warm alcohol comes through early on, but it’s not overly boozy, somewhat sweet and sticky. A touch of earthy pungent hops and malt. Spicy into the finish, gentle bitterness lingers for a while. Tasty enough.