Harpoon History (1991-1996)

The U.S. Craft Brewing Revolution, 1991 – 1996

Harpoon was an early participant in what would become a major resurgence in local, craft brewing in the U.S. Small breweries were sprouting up, particularly in the Northwest and in New England, eventually giving the U.S. more breweries than any other country. The Harpoon Brewery enjoyed this surge in interest, during which time annual production increased nearly 8 times, going from 7,200 barrels to over 55,000. Harpoon was distributed throughout New England and in other northeastern states. Capacity expansion was possible within the original space at 306 Northern Avenue in Boston, a former ship construction facility on Boston Harbor. In 1993, Harpoon introduced Harpoon IPA as a summer seasonal. The popularity of the beer was so great IPA continued to be brewed as a year round offering and soon became Harpoon’s flagship beer.

1991		Packaging re-design
1992		Over 2,000 people attend Octoberfest
1993		Harpoon IPA introduced as a Harpoon’s summer seasonal beer and continues as year round offering
		Produced 1,319 bbls of beer
1994		60 bbl brewhouse installed
		Harpoon’s first St. Patricks Festival
1995		Annual production of 35,776 bbls
1996		Harpoon hosts 9 beer festivals over the course of the year!

Next: Brewing Capacity Continues to Expand, 1997 to 2003