Not exactly an IPA...

Well, we all make mistakes, right? When I was at my LHBS the other day I picked up a 6-er of IPAs for this week's post. Or so I thought. What ended up in my fridge was 5 IPAs, and 1 Imperial Rye. Whoops.

All is not lost though, because this blog is all about trying new and different beers. My beverage-by-mistake for today is Harpoon's Leviathan Imperial Rye. As I was talking to the resident beer guru he said that I could not pass up the chance to get the Harpoon "Leviathan Imperial IPA", and I simply grabbed the wrong bottle. Anybody could've done the same. The name is practically the same, and the only difference in the bottle is the color. This one is purple and that one is blue. I'm all about consistent branding... but wouldn't you want your customer to know what is in the bottle they're about to open?

See what I mean [here].

Anyways, this beer is actually very new to the market. Harpoon's site has it listed that this beer hit shelves in June  2011, and I can't really find a ton of other info about it other than it is a new release. This brew pours a dark amber, almost brown color, and has a noticeable aroma to it as soon as the bottle is opened. It has a very strong malty flavor, and there is little here that masks the alcohol taste. Bitterness is average with hardly any noticeable hop flavor. The aftertaste is probably the best part, however that isn't saying much. I feel that my tastebuds already want me to be done with this beer... and I'm only a couple of sips in. The best way I could describe this is that the flavors are backwards. If that makes sense. Maybe it's just because I was anticipating an IPA and got something completely different, but I probably won't be ordering this one any time soon.

Harpoon is actually one of the first types of craftbeer I had someone buy for me when I turned 21. I think it was a UFO Hefeweizen. I remember it being pretty good which lead to me being excited for this one. Oh well. I think I am going to save the Harpoon history break down for the next time one of their beers ends up in my fridge.

For now I will post a reminder/invite for you to come to the SweetWater brewery tomorrow for #IPADay. It's going to be a blast. And tasty. Will be posting my notes from as many of the different styles as I can once I get home. Probably after a cab ride.

Harpoon Brewery
Leviathan Series
Imperial Rye
8.9% abv