In 1986 Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle, and George Ligeti received Brewing Permit #001 for Harpoon Brewery. They had a warehouse on the Boston waterfront and the brewing equipment, and then found Russ Heissner as head brewer. Russ started formulating the recipe for Harpoon Ale in the summer of 1986 and in June of 1987 it was released. In 1992 Harpoon IPA was released as one of the first IPA’s available. It quickly became their bestselling beer and flagship. As their popularity grew they needed to increase their production capability. In 2000, they purchased the former Catamount Brewery in Windsor, VT. In August 2014, Harpoon became an employee owned company, with 48% of the company given to employees through the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Program.
We visited the Harpoon Brewery located on the Boston waterfront on a Wednesday afternoon. It is a large place lined with communal tables and views of the water. It is a very festive environment, embracing their motto of “Love Beer. Love Life”. I hear they offer a great tour, but we did not partake. Good views of the workings of the brewery are visible from the tasting room, including a very cool automated keg filling station. There were 18 beers on tap with 5 different UFO styles. The specialty mixed secret beer of the day was called “The Ultimate Fruit Salad” and was especially tasty! They also offer a variety of spent grain fresh pretzels voted Best Pretzel in Boston.
The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel is pretty close to Harpoon. Also nearby is Yankee Lobster, a great place for lobster rolls and delicious seafood!
Recent Comments