The Harpoon Brewery Bottles a Taste of Vermont

Boston, MA (January 27, 2011) – This week the Harpoon Brewery released the latest installment of their 100 Barrel Series, Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat.  This is the 35th offering from Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series, the brewery’s line of unique, handcrafted limited batch beers.  The Catamount Maple Wheat was brewed using pure Vermont maple syrup.  

 

Catamount Maple Wheat is a full-bodied, smooth wheat ale. The original version of this beer was brewed in the winter of 2009 by Harpoon Vermont sales representative John Baker. Harpoon brewer Brett Simmons based his 2011 version on John's recipe, with some tweaks to make it his own. It is brewed with a combination of wheat malt, pale malt, caramel malt, and mildly hopped with Willamette. The balance of malts and hops allows the distinct flavor and aroma of real Vermont maple syrup to take the lead. The maple sweetness and body that blankets this velvety amber beer showcases one of New England's most beloved traditions.   

 

“I was pleased to have the opportunity to brew the 2011 edition of Catamount Maple Wheat,” says Brett Simmons, Harpoon brewer of this 100 Barrel Series beer.  “As a Vermonter, it’s nice to be able to utilize ingredients that are produced locally.” The maple syrup used in the beer was sourced from Baker Farm in East Dummerston, VT – the family farm of John Baker – and Scrag Mountain Sugar House in Waitsfield, VT.

 

“The maple syrup from local farms, adds subtle caramel and maple notes and provides a wonderful natural sweetness and soft mouthfeel. To balance out the sweetness we used Willamette hops, which have low IBU’s and a mild aromatic profile. This hop varietal allowed the maple syrup to remain at the forefront. The color of the Grade B syrup and caramel malts give this beer a stunning deep amber color,” Brett added. 

 

The Catamount Maple Wheat is an ode to the state of Vermont and the craft beer drinking culture that thrives there. In June of 2000, Harpoon purchased a brewing facility in Windsor, VT and brews roughly 40% of their annual barrelage in the state. Visitors are welcome daily to visit the brewery in Windsor and sample Harpoon’s locally-brewed beers straight from the source.

 

Harpoon introduced the 100 Barrel Series in 2003 to showcase the individual brewing talents of their brewers.  Every couple months, a different Harpoon brewer is invited to choose a style of beer, formulate the recipe, and brew the beer.  That brewer’s signature can be found on the bottle label.  The beers in the series are one-offs; they are brewed in limited batches and are available only until the batch sells out.  Since the series began in May of 2003, 35 different styles of beer have been brewed.  For a complete list of beers that have been released as part of the 100 Barrel Series, visit www.harpoonbrewery.com/100barrel. 

 

The Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Catamount Maple Wheat is available in 22 oz. bottles with limited draft availability. 

 

Brett suggests pairing the Catamount Maple Wheat with pork tenderloin, barbecue, crème brulee, and vanilla ice cream topped with warm Vermont maple syrup.

 

Style:	Wheat Ale
Original Gravity:	15.9
Alcohol by Volume: (ABV)	6.75%
IBU’S:	20
Color (EBC):	40

 

 

For additional information about the Harpoon Brewery and the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, please contact Liz Melby at lmelby@harpoonbrewery.com.