Harpoon The Craic Irish Red IPA

With a snow storm right around the corner, I, like many other beer enthusiasts are preparing for the prospect of being snowed in. Preparation for a storm includes getting all the necessary supplies, and that includes filling the refrigerator with beer. Now, in the past I have had a tendency to just drink beers on the heavier side when snowed in, and while I have plenty of those, this is my first big snow storm as a homeowner and I have been on a quest to find an adequate snowblowing beer. 

For this particular storm, my snow blowing beer will be Harpoon’s The Craic Irish Red IPA. The reason I chose this beer is because it walks the line between a Red IPA & an Irish Red Ale. One style reminds me of some of my favorite holiday & Winter seasonal beers and the other reminds me of Spring and the warmer weather to come. The Craic does a really nice job of balancing both. 

The aroma of toasted bread, caramel, and toffee instantly made me think of St. Patrick’s Day. I then picked up the herbal, pine & citrus notes from the hops. The taste matched the nose for the most part. The malt profile shines nicely before the hops add another welcome layer of complexity. The hops add a nice amount of spice, along with grapefruit, orange and pine. The malt profile was nuttier than I expected but only enhanced my enjoyment of The Craic. The only thing I was not crazy about was the finish. It was earthy, dry, piney, bitter and provided contrast to the malt sweetness but it did not work as well as I hoped it would. This is a small criticism though, this is a really nice beer and has me really looking forward to seeing more Irish Red Ales on the shelf soon.

The Craic is also one of the best beers I have had from Harpoon in a long time. I usually pass on beers from the Boston-based brewery because they are usually average at best. This one however is a lot of fun and will definitely get a repeat purchase from me. It will also make for a nice reward after multiple trips outside clearing snow.

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Stay warm!

Founders Dank Wood

Writing blogs about new entries in the Founders' Barrel Aged Series has become a formality at this point. Personally, I am a huge fan of the series and judging by the feedback & web traffic the blogs get, you all are just as curious about the new releases as I am. My favorite of the new releases last year was DKML(Dick Kicker Malt Liquor). The beer was big, dirty and boozy. I found it to be absolutely delicious and loved every single second of drinking it. At the same time, I could also see why someone would absolutely hate DKML for the same reasons I listed. Either way you felt about DKML, the creativity & courage to brew and then barrel aged malt liquor should be admired.

My least favorite entry in the Barrel Aged Series was Doom. The thought of an Imperial IPA aged in bourbon barrels was intriguing but it just missed the mark for me. It reminded me too much of a less boozy and slightly aged Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. While that's not necessarily a knock on the beer, it just didn't deliver in the way I hoped it would. I remember it being mostly malt and vanilla while I wanted a bit more of a hop bite. Speaking of hop bite, that brings me to the latest release in the Barrel Aged Series, Dank Wood.

From the moment Founders announced the release of Dank Wood I had high hopes for it. Red IPAs are one of my favorite styles of beer. I think it is a style that is tremendously underrated and I hope to see it make a comeback of sorts in the near future. My initial complaint about Doom was that I wanted more hoppiness from it, Dank Wood did not disappoint in that department. The aroma of Dank Wood lives up to its name. It is super dank, full of sticky pine and oak. There are also notes of grapefruit, caramel, toffee, vanilla and earthy, spicy hops. The 12.2% ABV comes through in the aroma as well. The alcohol is so strong in Dank Wood I felt it warming my nostrils. I anticipated the noticeable alcohol content to play a big part in the first sip I took, and I was right.

Dank Wood's flavor is bold and full of booze. The heat from the alcohol provides the kind of warmth one would expect from a beer that came out during the winter months, not the warmer days of late spring. If you are looking for a smooth, easy drinking experience, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Underneath the alcohol, Dank Wood aggressively hits the palate with oak tannins, caramel, toffee, vanilla, grapefruit, spicy hops and loads of pine resin. I did not get bourbon in the aroma but I got a bit of it in the finish and I thought that was a nice touch. Mostly everything about this beer clicked for me. The only thing I would like to see differently is the alcohol scaled back just a touch. I look forward to placing a bottle in the cellar to revisit down the road, as I am very curious to see how this one develops. As for right now though, Dank Wood is big, bold, monster of a beer and much like DKML, I could see it being quite polarizing. I personally enjoyed it and look forward to buying another 4-pack of it. However, I would suggest approaching it with caution. As I mentioned earlier, if you are looking for something easy drinking, look elsewhere.

Overall rating: 4/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!