Excerpt from my Examiner.com blog, NY Beer Pairing Examiner. Read full text of this entry, and a complete list of other entries there.
Harpoon's Leviathan series is not for the faint of heart, or the faint of taste buds, and especially not for the faint of tolerance.
“The Leviathan Series is a way for us to experiment with stronger flavors and bigger beers,” says Harpoon CEO and co-founder Rich Doyle. “We have always wanted to challenge ourselves as brewers and offer our drinkers a broader range of taste and styles.”
Higher in alcohol content than Harpoon's usual offerings, the Leviathans pack the intense flavor, and a thicker character often seen in an Imperial ale, or one made in the barleywine style.
Using Trappist yeast, the Harpoon Leviathan Quad is perhaps, the most intensely flavored beer of an intense, strong series. Its thickness makes the sweet intensity just short of cloying. The flavors are definitely, plausibly Belgian. Wine notes run throughout an overall taste almost so strong it could clobber you.
This robust beer can only be paired with equally strong flavors. It would overwhelm any light meals or subtle flavors. Pair it with big, gamey roast meat. Roast turkey drumsticks, venison, rich smoked sausages. A rich, meaty stew would be good, both as a taste pairing, and to offset the 11.75% ABV.
