Sometimes I think the IPA craze is getting out of hand. We now have English IPA and American IPA, German IPA and Belgian IPA. Imperial IPA and double IPA, black IPA and white IPA. I shouldn’t be complaining, of course, as there are a number of great beers to come out of all these styles. The latter on my last, white IPA, is what I’m drinking tonight: Harpoon White IPA to be specific.
Harpoon White IPA was introduced by Boston’s Harpoon brewery in August of 2012 as release number 43 in the brewery’s one-off 100 Barrel Series. In December of that year it was released in six-packs too with a new label; it’s also been included in some of the brewery’s 12-pack samplers.
On the label, Harpoon describes the beer as follows:
A refreshingly hoppy hybrid, our White IPA balances the soft malty mouthfeel and subtle spiciness of a Belgian wit with the floral and citrus character of an American IPA.
Harpoon White IPA has an alcohol content of 6.2% by volume and 45 IBUs. Harpoon says it is brewed with Simcoe, Citra, and Cascade hops. Here in Atlanta it runs $9.99 a six-pack, about a dollar higher than I think it should be really.
Harpoon White IPA pours to a cloudy yellow orange color with a thick creamy head formation and a spicy coriander and bitter orange nose. Taking a sip, I get some caramel malt and tart crackery wheat, then more bitter orange rind, all before an onslaught of grapefruit hop character hits. The beer finishes with an intense dry lingering bitterness.
Harpoon touts this as a mildly spiced beer, and I think it may be too mildly spiced. The orange and coriander were more apparent in the nose than in the palate; in fact I didn’t get much coriander in the palate at all. The hops seem to overwhelm most of the spice here, and that leaves the end product much more of an IPA than a wit. That said, the wit presence is not totally lost.
Compare to Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA; I like Saranac White IPA better than both of them.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft