Review: Harpoon MacGuffin Wee Heavy and Catamount Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter
Boston’s Harpoon Brewery has a pair of new special editions out. Let’s dig in to the seasonal duo.
Harpoon MacGuffin Wee Heavy – The Hitchcockian mystery alluded to in the name of Harpoon’s latest could very well apply to its alcohol level. MacGuffin (#67 in the operation’s 100 Barrel Series) drinks at first like an approachable porter, masking its impressive alcohol level: a whopping 11.8% abv. Brewed with fresh thyme and honey, it’s a delight on many levels, offering notes of spice (both baking and clear thyme notes), figs, rolled oats, chocolate sauce, and a slight coffee character. Hints of balsamic on the finish allude ample alcohol… and to what’s in store for you should you polish a couple of these pints. 11.8% abv. B+ / $12 per four-pack of 16 oz cans
Harpoon Catamount Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter – Available exclusively on Harpoon Brewery’s Vermont and Massachusetts’s brew pubs, this porter features a unique combination of eight different malts and is aged for 11 months in bourbon barrels. A raucous beast with tons of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla, it lacks the sometimes cloying sweetness common with bourbon barrel aging, replacing it with a more seductive, fireside note. The cocoa-coffee combo endures from the initial attack well into the finish, where notes of toasted marshmallows, toasted coconut, and graham cracker pie crust seem less like dessert and more like the perfect complements to the layers and layers of malt running beneath them. 10.2% abv. A / $NA (22 oz. bottle)
Harpoon Catamount Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter
0.00
