Harpoon UFO

September 9, 2010

Score 3.5 stars out of 5

Brewed and kegged by Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA.  Bought, drink and enjoyed at the new Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar on Park Row in Katy, TX.  Buffalo Wild Wings bought an old freestanding bar in the Kroger shopping center on Park Row and built a new bar and restaurant in its place.  They did an outstanding job.  The new bar is airy and comfortable and not too noisy, and the Black and Blue hamburgers we had were excellent and tasty and the service was very good.  We will go back.  The bar area is comfortable to eat in and they had more than 20 beers on draught.

The brewery web site;  http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm/page/Beer/pid/28467 links to a website just for UFO Hefeweizen:  http://www.ufohefeweizen.com/

The website does a great job of describing their beers, part of the site says “UFO Hefeweizen is an American unfiltered wheat beer. Perhaps UFO’s initial sensory perception is also its most prominent: a cloudy golden color and a dense, frothy head. The yeast, which has not been filtered out, accounts for the cloudiness of UFO. Wheat malt tends to create a larger head than barley malt, the cereal grain most often used in brewing. When served in a traditional wheat beer glass with a lemon, UFO presents an appealing and distinctive visual image.

The aroma has a faint but clear citrus-like character. This is produced by the special yeast and accounts for the Bavarian tradition of serving hefeweizens with a lemon. The lemon accentuates the yeast’s fruity, tart fragrance. UFO has a soft mouthfeel and a refreshing, light body. The wheat malts and subtle hopping give the beer a mild, delicate flavor. UFO has a clean finish. Unlike some imported hefeweizens, UFO does not have the spicy, tropical flavors typical of European-brewed style.

The overall character is a cloudy appearance with a citrus-like aroma, light body, and clean finish. Serve with a lemon.”

I enjoyed the beer a lot.  It was nice and refreshing, even without the lemon and tasty.  A nice counterpoint to the blue cheese and burger flavors.

The 674 people who drank this beer at RateBeer.com were not overly impressed (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/harpoon-ufo-hefeweizen/2356/ )  They gave it a score of 2.71 which puts it in the 26^th percentile overall and the 40^th percentile for its style of Wheat Ale.

597 people have rated this beer at BeerAdvocate.com were only a little kinder.  They gave it a score of 3.42 which equates to a B- = worthy (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10097/318 )