Harpoon History (2001-present)

Harpoon Approaches its 20th Anniversary, 2001 to Present

The steady growth of Harpoon, along with an abiding commitment to quality, led to further changes to the brewery in Boston. Starting in 2002, fabrication of a new brewhouse began in Germany. It was later transported to Boston via containers and installation began in late 2002. 2003 saw the first brews from a new, state of the art brewhouse. Having become the largest craft brewer in New England, Harpoon took a page from its early days with the launch of the 100 Barrel Series. Harpoon’s brewers would choose a style and create the beer from start to finish. When the 100 barrel batch was gone, another brewer would get to work on a different style. Rich and Dan, Harpoon’s founders who work at the brewery daily and manage the company, started planning a “Thank You Tour” of New England in a specially modified RV, complete with a tasting and draft beer, to express their gratitude to everyone who helped build the Harpoon Brewery.

2001		1,000 runners participate in the Inaugural Harpoon 5 Miler to raise money for ALS research on Brewstock weekend in June The first Harpoon Championships of New England Barbecue is held at the Windsor brewery in July
2002		Approximately 30 cyclists ride from Boston to Windsor in the first official Harpoon Brewery to Brewery Ride Harpoon launches a line of specialty, hand-crafted sodas
2003		In January, installation completed of a new 120-bbl brewhouse in Boston Annual sales exceed 1,000,000 million case equivalents
2004		Over 7,000 people attend festivals at the Brewery in Windsor; over 23,000 in Boston
2005		Annual production exceeds 90,000 barrels
2006		Harpoon celebrates it 20th Anniversary! Annual production exceeds 100,000 barrels
2007		Harpoon Wins Beer Competition Medals on 3 Continents! Pure, freshly squeezed apple juice from local orchards is used to create Harpoon Cider
2008		Expansion of Harpoon Beer Garden in Windsor Largest Harpoon Octoberfest Ever! Harpoon Launches Leviathan Series 25^th beer in Harpoon 100 Barrel Series released Rich Doyle elected Brewers Association Board Chairperson

Next: More to come...