Last month, during a trip to Boston, I stopped in to my most favorite place in the world, Julio’s Liquors. I picked up, among other things, a few bottles of Harpoon’s newest offering: Leviathan. Rather than write an individual article on each beer, here are all three I sampled all together in one big affront to my sobriety.

The History
Harpoon Brewery is known to most as the ‘other’ Boston Microbrew. A little bit smaller, a little bit younger, and (in my opinion) a little bit less adventurous than their friends across town at Sam Adams. Started in 1986, Harpoon is best known for their IPA and brews eight beers year round, plus four seaonals and a medley of limited-release ‘100 Barrel Series’ beers.
Leviathan is a new, somewhat limited, series of ‘big’ brews introduced in 2008. Of the five beers currently available - and one since retired - I was able to find and sample three: Big Bohemian Pilsner, Imperial IPA, and Quad. Not yet imbibed are Baltic Porter, Saison Royale, and Triticus (retired).

The Tasting(s)

Imperial IPA
The Imperial IPA is made with “copious amounts of Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops” (as well as other un-named varieties) and a mostly pale malt mash. The beer is also dry hopped during fermentation to increase the aroma. IIPA weighs in at 10% ABV and 122 IBUs.
Pours a dark apple juice hue. Cream colored head is thick, lacy, and long-lasting. Aroma is very piney, with a hint of citrus.
The beer tastes a lot like it smells. Lots of pine needle, a a bit of pepper, and barely a hint of grapefruit. A pale malt backbone dominates the middle, balancing out the initial hoppy oils. Finally, a puckery bitter aftertaste reminiscent of Harpoon’s normal IPA.
As for mouthfeel, it’s heavier than it looks, but only about a medium thickness. A bit oily. The alcohol definitely sneaks up on you. This beer looks, tastes, and feels a lot weaker than the 10% ABV it actually is.
The Leviathan is almost too balanced for a good IIPA. Pale malt overwhelms, and the hops simply aren’t ‘light’ enough. A lack of residual sugar sweetness makes for a rather unpleasant aftertaste. Perhaps it’s just personal opinion, but I’ve always had a problem with Harpoon IPAs. This one is no different.
6.5/10

Big Bohemian Pilsner
The excellently named “Big Bohemian” is a beefy twist on the classic Czech pilsner style. Billed as a “large lager with a clean maltiness and a huge aromatic hop character”, this beer checks in at around 9% ABV.
The Pilsner is a straw color with a thin head of big, fat carbon bubbles. On first glance it actually looks kind of like I decanted a Bud Light. Smells a bit like a concentrated Budweiser, in fact. The aroma is a big dose of pale malt. A slight citrus hop sneaks in too, but it’s barely identifiable.
The main flavor is a dry maltiness. Apple, plus an earthy, grassy flavor. Some spicy hops and a definite alcoholic tinge toward the end. The finish is a bittery spice ‘bite’ that left me wishing for some food to cut the aftertaste. A nice sweet cheese would totally hit the spot.
Sweetness becomes more intense as the beer warms. Same basic flavors, just magnified. Plus a bit of dough up front. Carbonation dies about midway through, which really ups the fruitiness and the thickness. By the end I feel like I’m drinking fermented apple juice.
The mouthfeel is thick for a pilsner, but not overwhelming. It’s similar to what I’d expect from a good Belgian Tripel, not syrupy, but it definitely fills the mouth.
All in all an interesting take on the Pilsner style. Very few ‘big’ beers are lagers, and it’s nice to see someone at least attempting to push the boundary - even if it’s not the most successful attempt. It’s not my favorite, but Big Bohemian is definitely something different.
5/10

Quad
The strongest of the bunch at 11.75% ABV, quad is fermented using traditional Trappist yeasts and mostly caramel malts. Brewers Gold hops and Belgian Dark Candi Syrup finish up the recipe. Quads (Quadrupels) typically are strong, dark, and malty, and this is no exception.
The beer pours a cloudy caramel with almost no head. It appears to be unfiltered or/and bottle conditioned. I was unable to find any real info on the brewing, but there’s definitely some sediment floating around in there. There’s barely a smell, which came as a slight disappointment.
The taste is bold and fairly complex. Bitter cherries, a strong raisin quality, and dark chocolate. Slight hops at the end. Noticeable alcohol presence, much more than the others. There’s also the same characteristic hoppy aftertaste as the other two beers - which is definitely not a good thing. Some interesting yeast complexity, but it doesn’t save the beer.
6/10

The Verdict
Overall, bit of a let down all around. Not a bad set of beers, but not a great set either. Some great up front flavors were ruined by what was - in my opinion - a bad choice of hops on all three (especially the quad). I’ve never really been too impressed with Harpoon (save for a couple of the 100 Barrel batches), but I thought their foray into bigger beers might help change my mind. Unfortunately, the Leviathan series just comes off as a half-cocked response to other ‘extreme’ microbrews that leaves me underwhelmed.

Tags: 5/10, 6/10, harpoon, ipa, leviathan, pilsner, quad
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