Medium-bodied Strong grainy and earthy malt notes dominate with a lot of yeast and rustic bitterness up front that shows some softer sweetness from the caramelised sugars and a slight pit fruit and tobacco note at the end. Aroma of pungent grain, toffee, caramelised sugars and a dose of peat towards the end, all with some mellow hoppiness that's noticeable, but not bitter. I sampled this twelve ounce can purchased from Giant Food in Alexandria (Potomac Yard), Virginia on 22-October-2020 for US$1,99 sampled at my house here in Washington on 02-November-2020, my son's third birthday!įairly clear deep brown coloured body with a ruby tint and a smooth, two centimetre tall tan head that stays afloat for a while. This was bad, sort of as expected from the name but this was worse than I thought it would be, primarily because it just wasnt anywhere close to a pale. Overall, a funky beer for sure and clearly not any APA or IPA, but a fruit beer for sure or perhaps a slightly more sweet amber ale. Aftertaste shows some fruit, malt, alcohol and funk, without any hops, no bitterness and no real complexity. Light to Medium-bodied Strong very funky fruit flavours show at first with an odd blueberry, strawberry and artificial cherry flavour with a lot of malt, a small amount of alcohol and a good balance of dryness, but this is way too funky in terms of fruits and malt with too much sugar and definitely not enough of any hops at all. Aroma of super funky fruit notes with pure caster sugar, funk, earth, herbs and way more odd sweet fructose elements, but no hops or bitterness in the nose at all. Overall: It’s pretty well handled as an NA brew (no wort-like or unfermented character, for instance), except for the hops, which need to be dialed back and reworked a bit.Fairly hazy copper and bronze coloured body with a thinnish single centimetre tall off-white head that fades quickly.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light bodied, clean though with a lingering astringency from the hops. Good toasty, Grape Nuts flavors in the malts and the only hint that it’s non-alcoholic is the lack of alcohol esters. Taste: Base is grainy and clean but the hops are overdone, giving a slightly harsh woody bitterness that’s a bit astringent. There’s a sweetish note that’s not wort but a bit like sweetened breakfast cereal. Smell: Toasted grain notes with some rough (harsh) hop character that’s a bit oversteeped/vegetal. A fizz that built up to a moderate head that subsequently collapsed quickly.

Time to answer the question of, how is it? Here are my review notes:Īppearance: Moderately hazy honey-orange color.

Each 12-ounce serving contains 35 calories and 5 grams of carbs, and less than 0.5% ABV (as with all of these, it’s impossible to tell just how much residual alcohol might be present, unless you run them through lab tests). I’ve been making a point to review non-alcoholic beers, and Harpoon sent me a couple of cans to sample. League, for those moments that call for a little celebration with traditional beer. Whether finishing up a summer hike or just wanting to enjoy a night out without the morning-after hangover, Open League is a light yet flavorful beer open for everyone* to indulge in – and fans can still reach for a can of its 4% ABV counterpart, Rec. League, like toasted buckwheat, chia seeds, and sea salt for electrolytes. Made for those who want to beat the buzz while still enjoying the taste of a refreshing, hop-forward beer, Harpoon’s newest year-round offering is brewed with some of the same better-for-you ingredients as Rec. Open League NA Hazy IPA hit the market last month, offering up the same selling points as the other Leagues in a less-than-0.5% alcohol format (the legal definition of “non-alcoholic”). The first non-alcoholic beer from Boston’s Harpoon Brewery is a natural extension to the company’s “League” lifestyle series, which are low in calories and alcohol and crafted with “better for you” ingredients.

Harpoon rec league review