Harpoon UFO Pale Ale

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: English Pale Ale
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Pour from a 12oz bottle. Copper amber brew with an off white head. Great aroma dominated with citrus, pine and grassy hops; some malt and yeastiness in there as well. Flavor is great and distinctive. There is something about Harpoon’s brews that is just plain different - there is a flavor that plays out on the taste buds like a subset of chocolate, but not sweet and more umami. Any way you slice it, it is a distictive and unique quality that I only see in their brews. Here is it most excellently presented against a backdrop that has the elements of a fine traditional English Pale Ale - great malt backbone and excellent pine and grassy hops. Combine their unique flavor with that and you have one helluva great brew. I went through a big Harpoon stage a year or so ago, back when ratebeer was KO’d by the hacker attack, and never posted comments on them. It will be nice to get back into their stuff. And while I greatly appreciate the wonderfully crafted brews out there, Harpoon reminds me of the importance of distictiveness.

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is hazy orange with a foamy white head and some nice lacing. The smell is of some really sweet sugary malt flavor. Some hints of citrus hops and a bit of a wheat smell as well. The taste is a bit tangy with some bitter citrus hops as well as some fruitiness as well. A slight lemon and orange flavor is present. The beer is quite light and quite easy drinking. It goes down pretty well almost as an after thought and there is no bitter aftertaste.

A great pale ale here people, with recollection of happy hops exposed to terrfic tastes this brew does not dissapoint. Enjoyment is necessary.

Popping the cap reveals the resinous nose of the hops that continues in the glass. The undelyling malt is thin but refreshing on a summer day. The appearance is cloudy revealing its UFO pedigree. Pleasantly surprised by its palate since the hoppy nose was similar to the heaviness of on IPA and not wanted in a Pale Ale. Served in a Samuel Smith glass followed by a Samuel Adams Summer Ale (new recipe, still have an old recipe in the fridge), the best of all three worlds :>). Amen. Remember, God gave us beer.

Beautiful hazed orange-copper with soft off-white head and decent lacing. Fairly hoppy floral aroma. Lightly floral hoppy taste. A great ale.

Sampled at the brewery in Boston. Hop aroma like crazy, but with a bit of fruit and maltiness.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. There is no noticeable freshness date on the label. Appearance: On top sits a good two finger head made from an aggressive pour. Under the head is a warm cloudy amber colored brew. As I drink it makes some slick lacing on the glass. Smell: The aroma has a nice bready and yeast like character with a light fruity estery note. Hops are light for the style but they also add a little fruity citrus and floral character. Taste/Palate: There is a simple but nice medium bodied mix of sweet bready malt and yeast with slight hints of hops and fruity esters. The hops pop out a little more deep into the slow finish. Its texture is smooth with mellow yet active carbonation. Notes: This is a nice easy drinking and average pale ale.

A hazy amber color, slightly darker than Harpoon’s UFO Hefeweizen, with a frothy white head. Aroma mostly consists of citrus and pine with only a hint of the yeast’s earthiness. Light bitterness. Light body with average carbonation and a clean, crisp finish. I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

12oz Bottle, purchased at People’s Liquor - Warwick, RI. I must say, right off the bat that I count the idea of bottling an unfiltered hoppy pale ale as up there as stupid. Trying to see through this unfortunate bias, I’m greeted with a nice potent grassy hop aroma and a mild, clean, fresh-tasting beer. Rich, full bodied and a reasonable pale ale. It’s even not lack luster, thin, flat and flavorless like most English Pale Ales that I encounter in the states. I appreciate that it has the best by date written right on the neck, so that I can know that while drinking this beer exactly two weeks past that point that it’s still holding on okay.

[3697-20110416] 12floz bottle. Fresh lemon citrus peel aroma. Hazy, light orange yellow body with a medium-lasting foamy white head. Citrus lemon flavour. Medium body. Average, nice aroma. (8/3/7/3/14) 3.5
(c/o RadekKliber, w/ him, jerc, JoeMcPhee, Sammy)