Harpoon Brewery Update: Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA, Leviathan Imperial Rye

(Boston, MA) – Some news and notes out of Harpoon Brewery…

First off, here is the official write-up for the brewery’s upcoming 100 Barrel Series release, Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA, due in late May in 22s and on draft:

Brewing our Rye IPA has given us the opportunity to reflect on 25 years of Harpoon…and yet another excuse to have a pint or two of beer together on the brewhouse floor. As all good partnerships ruire give and take, we went back and forth on the specifics of this unfiltered Rye IPA. In choosing this style, we pooled our individual ideas and preferences to create something that we would both enjoy and, we hope, something that you will enjoy as well.

We brewed the beer with our proprietary yeast – the same yeast we’ve used since first brewing Harpoon Ale- and some relatively new malt and hop varieties. The combination of Pale, Maris Otter, Rye, Caramel 60, Flaked rye, and Vienna yield a complex malt body that stands up to the spiciness of the rye and the pronounced hop flavor. The rye also adds a reddish hue to the beer. The kettle additions of Centennial, Willamette, and Chinook, and the dry hop addition of Falconer’s Flight add a multidimensional hop character. This beer has a fruity, subtly spicy aroma, a full mouthfeel, and a dry finish.

We brewed this beer together to celebrate 25 years of Harpoon and as a toast to you for making more than two decades of brewing craft beer in New England so great.

Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary
Harpoon Co-Founders and Brewers of Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA

Other brewery notes:

Harpoon Leviathan Uber-Bock just hit shelves this past week.

Harpoon got label approval for Leviathan Imperial Rye (4-packs and presumably draft) which is scheduled to debut in June. Uber-Bock was originally slated for April so don’t be surprised if this is slightly pushed back.

Harpoon released some year-to-date growth numbers internally: