100 Barrel Series #03 - Abbey Style Ale
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

100 Barrel Series #03 - Abbey Style Ale100 Barrel Series #03 - Abbey Style Ale
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From:
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 11.4%
Reviews:
31
Ratings:
35
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 14, 2013
Added:
Oct 12, 2003
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by taez555:
Photo of taez555
Reviewed by taez555 from Vermont

4.39/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This beer poured a large white head that died almost immediately, but still never disappeared completely. The body was a clear orange/tan with lots of bubbles rising up through.

The nose was beautiful. Sweet, malty, fruits, pears, apples, pear peel, some slight phenols, banana, and bubble gum. It actually smelled a lot like a Belgian triple like duvel.

The taste was medium bodied. Light and malty. Fruity, apples, pears, bubble gum. A nice earthy hoppiness with just a touch of citrus. A little overboard at times, and the citrus hoppiness is a little more present than you might expect from a Belgian style beer, but it sits nicely.

Simply put, it’s really a superb beer. My favorite of the 100 barrel series so far. Almost a dead on copy of a Belgian triple. This beer basically tastes like Duvel mixed with a splash of Harpoon IPA. Great beer.
Jan 10, 2004
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by swinyeju from New Hampshire

Jun 13, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by jfcaa193 from Canada (QC)

Feb 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Dec 06, 2011
Photo of Brent
Reviewed by Brent from Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Having recently been disappointed a couple of days ago in Anderson Valley's attempt at producing an triple, this beer was a welcome follow up. While this beer does fall within that broad spectrum of "Belgian pale ale" it was somewhat triple-ish. High crown of tight foam. Peachy golden color. Some light orchard fruit flavors and reserved clove - not terribly phenolic or yeasty. Golden malt flavor, just a touch of caramel. Well balanced and exceptionally drinkable - one of the highest marks for drinkability I've given - which is surpising for me in a Belgian ale, as I usually find one is enough in a sitting. A well-built beer. Thanks to far333 for the sample.
Nov 30, 2004
Photo of ybnorml
Reviewed by ybnorml from Rhode Island

3.2/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A hazey light orange/amber ale with an off white head that dissapears quickly. Has a light fruity, almost peachy, sweet aroma with a hint of spice. The flavor has a light fruity sweetness the is quickly overtaken by the lightly peppery hop finish. All of which hides the 6.5% alcohol component.
Nov 18, 2004
Photo of lagrin
Reviewed by lagrin from Connecticut

3.38/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Cloudy orange appearance, light carbonation for style with very little head forming -- just a ring clinging to the sides of the glass.

Aroma is of spicy pine and sweet orange and yeast dough.

Feels light in mouth with a nice combination of orange, sweet malts and light bitterness. While not overbearing, alcohol flavor is evident and nicely rounds out the other flavor components.

While this is a solid attempt at the style and an overall enjoyable beer, it doesn't knock my socks off. I may pick up another bottle for a rainy day or cold night but won't go out of my way.
Oct 31, 2004
Photo of lackenhauser
Reviewed by lackenhauser from Maryland

4.39/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Nice coppery,slightly hazy color. Good carbonation but not a lot of head.Great aroma-bananas,spices,maybe almost a kiwi-like aroma. Flavor is malty-clove like. Nice full bodied mouthfeel-somewhat astringint in the finish. Great beer-I like the fact its somewhat lower in alcohol-makes it so you can easily have more then one-try some.
Aug 13, 2004
Photo of connecticutpoet
Reviewed by connecticutpoet from Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was a nice, amber, slightly cloudy beer with a nice head. It held much promise.

I detected apples, pine, and hop notes in the aroma. Again, a lot of potential.

This had a rich smooth malt flavor, slightly sweet and nutty, without the hop bitterness I expected from the aroma. It still tasted very nice, it was just a surprise.

If you can find one, get it before it's gone.
Jun 20, 2004
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

3.95/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
The beer after it extravasates the 22 ounce brown bottle set in the glass an opalescent and slightly hazy orange, the head is moderate in size, creamy in texture and a toothsome light tan. The nose is sweetly malt, fresh crisp and clean with a slight hint of yeast, a nice sniffable beer, start is sweet and pleasingly malted, the top is middling in its feel to the palate. The finish is sternly acidic, the hop pleasing and relatively mild, quite dry aftertaste that lingers long on the palate.
Apr 25, 2004
Photo of necoadam
Reviewed by necoadam from Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Abbey Dubbel? When I poured it, it looked more like a tripel than a dubbel, but whatever. This was session 03, batch date 9/8/03. Poured out a hazy orange/golden color with a decent amount of carbonation in it. Smell consisted of fruit notes with some malts. Taste was right to the point. Fruit mixed with some spiciness hits the palate all the way through. A little bit of clove? Aftertaste reminds me of a hefe aftertaste a little bit. The body and character is nice and full and creamy, quite decent. I like this beer. It might not be a abbey style, but good nevertheless.
Apr 21, 2004
Photo of beerluvr
Reviewed by beerluvr from Canada (ON)

4.43/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Fills the trusty Duvel tulip with a healthy white head that slowly and lovingly collapses upon delicately hazy golden/brassy liquid goodness. Sweet-spicy Witbier aromas fill the nose. The taste too is somewhat similar to a white ale, also very fruity with a dash of candi sugar thrown in for a nice sweet rush of flavor. Some mild hoppiness mixed with light tanginess blends well with the aforementioned tastes. The finish was a nice long journey over the palate and down the throat with a sweet-fruity ending. Great beer, I could drink this all night, although a sort of mish-mash of Abbey styles it was very tasty, thanks again to sulldaddy for this brew!
Apr 11, 2004
Photo of far333
Reviewed by far333 from Connecticut

2.88/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Am I expecting too much? A pale yellow color with columns of bubbles rising up to meet a low frothy off-white head that disappears quickly. Powerful aroma of yeast, yeast, and yeast, tinged with a faint bit of sweet fruit and spice. Flavor also is very sweet, and overpowered by yeast. There's a tinny flavor riding beneath that detracts even more. Body is light and thin, a bit fizzy.
Apr 05, 2004
Photo of AllThingsNinja
Reviewed by AllThingsNinja from Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Version 3, Bottled 9/8/03

This beer poured a wonderful deep golden amber, with a fair but dissipating head. The mild aromas were of yeast and spice.

The flavor was quite enjoyable, but not really true to either the Dubble or Tripple style. There's a distinct "Harpoonness", which I attribute to the yeast. It doesn't offer the limitless complexity of some Abbey styled ales, but does afford some interesting robust flavors.

This brew has an excellent mouth feel, with a rich full body and a smoothness that could make it a sophisticated session brew.
Mar 28, 2004
Photo of BierReise
Reviewed by BierReise from Florida

3.82/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
22oz Bomber Batch Date 9/8/03 Poured a glowing cloudy orange with a small head that dissapeared rather fast leaving only thin scattered dollops of foam. Has alot of yeast in the aroma along with some Tripel like notes of spice and fruit. The mouthfeel on this ale is excellent. Effervescent and medium bodied that is slightly creamy. Flavor is much like a Tripel in my opinion. Fruity and spicy with notes of candy sugar and Belgium yeast. Although not to style, this ale is still a decent effort for such a large and what I consider lackluster brewery. At least they didn't incorporate their one dimensional use of cascade pellets to this one. Ouch! Thanks to Ppoitras for the sample.
Mar 21, 2004
Photo of fdrich29
Reviewed by fdrich29 from Massachusetts

3.87/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This is take two on this brew from Harpoon. I first tried this about a month ago but wanted to give it a second shot before I reviewed it.

Poured a cloudy amber/orange that barely let light pass through. The smell was of banana, nuts and a strong wiff of alcohol.

Taste was smooth, pleasant and reminded me of eating a breakfast muffin. This was a sweet tasting beer with friendly mouthfeel. I find it extremely easy to drink, as it's light and sweet with only 6.5% abv, and is reasonably priced at approximately $4.50 for a 1 pint, 6 oz bottle.

Overall a good representative of Harpoon's 100 Barrel Series and reason enough to look forward to their next attempt at limited edition beers.
Mar 19, 2004
Photo of krberg
Reviewed by krberg from Oregon

2.46/5  rDev -36.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Looks great! Light copper with a white head. No yeasties yet, so its still crystal clear.

Smells like an abbey ale. The profile is all yeasty spice.

Not bad. Most of the flavor is that spicy taste we all know. Then slightly bitter, followed by biscuits. Sweet though. Too sweet. Reminds me of soda water and honey.

A big CO2 bite. Right on track.

I don't know, I think this is another beer for me today that is too sweet to drink a lot of.

Kind of like a somewhat decent homebrew. If I made this, I'd have dumped the batch down the drain. If a friend made it, I'd tell him it was a decent beer and decline a second one. There are great Belgian-style brewers in the States, however Harpoon isn't one of them. Wait, let me rephrase: There are great brewers in the States, however Harpoon isn't one of them. Too bad they bought out Catamount.
Mar 14, 2004
Photo of UnionMade
Reviewed by UnionMade from New York

3.61/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
The beer pours a lightly hazy golden amber, hinting slightly at orange. A thick crop of almond head quickly appears, settling into a thick misty coating that keeps throughout. Plenty of lace sticks to the glass, forming broken belgian lace. Tons of carbonation bubbles float up rapidly.
The aroma is very sweet, with a dominating toasty caramel maltiness and plenty of candi sugar. Rather fruity, with hints of apple, banana, white grape, and pear. A bit of green raisin. Some green apple, along with a suggestion of raspberry tartness. Spicy belgian yeast, with lightly phenolic clove and a bit of peppery hops. Despite the variety of aromas, it's a bit simplified, although retaining a good sweet and sour balance. A bit of astringent alcohol adds a bit of a kick.
The flavor starts with a sweet, candi-enhanced toasty maltiness. The malt dominates throughout, moving into a supressed estery fruitiness. A bit of doughy yeast. Hints of pear, green raisin and banana,although all are a bit muddy and obscured. Some clove and spicy yeast takes up the finish, blending pleasantly with the fruitiness. Vague peppery hopping, with a whisp of maraschino cherry right in the end. The alcohol is present, adding a tinny bite in the swallow. The malty sweetness lingers in the aftertaste, with a bit of a yeasty cookie dough flavor. A bit syrupy feeling. Exuberant carbonation easily carries the full-ish medium body. The yeast adds some smoothness and continuity to the overall feel, and governs the carbonation, slowing it down enough that it doesn't feel jumpy.
I don't know what they were shooting for with this beer. It seems to have some tripel qualities, along with belgian pale/blonde ale and abbey dubbel. Pretty tasty, but nothing that's going to give the belgians a run for their money. The flavors are somewhat muddy and indistinct, masked a bit by the carbonation, but it's an enjoyable enough brew. A little disappointing after the Oatmeal Stout and Wit, which were great.
Mar 13, 2004
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
22ozer bottle from Yankee Spirits, Sturbridge, MA. Gold-foiled cap.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a large-bubbled inch-plus tall off-white colored head on top of aslightly cloudy orangey-amber colored brew. Aroma is slightly grainy, with a notable scent of yeast as well. Taste has similarity to a white beer, with the expected citrus and smoothness of same, but has just a touch of noticeable alcohol warming of the tougue in the after effects. Dangerously drinkable, maybe it'll make a reappearance in their regular lineup someday...
Mar 04, 2004
100 Barrel Series #03 - Abbey Style Ale from Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 35 ratings