ABV: 9.5%
Purchased at: One of the bottles I won via the superbowl block poll on beeradvocate
What makes this beer different: Super strong for a porter, but about right for the style from what I understand.
Will I be drinking this again: Only brewed once, but to be honest probably wouldn’t go out of my way to find it.
Grade: B
4/18/2010: This beer brings two firsts for me on my 365 journey, first beer from Harpoon, and the first Baltic Porter style beer. To be honest I think this is my first Harpoon beer ever. What styles are they known for? I might try out some more harpoon in the near future.
Leviathan smells STRONG. A good bit of chocolate in the nose, and something kind of fruity. The flavor is dark malt, some chocolate, and a nice touch of dark fruit. The mouthfeel/carbonation is a bit on the low end for a beer with this high of an ABV. Trust me I like a strong beer with some bite, but this stuff has a bit of a rubbing alcohol kick to it. Normally strong beers like this get easier to drink as you go, but I found myself barely sipping this. Took me a good hour to finish it off. Overall the flavor was awesome, but the lack of mouthfeel to cover the ABV was a deal breaker for me.
Picture of the day: 25 examples of unintentional porn. Its safe for work don’t worry.
FYI: Leviathan is a series of beers that Harpoon makes. They also have an IPA among others under the Leviathan name. Check ’em out on BA!
I actually did see the IPA also! Have you had it? Is it better than the porter?
Yeah, it’s sort of a DIPA. Very good IMHO.
This beer, I agree, is not particularly good…Perhaps the style calls for that boozy taste you noticed and I’ve tasted the same…
That said, Harpoon makes some very nice beers. Their Leviathan DIPA is a great representation of the East-Coast DIPA style, and their regular IPA is a very good, sessionable beer. I like the Munich Dark Ale as well. They are pretty large and have 2 brewery locations, tho I’ve only visited the VT one- which is really nice (one of the best I’ve been to)…So in short- yeah, don’t let this one beer make your mind up about them.
Nice thanks for the recommendations. I know Vintage Estate gets them, so I will pick a couple of the ones you suggested up next time.