Harpoon Ale

Currently Thom’s Olde Ale is Harpoon Ale, our first beer.

The first in the Harpoon family of beers, our ale is a light amber in color, medium bodied, and well balanced. The slightly fruity aroma is from Harpoon’s special yeast.

265 reviews

Boston, United States

Community reviews

2.9 Tap during brewery tour. Pours gold/amber with thin, white head. Aroma and flavor are caramel and cereal malts, floral hops, light toast, and some light fruit.

3.2 At the source. Tan body with light head. Aroma of citrus and yeast. Nice light flavor, but a little light for me

3.3 Easy on the palate and sessionable. Not a mind-blowing beer, but a solid ale, nonetheless. Caramel sweetness, solid bread body. A bit of grass.

2.7 Clear golden copper appearence. Slight metallic hints on the aroma like a likened. Creamy easy drinking with clean finish.

3.0 Draft at the source. Clear golden color, small white head. Aroma of white pepper and straw. Taste is dilute lager. Good transition beer.

3.2 Draft at Harpoon Tasting Room. Great to try the original, and it stands up to time. Pale Crystal, malt alt-amber sour. but much hops to balance that. A small bier, but very tasty in a limited, restrained Ale

2.0 Light brown gold SRM of 9 Cinnamon. Malts. Sugar. Caramel. It’s very weak on the nose. Very wheaty. Grassy and bland. Whatever really. There’s some nuttiness like almonds on the finish 50/50 carb. Light body. Bitter roasted finish 40/100. Ugh

3.0 With a slight floral aroma and after-taste, this beer is great for mass consumption. The reason I could drink so much of this is that the flavors are subtle, offering a very light, enjoyable beer.

3.0 Bottle. Similar to the IPA, but more subdued aroma and flavor. Caramel and hops, with a hint of floral. Floral finish. Would consider buying only if the IPA weren’t available.

2.9 Clear, the color of apple juice with a fluffly white head. Smells of apple juice; fruity on the tongue, light hoppiness.

2.9 Reviewed from notes. Served in a tulip glass. Pours a golden amber color. White head without too much lacing but a decent amount of retention time. The nose is some light malt with a bit of caramel and bread. There are some light citrus and floral hops there as well. Taste is a bit bland with some bready malt, faint hops, and a bit of yeast. Decent body and carbonation. Nothing wrong with this beer, but a bit bland and I know that they can do better. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-13-2010

3.3 This is my favorite easy access amber ale, very smooth drinkablilty, very likable profile, getting a little harder to find unfortunately

2.4 A very thin beer. Light in flavor, little hops. Taste likes it was made for a masss audience. Little body and weak color. I’ve had better Boston made beers.

3.1 From notes: Pours a slightly hazy goldn amber color with a one finger white head that slowly fades into a lasting ring. Sporadic spots of lacing left behind. Earthy aroma with hints of grass, straw, biscuit malt and crisp light fruit. Medium bodied with a good balance of earthy hops and biscuit malt flavor. I’m also picking up hints of grass and straw as well as some citrus/lemon peel and crisp, light fruit notes(apple and pear). Slight dry finish. Nothing special but a decent sessionable beer.

3.6 Decent brownish copper pour. Ale is a very good "pub" beer. One of those that is tasty, but you don’t have to think about too much when hanging out with friends. Rated 3/16/03

4.2 Great ale. Seemed like a cross between an amber and a lite brown. Good smooth finish.

2.2 Has a malty, bready grain flavor throughout with a little bitter hop kick on the end. Nothing special

2.9 Pours a lacing beige head with a golden-amber body. Aromas of candi sugar, yeast, grass. Flavors are candi sugar, yeast, banana hint, grassy hops. Finish is some sweetness and bitterness. Reminds me somewhat of Nag Champa, the incense.

3.2 On tap at Harpoon Brewery, 8 October 2009. Clear amber. Slightly malty aroma. Touch of bubblegum. Medium mouthfeel. Hint of hop bitterness. Finishes with some sweet malt. Decent enough if not particularly exciting.

2.9 Location: On tap at Professor Thom’s (as Thom’s Old Ale), 9/15/09 Aroma: Fairly simple caramel malts, light fruit, light hops Appearance: Pours a decent amber color, with a thin head Flavor: Similar to the nose, a mostly malty beer, with a thin hop backing Palate: A medium bodied beer with a short duration Overall Impression: This is not the most exciting beer, but it is certainly drinkable. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it by any means. By the way, don’t bother asking the staff at Professor Thom’s what beer this is, because they had no idea. One of them told me it was a beer made exclusively for Thom’s, but that is not the case, it’s simply Harpoon Ale re-named at the bar.

3.0 Bottle: Poured an amber color with a small head. The aroma was malty and fruity. The flavor was sweet malts, touch of bitter, and a touch of fruit. Overall, an easy drinker.

3.1 Light amber orange, puffy eggshell colored head that lasts but leaves only spotty lacing. Aroma is big and fruity, pears and apples, a bit of metallic crystal malt. Taste is more metallic, astringent caramel. Has some yeasty fruitiness but the base beer is unpleasant.

2.8 12 oz bottle. Pours a brassy orange with decent offwhite head. The aroma is buttered toast with some light fruit and grain notes. The flavor is light toast with some lemon zest, raw grain, and a bit of an astringent twang. Finish is slightly doughy and short-lived. Mediocre.

3.0 Yellow pour with copper tints. Two finger white head that slowly becomes a veneer. Aroma is grapefruit hops, with slight fruity esters and bready malt. Flavor follows the trend, with a mild sweet malt character balanced by a floral and somewhat fruity hop presence. Palate is medium thickness and medium carbonation that finishes clean and semi dry. Yum.

2.5 Amber pour with a small white head. Aroma is subtle, with some malt, caramel, and a bit of fruity sweetness. Flavor is also soft, a bit of hop bitterness, and more very basic malt flavors. OK amber ale, and that’s about it.

3.1 Pours gold with a medium sized head. Aroma is malt with a touch of grassy hops. Mouthfeel is lively with carbonation and a bit thinin body. Flavor is mostly caramelly malt with a bit of hop bitterness, but not much flavor. There’s nothing wrong with this, but nothing special either.

2.6 Amber body with an off-white head. Aroma was of malt notes. Mostly grain but a weird fruit note that wasn’t quite citrus and not quite dried fruits. Flavor was of some corn notes and some caramel notes. Some hops. Not good but not awful.

2.8 Eh this is probably Harpoon’s worst offering. Not much of anything going on here; it tastes more like a lager than an ale. LC

3.0 Draft at the brewpub. Poured a clear light orange color. the head was fluffy and white with good retention and lacing. Smelled of light grass with hints of toffee and adhesive tape. Light to medium bodied and delicately sweet. Soft toffee dominated the flavor with hints of cereal and grass in the background.

2.1 A boring and bland amber ale. Funny it’s called an amber because the pour was a dark gold with a thin off white ring for a head. Aroma was very weak. There was some graininess but not much else. Taste was very weak and boring. More graininess with just a hint of caramel malt that you have to search for. Decent carbonation with no aftertaste. Very boring.