Thursday, April 21, 2011

2011 Boston Marathon–Harpoon Brewery

Like I said, this race report is going to take a couple of posts.

On Saturday Night I tried to meet up with a couple of people from the blog-o-sphere.  We had decided on a sports bar in the Copley district of Boston.  Unbeknownst to us out of towners, there was a hockey game, a soccer game and I believe a cricket match being played on the big screens.  This place was packed.  I did run into Beth from Shut Up and Run but just long enough to bail on the blogger meet up – oh well, we tried.

Sunday brought a lot more walking.  Jodie and I toured the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art).  Look, I was an art major in college and love to go to museums.  We had a great time.  There was a large exhibit of the OBEY GIANT propaganda wood cut art prints by artist Shepard Fairey.  I really like this style of art.  I have thought about making my Power Multisport LOGO like this – but I think most people would think it was a little but too much commie pink-o.  Oh well, I enjoyed the museum.

OBEY_FIST

POWER MULTISPORT – maybe not

 

View of harbor from ICA - 01

View of harbor from ICA - 02

View of harbor from ICA - 03

As a bonus, the Harpoon Brewery was just a few blocks away (they don’t call me ‘Always Think’n’ for nothing).  We can not get this beer in Mississippi (antiquated beer laws).  If you are interested in changing these laws please take a look at our grass roots group Raise Your Pints.  We are actively trying to bring good beer to Mississippi!

We made our way down the street in the Sea Port district to the Harpoon Brewery.  They are most known for a very good IPA but I was more interested in their Leviathan series of beers.  There are BIG BEERS that can not be sold in Mississippi – the alcohol content is just too high. 

This brewery tour was quite a bit different than the Sam Adam’s Brewery tour.  For one thing, this is an active brewery.  Beer is being made 5 days a week.  And actually for a special run, beer was being brewed during our tour.  Also, the tour guides were real brewery employees.  They had a passion and knowledge of the beer that far surpassed that of the Sam Adam’s crew.  It did not hurt that you got to drink beer while on the tour.

Harpoon entrance

Oyster Stout – yes, made with oysters

Beers on tap with alcohol contests

Some of the styles

LOVE BEER, LOVE LIFE, HARPOON

Tour guide

You can’t get much more patriotic than a flag

in a brewery in Boston

About to pull a pitcher from the fermenter

harpoon

Pulling the pitcher – talk about fresh beer

Pitcher in hand

Harpoon UFO

Explaining the bottling process

Pallets of beer

Pallets of Summer Beer

Kegs of beer

Beer contractions

The tap room

Brewery 2 Brewery Jersey

At the end of the tour I asked the guide if we could sample all of the beers.  He said that we had 30 minutes and that there was one guy who did it last week.  AMATURE.  I think I sampled all of the beers at least twice.  Yes, this was the day before the BOSTON MARATHON!

After the museum and the brewery tour we made the mile plus walk back to the hotel. 

Shortly after it was time for dinner.  We had tickets for the Boston Marathon Pre-Race dinner.  Everyone had a ticket.  This was the most organized event I have ever seen.  They probably fed 30,000 people (races that attended plus guests).  The food was good.  They got you in and out and they even had beer.  The BAA has this race down to a science.  Having been on the working side of many races I was super impressed.

 

Outside the Pre-Race dinner.

We called it an early night – I needed to be up early for the race in the morning.

7 comments:

misszippy said...

Boston is such a great city--glad you took in all the good stuff it has to offer. And glad you could be relaxed enough the day before the big race to enjoy a brewery tour and samples!

Whitarican (White-A-Rican) said...

awesome pics

Caratunk Girl said...

Sounds like you had a blast!! That is awesome that you did the brewery tour and had samples the day before.

Matty O said...

HAHAHA "Amateur".

Glad you got to get all the sites in and see the museums. I am the same way, when I go somewhere I want the full experience.

I have found in my own personal dealings, the smaller breweries or more private ones are a lot cooler and laid back. The tours I have been on have been a blast and they really do have a passion for what they are doing.

Great post! Can't wait for the rest of the series!

Matthew Bradford said...

The tour looks awesome and I love me some Shephard Fairey.

Have you gotten to see Banksy's "Exit Through the Giftshop"?

Lindsay said...

i think i am going to give up on blogger meetups too until someone decides to rent a ballroom -- restaurants are too small!

Pretend this is real said...

Harpoon UFO is one of my favorite beers! Mmmm.