Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #16 - Frankenfest

Formerly brewed at Harpoon Brewery
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Bottle. Orange/amber pour, with an off white head. Aroma is malt, with some caramel and spice. Flavors is malt, caramel, and hops. Ends somewhat bitter.

(22oz bottle) Crystal clear amber body with soft, medium off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, dough, light maple, vegetal. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel/maple, bread, light earthy, faint chocolate. Medium body, with a trace of the higher-than-usual-for-the-style ABV.

Pours copper with a thin dissipating head. Smells of biscuits, sweet malt and pepper. Tastes of sweet malt, nuts, some bitter citrus, mellow earthy tea like hops on the finish. This one’s okay for what it is.

Cold 22oz bottle: Pours a clear copper color with some ivory bubbles around the edges of the glass. Rich malts and grassy hops with notes of caramel and light fruits. Medium bodied, crisp and well carbonated. Ending is dry with bitter and sour notes.

Bomber: Pours a clear orange with a thin white head, nose has rich malts and earthy hops, medium bodied with ample carbonation, starts and ends lightly sweet with a touch of bitterness at the end.

2006 bomber consumed on 11/10/06
As an adendum to the commercial description, the original beer brewed for the Art of Beer Fest in 2004 was actually not "greatly enjoyed by all who drank it" because I drank it and greatly did not enjoy it. So thanks for putting words in my mouth, Harpoon.
From the bottle, a fair amount of forced carbonation creates a very aerated, somewhat large butter-flecked off-white head that dwindles, rather predictably, to cover/partial-cover and then a ring, leaving little to no lacing. Deep orange-beige colored body is a pleasant color, and shows some auburn-maroon streaks throughout. Highly clear (filtered).
Some dough, bits of sweet caramel and vanilla iced cream-like notes initially sweeten things, well enough, and are followed by some grassy, modestly bitter hops that shift the balance back to dry. A somewhat coppery metallic character sits on the finish, not sure the cause. Dry breadiness and light graininess, almost some astringent, overly tannic malt seems to take over. Very, very faint melanoidins, mostly outdone by the hops. No alcohol noted, moderate strength to the aroma, overall.
Simple, sweet caramel and white bread flavors enter the mouth, neither chewy, overly soft or resilient, being crowded out by a rather vapid, dry graininess that lends astringency on the finish. No clear lager yeast bite, though some bittering hops seem to step in, in its place. Flowery, lightly grassy, sort of an afterthought. As it wears on, some very light citrus notes mix with the caramel, but the balance never really recovers. Still remains toastily astringent. Not anything offensive going on here, by any means, but like usual, the malt is stretched rather lean, the complexity is poor and there is plenty of "texture" in place of real flavor. Just too much water in the wort. Carbonation is aggressive and further breaks apart any potential malt softness. Filtration further detracts from mouthfeel. Didn’t finish the bottle.
Harpoon: the definition of mediocrity.

22 oz bottle from City Market in Burlington, consumed at cellar temperature or a bit below from a Troutbrook mug. Big frothy tan head with lots of bubble dying quickly atop a clear amber-maple body....lightly smoky, grainy aroma, hints of molasses and hickory but somewhat mild and weak....solid if conventional flavor profile, lots of caramelized/Munich malts, quite sweet and smooth, just a touch of roasty-toastiness towards the finish, moderate carbonation, somewhat filtered and thin but pretty drinkable on the whole.

Nice dark reddish color with a thick creamy head. I liekd the strong maltiness in this combined with the touch of roasted flavor.