Harpoon Brewery And Beer Hall
| Address: | 306 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210, USA |
| Phone: | +1 617-456-2322 |
| Site: | harpoonbrewery.com |
| Rating: | 4.6 |
| Working: | 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–7PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
ME
Melanie Tam
Reading all of these other reviews about sold out tours, Im really glad that we came in early on a Saturday. The brewery opens at 11, and the first tour is at 11:20. Tickets ($5) are first come, first serve. My boyfriend and I arrived at about 10:50, and there were already about 10 people ahead of us. Each tour can hold 30 people, so if you have your heart set on the tour, its best to get there early. Tours last for about an hour, including the tasting portion. First, theyll take you through the history of how Harpoon and UFO came about, which by the way, I had no idea that the two were owned by the same company. Then, they let you taste wort, or green beer as they call it, which is unfermented beer. This was pretty cool since this was a first for me. Out of all the breweries Ive been to, ive never had the chance to taste wort. Its not very good, but interesting nonetheless. Then, theyll take you to the "tasting room" where they have all the beers on tap. I thought it would be a tasting room similar to Sam Adams, where you sit, and they explain each beer. Here, they quickly explain each beer, you get in line, and tell them which sample you want. You can try as many beers as you want, until the next group has to come in. Between my boyfriend and I combined, we were able to try almost all 20 of them. After that, you can head to their restaurant area to get some more beer. There are three different flights you can try. It would have been nice if you could choose which beers, but these are already preset for you. Definitely try the salted pretzel, which is made with their IPA instead of water. It might be the best pretzel that Ive ever eaten in my life - especially when paired with their beer cheese. You wont be disappointed!
JE
Jennifer St. Onge
I recommend this as a stop for anyone 21+ traveling to Boston. My husband and I had an excellent experience at Harpoon. We wound up there twice in a recent trip to Boston. The beer is great - not only did I try a few different flights, but I had to get pints of their Harpoon Ale and Oktoberfest beers. The Ale is only available on tap, and I wish it werent so! Their Oktoberfest is a solid representation of the marzen style. In addition, I was able to try a flight of UFO beers. UFO is not a brand I consider, so it was great to try them, and I found them to be tastier than Ive remembered. The location is very welcoming, and that speaks volumes in a big city atmosphere. I loved the view of the factory on one side, and the great view of the city and water - particularly at sunset. In the middle is their huge bar with tons of seating. The people working throughout Harpoon were friendly and seemed really happy to be there. I was very surprised when the guys behind the bar the second night, when we returned during the 5pm crowd. That was awesome.
SA
Sarah Mahloch
Did the brewery tour on a Sunday, and the two guides, Matt and Caroline, were absolutely fabulous. So knowledgeable, energetic, and entertaining. Then came the best part- the tasting room! All. The. Beers. Were perfection. I decided to taste even the ones that I normally wouldn’t like. I didn’t meet a beer that I didn’t like. This place has honestly opened up a whole new world of beers for me. It was like they had perfected all the beers that I already loved, and perfected the beers that I wanted to love, but never quite could. My best description of this particular brewing company is that it all tastes so fresh and pure with just the individual flavorings of the beer standing out. I can’t exactly quote word for word from one of the Delta Sky magazines, but they were interviewing a famous chef, and he described that when he makes a dish, all of the flavors have to stand out individually and complement each other. That is exactly what this beer does. If you love beer, you need to visit. Harpoon Brewery is the Mecca of beers.
YU
Yuriy Semenov
Visited Harpoon Brewery on a Wednesday afternoon. Once you enter, you right away get greeted by the friendly staff. According to their schedule the tours are only on the weekends, on this day they only had tastings and a bit of history behind the company and each of the 12 taps (which you get to sample as many times as you want). The tasting tour is free. In the end you can purchase the Harpoon Brewery glass for $3 along with other great souvenirs. The person who held the tastings made it very entertaining with the constant jokes. Glad that unlike some visitors, the staff have a brain. The place did get slightly crowded. Once the staff began pouring the samples, those who were already at the bar remained by it preventing the rest of the people who were behind them from getting one (pretty rude... they were about to witness some New York attitude!!) But the staff took care of it by telling them to step back and spread around once they got their drinks. I personally had a great time. Great way to enjoy an hour!
VI
Victoria Sandbrook Flynn
Brilliant discovery: Munich Dark!!! I attended a Girls Pint Out tasting and tour at Harpoon and had quite the lovely evening. The staff knew their stuff and was more than welcoming. We took a quick look at the brew deck, fermentation area, bottling center, and warehouse. Apparently the BEST time for a tour are weekends, when you can tour everything. But weekdays are best if you prefer to see your fav brew in progress (IPA fans: Tues/Thurs are all for you!). After sampling a few brews myself, Ive discovered Munich Dark. Its smooth, perfect, and deliciously dark. I bought a growler of it for home (its only sold on tap) and grabbed a growler of Chocolate Stout for a Christmas present for a favorite uncle :). I was happily surprised at the cost of the growlers...so much that I got the uncle a growler cozy to boot! Ill be back sometime soon, with my brew buddies in tow, for a great afternoon of beer and friends!
CH
Charles Brandee Speckman
We like the beverages we have had out around town. Decided to head to the brewery on a Saturday afternoon(1pm) to grab a couple drinks and buy some suviours for both ourselves, but also some individuals we owned a gift to back in MN. We followed another couple to the brewery who were also pushing a stroller and was excited to see others were going to be there with kids. The couple in front of us went in, and when we got up to the guy at the door, he told us our 2 year old was to big, they are 21+ or 21+ with infants only we were greatly disappointed. We were offered to drink on thier back patio, but the drinks were only secondary to our purpose of the visit (gift buying was #1). We elected to go down the street, grabbed some food, and bought beer not from Harpoon because of this... Sad to say, sour taste about this place now. We were so excited to visit and buy gifts, to now very disappointed...
KA
Kate Ziegler
The beer hall was a really great addition to Harpoons Boston facilities - even if you dont have time/interest in a tour, you can grab some beer and a giant soft pretzel (with dipping sauce!) in the beer hall and watch the waterfront on one side, or the active brewery on the other. The space is bright, wide open and bustling with long tables and available event space, and there is usually plenty of staff to handle it all. The tour is in-depth and excellent (unless you have no interest in the process and are just there for the drinking), and theres free tasting after the tour. Especially on fair-weather days, expect a pretty substantial wait for the beer hall (in line, outside) by late-afternoon/evening hours; tours sell out early, and tour tickets have to be purchased in person at the brewery, so plan your day accordingly.
