The Harpoon Brewery Releases 100 Barrel Series Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde
Boston, MA – The Harpoon Brewery has just released the latest installment in our 100 Barrel Series, Harpoon Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde. This was the winning beer of our annual employee brewing competition called the Harpoon Kettle Cup. A team made up of Harpooners who work in various roles of our distribution department took the grand prize with their beautifully brewed hoppy Belgian blonde.
It all started as a friendly brewing competition among Harpoon employees. About 4 years ago, brewery staffers from every department were invited to brew a beer of their choosing and present it to their colleagues for a blind sampling and voting at the company’s annual gathering in Vermont. Each year the competition became more fierce and the entries more numerous and diverse. The Harpoon Kettle Cup was born. Before the most recent competition, it was decided that the winning beer would be brewed as a 100 Barrel Series beer – the Kettle Cup stakes had officially been raised. Out of nearly 3 dozen entries, a hoppy golden blond sailed to a clear victory. Harpoon is proud to release the 47th session of the 100 Barrel Series, Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde.
The Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde was brewed by John Bagdonas, Kevin Eibensteiner, and Chris Sweatman of the Harpoon Distributing Company, under the guidance of brewer Charlie Cummings. This was the third year in row this team had worked together to brew a beer for the Kettle Cup.
“We managed to be a great brewing team despite the fact that we
“Our strategy for the competition was to brew something that we wanted to drink at the end of the day,” says John. “We all love hoppy beers and we love Belgian beers, so this was a perfect marriage.”
This delightfully drinkable Belgian-style ale features a big kick of American hops. A Belgian yeast strain, Bastogne, was used to give it a fruity/spicy character. A generous dose of hops – including Galaxy, Simcoe, Chinook, and an addition of whole Cascade hops – yields a powerful hop nose and flavor. The finish is sharp and satisfying.
Harpoon introduced the 100 Barrel Series in 2003 to showcase the individual brewing talents of its brewers. Every couple months, a different Harpoon brewer is invited to choose a style of beer, formulate the recipe, and brew the beer. That brewer’s signature can be found on the bottle label. The beers in the series are one-offs; they are brewed in limited batches and are available only until the batch sells out. Since the series began in May of 2003, 46 different styles of beer have been brewed. For a complete list of beers that have been released as part of the 100 Barrel Series, visit www.harpoonbrewery.com.
The Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde is available in 22 oz. bottles with limited draft availability.
Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Hoppy Belgian Style Blonde Beer Specifications:
ABV: 6.5% – IBUs: 53 – Color: Golden Blond
About the Harpoon Brewery:
The Harpoon Brewery was founded by beers lovers, Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary. In 1986 Harpoon was issued Brewing Permit #001 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, since it was the first brewery to brew commercially in Boston after a dormant period of about 25 years. Harpoon’s line of craft beer features its award winning IPA and UFO Hefeweizen beers, along with four special seasonal selections. In 2000 Harpoon purchased a second brewery in Windsor, VT, making Harpoon the 9th largest craft brewer in the US. Harpoon has since introduced the limited batch 100 Barrel Series and the as well as the all-natural Harpoon Cider made from freshly pressed, local apples.
www.harpoonbrewery.com – @harpoon_brewery – facebook
