But the reality is, these beers are hard to make, and they are a challenge to distribute. Do you think you’ll ever make these more widely available?ĭ.K.We love the style. However, this year you did brew three hazy IPAs – Juicer 1, 2 and 3, but they are only available in New England. Although Harpoon IPA is technically a New England IPA (it’s balanced – West Coast IPAs are hop bombs), it’s not the hazy, juicy type that beer drinkers are going crazy for. Maybe not always a smile, but certainly as sense of humor.ĭ.L. Al has found a way to do it all and step into it with a sense of humor. In the past, our primary focus was on things like quality and consistency – how do we make Harpoon IPA taste the same every single time? Now we need to be consistent, while innovating. What he brings to the table is a pretty special combination of institutional knowledge, brewing expertise, and not just respect for, but an appreciation of, innovation. Who is Harpoon’s Brewmaster? What makes him so darn good?ĭ.K. We’ll introduce other takes on the style, but we may never look at another beer in the same way we look at Harpoon IPA.ĭ.L. It has a heritage now that we treasure and respect. Our IPA is the same as it ever was – and that’s part of what makes it unique. How do you continue to make Harpoon IPA stand out amongst the many IPAs available today?ĭan Kenary (D.K.)In some ways, it’s actually getting easier! We laugh about it sometimes because if you open a brewery in 2018, there’s no way you’re launching a crystal clear, balanced IPA as your flagship. With returning holiday favorites like Harpoon Winter Warmer and UFO Winter Blonde, as well as new collaboration beers like the highly anticipated Dunkin’ Coffee Porter, Harpoon has plenty of innovation on the docket to carry the portfolio into 2019 and beyond.ĭraught Lines spoke with the brewery’s CEO and co-founder Dan Kenary to talk collaborations, holiday beers & traditions and what we can look forward to from Harpoon in 2019.ĭraught Lines (D.L.) Your flagship IPA has been around since 1993. last year, the staying power of this brewery is impressive. Ranked 16th largest craft brewer in the U.S. Now 32 years young, it’s also Massachusetts’ oldest, continually operating brewery. Independent and employee-owned Harpoon is the second largest brewery in Massachusetts, behind Boston Beer Company. Harpoon’s motto, first coined when the brewery opened in 1986, embodies their pride in brewing great beer and enjoying the experiences paired with it.
After all, if beer drinkers had not been willing to embrace change over the past 30 years, we would all still be drinking light yellow lagers and not knowing what we were missing! I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead for Harpoon.Love Beer. “The new IPA package and refreshed Harpoon logo are just the beginning,” Kenary added.
The transformation will be complete by the end of 2016. Next in line for the refresh is Harpoon Take 5 Session IPA, the brewery’s newest year-round beer released this past May, followed by their summer seasonal beer. “We needed to do a better job of communicating who we are in our packaging - we needed to let our personality shine through.” Boston-based brand strategy firm Catapult Thinking provided guidance through the process. “Our goal was to create something that would stand out on the shelves and draw the eye to the package,” Bailey said. RELATED: Talking cut-and-stack labels with Oak Printing The IPA package was designed by Harpoon’s in-house creative team, led by Creative Director Adam Bailey. New elements include a bolder, larger Harpoon logo, a larger background check pattern and a tiger icon. The new design maintains several of the classic elements from the original Harpoon IPA package including the checked background pattern, the bluish-purple and orange color scheme and the tiger lilies. But we are working hard to do a better job of telling our story, especially to beer drinkers who may not know us well.” “We are not changing who we are, or most importantly, the beer inside the bottle, can or keg. “As we head into our 30th year, it’s time for our logo and our branding to evolve,” said Harpoon CEO and Co-Founder Dan Kenary. While there have been tweaks to the Harpoon look over the years, this is the first major design refresh in Harpoon’s history. Next up for a refresh: Harpoon IPA - the first in a total brand redesign. There are more, and this makes sense because we know the impact of marketing and labels in particular has been big on buying decisions. This usually means it is time for a new look. With so many new craft breweries (the most ever, actually), the older guard needs to defend its well earned turf.
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