BREWERY SCENE

by Jeff Rogers

MANCHESTER, NH – Those of you who’ve been trying to do concrete work recently are familiar with the story – to do decent outdoor concrete work you need multiple dry days in a row. So for a place like Harpoon in Queen City Center, the weather simply has refused to give them a break. At present they’ve got an entire parking lot that is not yet useable.

But that did not stop them from opening at 11 a.m. on Fri June 20. I was there only a few minutes later to check it out. At present their entrance is on the north side of the building, on Pleasant Street. Once all the exterior work is done it will be on the former West Central Street, facing the R. G. Sullivan Cigar Factory building to the south. If you visit, be aware: West Central Street is now closed.

The Space

The former Lew Cummings Printing building (built in the 1950s) has been turned into a great space, with plenty of room for bar and tables, plus a small brewing room off to one side. They also have a room that can be used for private group meetings. Clerestory windows lining the south wall keep the room light. Larger windows on the west side provide a view of trees and, through them, the mills. Wooden bar stools are comfortable.

Service was prompt and attentive. Once inside I was asked if I preferred bar or table. I chose a seat at the bar. In conversation with the various servers, and assistant manager, Jason Kerkoff, I learned that Harpoon is part of a larger business entity called Barrel One Collective, whose umbrella also covers UFO, Clown Shoes, and Smuttynose.

The Food

To accompany my beer I ordered the Bacon Brussels Sprouts. Unquestionably delicious. These are a favorite of mine almost anywhere that serves them. At Harpoon the Hot Honey gave them a little extra kick. Recommended heartily.

The Beer

At the time of my visit, they had 11 beers from Harpoon, 2 from UFO, 3 from Clown Shoes, and 4 from Smuttynose. So all 20 taps were occupied.

As I was browsing the list, I asked if they did flights. Initially I was told yes, but then after confirming with her manager the server corrected herself. But she and the manager also emphasized that they would be doing flights at some point in the future. Maybe they were still waiting on some of the requisite hardware, or maybe they were trying to simplify the whole workflow for an opening weekend which just happened to coincide with a weekend of three back-to-back Phish concerts in Manchester. In any case, I found this eminently understandable.

I chose a Harpoon Talus Single Hop IPA. As I’ve written here many times, I’m not much of an IPA guy. But it does seem that I’m slowly coming around. At any rate, the Talus was an absolutely delicious beer. The menu was completely devoid of any details or even description. So, internet to the rescue! “Talus” is the name of a hop. While not brand new (it emerged from the Haas hop breeding program in 2020), it’s likely newer than many of the hops you encounter. At any rate, Harpoon has made great use of it, producing a beer somewhere in between clear and cloudy, with great flavor and very subtle hints of citrus. I would’ve brought home cans, but they had none. Life is full of hardships!

I look forward to returning and trying more items on their menu.