By: Amanda - Loves Beer and Life Published:
Almost a month ago we asked you to "Tell Us Your IPA Story," and many of you jumped at the opportunity to tell us how Harpoon IPA has played a role in your lives. There are plenty of great stories out there, so take a moment to pick your favorite. The contest is still running until Monday May 13th at 11:59 PM EST - so don't forget to tell us your IPA Story!
We've decided to highlight a few stories this week, and we hope you enjoy!
|
|
On a joyride with my friends soon after I received my license, we can upon a hitchhiker walking down route 24s. We decided to pick him up and bring him to his destination, a nearby school where oddly his car was parked. As he exited the car, he handed me a bottle of Harpoon IPA and said "I don't have any money to give you but I have this.." I loved the label and was only familiar with macro beers and large commercial imports. I thought it was something extremely rare. I held onto the bottle for almost a year then randomly decided to crack it open. It was the best beer I had ever tasted. This sparked what has been a long and loving career for me in craft beer. (I now run a Craft Beer Bar in New Bedford)... and out of appreciation I got this tattoo. |
|
My boyfriend Jon and I met during the 2012 Harpoon B2B ride. 148 miles, a few Harpoon IPA's, and a 2 hour bus ride back to Boston were the perfect start to our relationship. We'll be celebrating our one year anniversary this June with friends, a few more IPA's, and another 148 miles. |
|
 |
I was early in my home brewing hobby and equated hops with bitter and ruled out all IPA recipes. Then I visited the Harpoon Boston location and tasted the amazing Harpoon IPA and realized hops can be so much more than just bitter. The minute I smelled that wonderful grassy aroma and sipped my first taste of it my drinking habits were changed forever. I brewed a clone recipe of the Harpoon IPA more than any other and now enjoy it on draft where ever I can find it. |
Have a story like Jordan, Kim or Todd? Share it with us in our contest for a chance at winning the "Harpoon IPA Experience" for a year, including entry to and accommodations at all of our festivals in Boston and Windsor, VT.
By: Liz - Harpoon Helps Published:
A few months ago we received a note from one of our hop providers about a project they were organizing called Ales for ALS. The idea behind the project was simple; Loftus Ranches and Hopunion (the aforementioned hop providers) would send us a special proprietary hop blend to brew a beer with and we’d donate a portion of sales of the beer to ALS research. We signed ourselves right up, as did dozens of other breweries across the country.
ALS holds special significance to Harpoon because one of our founding investors, Gordon Heald, succumbed to the disease many years ago. It inspired us to call awareness and raise funds to help find a cure for this horrendous disease, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. So about 12 years ago we started our annual Harpoon 5-Miler to benefit ALS research. The race, which has raised close to $1,000,000 to date, benefits the work of The Angel Fund. Each year around the time of the race (which will be held on May 19th) we hear more and more about how much ALS has affected so many people in our community, and it inspires us to do more.
Ales for ALS gave us another opportunity to help. All funds raised from the Ales for ALS project will go to ALS TDI, a research organization located near our Boston brewery in Cambridge, MA. A few Harpoon brewers, with this special proprietary hop blend in mind, put their heads together and came up with a recipe for a session IPA. So a couple weeks ago we invited ALS TDI staff members to join us at the brewery and help brew our Ales for ALS beer. Dave, Ben, Mari, and John came by to help us throw in the hops and sample some of the wort as we brewed our 10-barrel batch. They brought with them Steve Saling, a renowned landscape architect and beer lover, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2006 at 38 years old. Steve has become a tremendous advocate for ALS research. While he is unable to speak or use his hands, he is able to communicate clearly using an eyegaze computer that is mounted on his power chair; using that eyegaze computer Steve ordered a Harpoon Cider and a Boston Irish Stout when we went back to the beer hall for a beer after the brew.
Our Ales for ALS session IPA will be on tap in our Boston beer hall in May. We’ll let you know when to come in, try the beer, and support ALS research. We’re very proud to be a part of a brewing community that works together to support a cause that’s so important to us and to many in the extended Harpoon family.
Recent Articles
