Great beer, great food, and great music; three simple ingredients that guarantee a good time. HarpoonFest delivered on all three accounts. Hundreds of people turned out to welcome in the summer season and sample some of the delicious beers that Harpoon Brewery has to offer. One of those beers is Harpoon’s newest creation; Big Squeeze Shandy.
Whoever thought of combining grapefruit and beer deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Now when it comes to beer, I’m not a huge citrus fan, but this beverage may just be one of my new favorite beers. The tartness of the grapefruit flavor, combined with the classic amount of barely and hops found in every Harpoon brew, create a whole new experience that my taste buds just couldn’t comprehend.
This beer could reverse global climate change, make cats and dogs love each other, and create world peace. Okay, maybe I’m over reacting, but my point is that it’s THAT good. I’m not the only one who thought so either. The Big Squeeze Shandy booth at HarpoonFest was by far the most popular.
So, with beer in hand, I decided to walk around and take in the atmosphere of this event. Everyone was friendly and happy and just having a good time enjoying the sounds of local bands like The Silks who were rocking out at the first stage I went to. I soon became hungry and stopped to grab a hot Italian sausage from The Sausage Guy; a Fenway Park staple who set up shop at HarpoonFest. This barbecued sausage paired perfectly with the Shandy I was drinking, furthering my belief that Big Squeeze Shandy is the perfect summer drink.
All in all I would call this beer festival a success. The pricing was average at $6 per beer ticket and the food was averagely priced as well; $6 for a sausage, $5 for a slice of pizza, no big deal. The experience was priceless though. Getting to taste great beers surrounded by friendly people who are enjoying themselves as much as you are was just awesome.
I will definitely be attending more of these in the future and recommend that every beer lover attend HarpoonFest. Sadly, the next one in Boston isn’t until October when Harpoon Brewery hosts their annual Octoberfest, but if you can’t wait that long, Harpoon Brewery is hosting their Championships of New England Barbecue festival in Windsor, Vermont July 26th and 27th.
Special thanks to guest contributor Christopher Gesualdo
