Harpoon Celtic Red
Formerly known as Hibernian Ale and Celtic Ale.
Having brewed in South Boston since 1987, it was probably only a matter of time before we decided to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day (Evacuation Day - coincidentally a holiday - in Boston). It’s a beer that we thought would pair well with the late winter as well: malty enough to stand up to the cold but balanced enough to hint at Spring.
Description
Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep ruby color, medium body, and a balanced malt bill created by Irish Ale malt and a touch of roasted barley. Rich in tradition and sessionable in character, Harpoon Celtic is the ideal Spring seasonal. Available on tap: January-March.
Having brewed in South Boston since 1987, it was probably only a matter of time before we decided to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day (Evacuation Day - coincidentally a holiday - in Boston). It’s a beer that we thought would pair well with the late winter as well: malty enough to stand up to the cold but balanced enough to hint at Spring.
Description
Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep ruby color, medium body, and a balanced malt bill created by Irish Ale malt and a touch of roasted barley. Rich in tradition and sessionable in character, Harpoon Celtic is the ideal Spring seasonal. Available on tap: January-March.
2.9
469 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
No retention and no lacing. Smells of toasted malt, toffee and caramel. Tastes of toffee, dark fruits and toasted malt. Caramel aftertaste. Slight bitterness.
12oz bottle at home. Pours a clear, deep copper red with a nicely lingering beige head. Aroma has a ton of chocolate and toffee, with some lighter cereal and caramel when given a swirl. Smells huge like a chocolate stout. Taste is a little thin comparable, with a medium neutral malt sweetness and a light perfumed hop bitterness. Slightly metallic with a lively medium mouthfeel. Pretty decent example of an Irish Red.
12oz bottle thanks to Phil
Clear amber with a small beige head, no lacing. Aroma of caramel, toasted malts, sweet and dark fruit. Flavors of roasted malts, sweet caramel and wet wood
OK, but I wouldn’t have another
12fl oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Bronze-amber with a small tan cap. Aroma is very subtle hops. Lively carbonation. Flavor is musty basement, rotting wood and mild biscuit. Lasting bitter finish. Not quite as terrible as I make it sound but I’m not a fan.
Total Wine, Fairfax 12oz: Pours amber with a whitish head. Caramel malts are really nice. Nice and a little sweet. A lot of toffee. Even though this was past the best before date, and it is still pretty nice. No signs of the age. Anyway, it is nice and sessionable.
Poured from 12oz bottle. Very average. Not much taste at all. Just a subpar offering without anything memorable.
--you've been Dubbed.
Tastes like grapes....but a little off flavor...nothing great...smooth and slightly coffeeesque....
Quite incipit and very creamy but nice to taste and drink with some food and nice friends around.
Pours amber with off white head. Strong malt taste with not much hop. Light body with meduim sweetness
Pours dark amber with two fingers of beige head. Vaguely spicy aroma. Taste is malt, caramel and a bit of spice. Sounds better than it actually was, though.
Amber pour with a light beige head. Aroma is caramel malt with a light spiciness. Taste is caramel malt. So-so lacing .
Copper/amber pour with a small head, Ok lacing. Aroma is spice: cinnamon? Taste is slightly metallic, sour, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. The metallic taste is unpleasant. Malt, some caramel. Hard to get more because of the metallic taste.
Bottle (as "Celtic Red"). More brown-amber than red. Virtually no head. Bit of a metallic aroma. Drinks with a sharp malty bite, with a well-balanced tangy zip. Caramel-apple presides. (#5028, 5/24/2013)
Earlier Rating (as "Hibernian"): Total Score: 3.2
Bottle: Bright orange-red with a gigantic poofy head and a swirl of carbonation. The aroma is starkly green appley. That fruity tartness dominates the flavor, too, like a real tart and acidic green fruit. Would go nice with some mellow yellow cheese. (#2839, 5/6/2007)
Bottle. Slight maltiness, yeastiness. It is just an extremely un-noteworthy beer.
Overall a good red but not quite a killians. Worth the shot, but it won't turn any heads.
Harpoon Celtic Red has a thick, cream-colored head, a bit of thin lacing, some streaming bubbles, and a clear, reddish-brown appearance. The aroma is faint, but bread crust, some sweetness, and a touch of sourness can be detected with deep inhalations. Taste is of the same, with a harsh and unpleasant bitterness in the mid-to-end of the sick. Mouthfeel is light and watery, and Harpoon Celtic Red finishes lager like- crisp, clean, refreshing, and mostly dry. Some alcohol shows up in the throat. Overall, this just does not taste very good. I don’t recommend it. RJT
12oz bottle. Poured dark amber with an off white head into a sam glass. Not terrible but not very memorable either. No off flavors, actually not much flavor at all. Overall a rather bland tasting yet easy to drink ale.
Earlier Rating: 4/16/2011 Total Score: 3.5
On draft at British Beer Company. Pours a dark amber with a nice head that sticks around. Pretty decent red ale heavier on the malty side of things but without being too sweet. Very drinkable and not bad at all despite so many low ratings from other reviewers.
On tap at the Cavern in Pembroke NH USA. Dark brown pour with lingering cream colored head. Aroma is rather thin but fresh with sweetish malts, bread, and clean hops. The body is medium and smooth. The taste is more superior to the nose with more notable bread and biscuit, a slight hop presence and slightly dry finish. Decent.
Earlier Rating: 3/15/2008 Total Score: 2.9
Poured from a 12 fl. oz (US) bottle - Windsor, Vermont brewery - with an expiration date of 05/15/08. I liked the reddish-amber pour. It was a nice color. Not a whole lot of off-white head but there was a bit of one for a few minutes. Fruity aroma. Fruity flavor. I don’t really notice the hops or malts but I certainly notice the sweetness. Average to above average. Good for St. Patty’s Day.
Clear amber ale witb a decent lacy white head. Aroma is weak and malty with spice. Taste has a lot of herbal concoction ane musty stuff going on like pumpkin spice, corriander, farmhouse yeast, etc. Its an ok beer. I’m just not a huge fan of all the spiciness going on.
Earlier Rating: 2/12/2011 Total Score: 2.3
Clear amber, quickly vanishing white head, red malt, full body, medium bite. Mostly malty fizzy texture.
12 oz bottle pours amber with a off white head. Aroma of malt, bread and grain. Taste is sweet malts, coffee, and caramel.
Bottle. Rich amber/copper ber with a dark cream head. Toasted malt aroma. Malt and light caramel flavor with light citrus. Medium bodied. Malt and light citrus lingers with light caramel.
Pours reddish-brown and a thick, pillowy white head. Aroma is vanilla and dried fruits, with a hint of yeast. Hoppy bitterness comes through nicely in the flavor, balancing out a prominent malt and a hint of fruitcake with booze.
A bit thin for my preferences, but overall this is a pretty nice beer.
Bottle. Copper color with tall off white head. Malt, apple and grain aromas. Light apple with a grainy finish. A little astringent.
Bottle. Fresh Market Boca Raton, FL. Snifter. Pours a nice amber color with thick white-tan head. Decent lace. Rather hazy. The nose is mild with malt and a slight funk to it. Taste is mild and not very exciting. Low carbonation and a very mild finish. Mediocre at best.
Toasty caramel malt aroma. Clear deep chestnut with a moderate beige head. Caramel, toast, light earthy hops flavor. LIght to medium body, moderate carbonation.
Fairly mediocre brew on smell and taste. I would much rather drink a Killians over this one.. Fairly forgettable
Dark amber brown
Oatmeal and wheat
Dry and cedar like finish
It’s an okay beer but not close to the style at all.
Tap. Pours clear amber with average, creamy white head; short retention and minimal lacing. Aroma is mixed berries, toast and cereal malts, light caramel, floral and grassy hops. Flavor is sweet malts forward with supporting toast, light fruit, and some grassy hops; dry finish. Light/medium body and low carbonation.
Appearance: clear mahogany, with a short, fizzy, near-white head and minimal lacing. Aroma: caramel, toffee, cardboard. Taste: caramel and brown sugar, with a bit of toffee, earth, and some mellow, near-metallic hops in the background. Finish: short, slightly toasty, with watery caramel notes lasting the longest. Notes: Not terribly impressed. Pretty one-note, with caramel malts being prominent. Would have benefited from more depth of flavor, a richer palate, and a slightly stronger hop profile.
Nice head. Red/brown, nice beer for winter time. Little bit of caramel taste. Maybe little banana also. Pretty good.