Harpoon Winter Warmer

posted: 2008/11/26 by: themichaelschneider
Beer Type:  Rating: 

Winter means fresh tracks at Sugarbush, those friggin brilliantly delicious waffles they have, my good friend Grateful Pete saying things like “that was a real thigh burner” after every single trail and of course the winter seasonal brews.

Caution: If you’re a Bud-slugger, a Blatzman, a pisswater guzzler, or a Schlitz Sessioner the seasonals are not for you. You will be bowled over by their intensity their is more than a fair chance that you will reguritate on first sip.  Even Raveen, who has cultured pallette and (I assume) an advanced degree in  lagerology and  is not a fan of this particular product.

Harpoon Winter Warmer is the season in a glass. When you crack open the bottle, there is an intense smell of nutmeg, holly, cloves and pine. It pours a beautiful, burnt orange. The flavor is a little intense. You can taste the cinnamon and nutmeg. The bite comes from the spices moreso than the moderate hops. These fade a little as the beer warms.

Put the disclaimer on this beer if you bring it to a party.  If you’re like me, it pains you to see someone drink one who does not appreciate its intensity. Sessionable? Not for everyone. Compare it to Great Lakes Christmas Ale if you can get your hands on some.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Beer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • First of all congratulation for such a great site. I learned a lot reading article here today. I will make sure i visit this site once a day so i can learn more.
  • I literally drank a gallon of this stuff last night. For some reason, it tastes the best at People's Republik in Central Square!
  • Andrew,

    Harpoon Winter Warmer is pretty polarizing. People either love or hate. I have never heard someone say "eh, it's all right". Assuming that Not Your Average Joe's runs a clean establishment, what you tasted was probably the hops, nutmeg and cinnamon. You could verify that by having another from a bottle or you could try another winter seasonal and see if you like spices in your beer. Sierra Nevada Celebration has about the same level of spices, although I think its calibration is off. The Samuel Adams winter seasonal beers (Old Fezziwig and Winter Lager) are very very light on the spices so I would not call them a good point for comparison (unless you just want to compare Harpoon Warmer to a delicious beer).

    Thanks for the comment and for kicking off the discussion.

    TwoBusy, you NAILED it!
  • Love this stuff. A gingerbread house in a bottle... for super-spiced holiday joy, it's tough to beat.
  • Andrew Choy
    I tried this tonight at Not Your Average Joes in a glass and the finish was very, very rough, I don't know if it was the batch/glass/dirty taps - it tasted like nail polish remover in the back of the throat. I tried it a few more times, but didn't end up being able to drink it. I am not a "___ light" drinker either, I enjoy my Sam Adams, Smithwick's and Guinness. Let me know if that's just a flavor I'm not familiar with (nutmeg) or some sort of contamination.
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