Beer Journal

A quasi-daily examination of beer and things related to beer.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Review: Old Salt Ale

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Brewer: Harpoon Brewery
Location: Boston, MA
Web
Alcohol: 5.1%

Brewed exclusively for its Hub neighbor Legal Seafoods, Old Salt Ale is in actuality Harpoon's UFO Hefeweitzen, only made with an additional dose of fennel. It is served in a salt-rimmed pint glass (and lemon slice), which probably has more to do with the naming of the than anything particular about the taste of the drink. While this novelty is kind of cute, it does nothing to add to the drinking experience, and in fact, detracts from the flavor of the beer.

To that point, there is a citrusy flavor that goes along with the ale's lemonade color, as well as a bittersweet aftertaste that can be compared to licorice. I would like to say that I liked this beer more than I did; I love Legal and the other Harpoons, but unfortunately, this drink is a one-pint-er.

I imagine that this beer gets a lot of play, considering the restaurant's popularity, but even the brewery seems to know that it's a dud, not even mentioning it on their website. Forgo this drink for the original UFO.

Rating: 3.2

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm from Long Island and on a recent trip to Boston I had a few of Harpoons old salt ale. I agree a few would be the limit but I really enjoyed it. I had hoped it was available by the bottle to the public.

March 31, 2008 at 2:33 PM  
Blogger Warren said...

I think this is the best beer I have ever tasted. Similar to your comment, I wish they made this beer available to the public. Although I throughly enjoy going to Legal Seafoods, I can't possibly go there every night.

January 19, 2009 at 8:19 PM  

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