We enjoy trying out new food and drinks, and my hubby especially enjoy trying out new beers. If they have a flight or tasting at a bar or a brewery, we almost always get it. We had fun visiting different breweries with interesting tours in the past. So, during our stay in Vermont in the summer, we visited Harpoon Brewery Taproom and Beer Garden in Windsor.
It was located near other shops and eateries, such as SILO Distillery and Blake Hill Preserves. It was convenient if you wanted to visit multiple place, as you can just leave your car parked wherever, and walk across the parking lot. They had kind of a grand entrance with wood frames, and lots and lots of outdoor seating. We opted to sit indoor, where it was nice and cool.
We had a reservation, which was required at that time, no matter if it was during peak or off-peak hours. We were greeted warmly, and taken to our seat right away. They had a wall full of beer bottles near the entrance, fun to look at all the designs of the bottles and its labels.
It had a nice sized store attached to it, where you can buy all sorts of merchandise, and of course, some beers to take home with.
We could see the brewery behind the store, and it would have been really cool to get a tour of the place. But, due to the pandemic, they were not offering tour at that time. Maybe next time we visit, when we are back to normal life again…
The dining area was nice and big, with super high ceiling that makes the room feel even larger. You could see the outdoor scene through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, as they bring in loads of natural light as well. You could choose between regular table, high top, or the counter seats.
The bar counter was massive too, it went from the beginning of the dining area, going all the way to the back wall. It had some fun shaped beer tap handles, all vivid and colorful.
And I am happy report, they do offer flight of beer here at Harpoon Brewery! You get to choose four different kinds of beer, and they come in 6 oz glasses. The tray was in a shape of harpoon, which was extra cool!
Since it is not recommend to consume alcohol in empty stomach, and we were there for lunch anyways, we ordered some hearty dishes. I went with a BYO Burger ($14), made with 1/4 lb Angus beef patty, served on a toasted potato brioche bun with iceberg lettuce, tomato and their signature sauce. I added Cabot Cheese for $1. It comes with chips, but I substituted Fries for another $2. So, here is my $17 burger right here. The patty was juicy, and cheese melted over just perfectly. It was a good burger, not great, but good. The fries were nice, crispy exterior with potato-y inside.
My hubby went with Texas-Style Brisket Sandwich ($18). It is made with house smoked TX-style brisket, finished with their house made TX-style BBQ sauce on a potato brioche bun. Served with a side of coleslaw. He wasn’t feeling the side of chips either, so, without really reading the menu, he substituted with coleslaw… Since it already comes with a side of coleslaw, he got double the coleslaw! LOL. The brisket looked good, but it was dry… Although it had a nice seasoning, but you that really didn’t help. Not a good sandwich… Stick with snacks and beer at a brewery…
Let’s get back to the beer, shall we? For the first set of flight ($2.50 per glass), we chose Camp Wannamango, UFO Georgia Peach, UFO Big Squeeze, and UFO Raspberry. Obviously, it was my choice of the flight, as they are all fruity beers. I loved how they filled these glasses to the top! Thank you! Camp Wannamango is a Mango Pale Ale, with mango purée. It had more of a “hint” of mango, rather than having strong mango flavor. It was very refreshing, light, and perfect for summer! UFO Georgia Peach is a UFO Wheat Beer with Peach flavor. It had a nice aroma and a great flavor of peach, but not overly fruity in any way. It was so good! UFO Big Squeeze is made with grapefruit, a bit sweeter than expected, which I really enjoyed. Another great one! UFO Raspberry has natural raspberry flavor added to the beer, and had the very distinctive raspberry note, with a slight tart flavor. I enjoyed all the fruity beer!
My hubby’s selection ($2.50 – $2.95 per glass) was Hazy Harpoon IPA, Team Mew-S-A!, Rainbows Are Real, and Summer Spritz Cider. Hazy Harpoon IPA was a seasonal item. It skips the last filtration process that gives the hazy color and its distinctive flavor. Team Mew-S-A! was a limited edition item, made with US National Soccer Team stars. It is brewed with lemon peel, lemon purée, and sea salt. It was very refreshing with citrus, lemon flavor. Awesome! Rainbow Are Real is a hazy IPA, and also citrusy, almost orange-y flavor. Summer Spritz Cider was bubbly with a citrusy ginger kick. Super refreshing, great cider flavor.
Now, if you don’t want to do a flight, you don’t have to. You can just order the 6 oz glass individually. After we finished our flight, we saw other tables with this bright, beautiful red beer. We had to ask what it was and add that to the order. My hubby, who loves stout, had to add an order of stout as well. The red one was Dragon Weisse ($2.50), tropical with dragon fruit, with a little tartness, light and delicious! Boston Irish Stout ($2.50) is a traditional dry Irish stout, full bodied with creamy texture. It had a great flavor! Had notes of chocolate, coffee and oak, nice deep flavor. It was one of the best stout I’ve ever had!
We decided to bring home this very unique, dragon fruit beer with us. The server told us that we can put in an order with him, so that we don’t have to go to the store side and pay separately. We got 4-pack of Dragon Weisse ($9.99) to go, and the server brought it to our table for us. If you want to purchase any merchandise, you can ask your server if you can bring them to the table and pay all together with your food/drink. Makes it easier, especially if the store side is very busy.
Their bathroom is located near the entrance. Just look for the sign on the ceiling. The bathroom was a nice size, and very red… Not a huge bathroom for the size of this place, but it was not that busy when we visited, so I had no issue.
Our server was very friendly and attentive, efficient service. We were well taken care of. It was a fun visit, and we enjoyed all the beer we tried. Again, not the best food, but hey, they are brewery, focused on beer, not food. I would like to visit again and try more different kinds of beer the next time we visit Vermont!
Harpoon Brewery Taproom and Beer Garden – 336 Ruth Carney Drive, Windsor, VT 05089