Brewery: Harpoon Brewery (UFO Beer)
Beer: UFO Apricadabra
Style: Hefeweizen/Pale Wheat Ale
ABV: 4.8%
Character: Hefeweizen brewed with apricots
Ratings: BeerAdvocate: 4/5 | Untappd: 3.67\5
Metal Connection: HEAVATAR – Abracadabra
BeerMetal Rating: 4/5
On the day I drank this beer, I had just finished drinking Apricot Cider by Tieton Cider Works, so I thought to myself, what the Hell, I’ll drink another apricot beverage as I grabbed this UFO Apricadabra by Harpoon Brewery from Boston, MA. According to my Untappd account, I have had several different beers by Harpoon, dating back to 2011. A couple of them being part of their famous UFO Series, which now has it’s own website as of 2017, just dedicated to the beers that are labeled as UFO. (I linked both of their sites above).
I was really looking forward to this beer when I bought it, but in typical Beer Metal Dude fashion, I held onto this one past the Best By Date, which was 06/15/18. I drank this beer on October 28th, just a few weeks ago. So not too bad, but still past the date. Oh well, fuck it. By the way, not sure what the status is of this beer in their portfolio, because nowhere on the Harpoon or UFO sites does it list anything about this particular beer. I really hate that, by the way. I mean, you fuckers brewed it, you fuckers released it, but now you fuckers have no word at all whatsoever about this beer. Bullshit! Ashamed much, maybe? I hope not, cause this beer was actually pretty damn tasty!
OK, small rant over! Now let’s get to this beer. I poured this beer into a Town in City Brewing Company shaker pint glass. The appearance was amazing. It was cloudy, dare I say hazy. The color was bright golden and the initial pour left a large white foamy head that was just over an inch thick. As I drank this beer, there was a lot of lines of lacing left down the glass.
The aroma was full of fruit characters. The base, of course being a Hefeweizen, so there was a nice nose of banana, hay or wheat, and light grains. The added apricot was present, adding a slight tartness to the aroma that blended well with the banana and wheat notes.
The flavor profile was right up there with the aroma. There was a nice refreshing body of wheat or hay, and grains with that hint of banana that you expect from a Hefeweizen. The added Apricot adds a bit of tartness and blends perfectly with the Hefeweizen backdrop. I really enjoyed the way the flavors blended here, and considering it was past the best by date, the flavors really held up well. I am wondering what a fresh bottle of this wold taste like. But since there is no fucking info on their sites about this beer, not sure if it will be released again. I guess we shall see.
Apricadabra had a slightly over medium thickness with a slick mouthfeel. There was mild carbonation present within this one. The finish remained slick, leaving a slick coating in my mouth.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with this beer. In this day of what seems like nothing but hazy New England IPAs and Pastry Stouts, it’s refreshing to see these other beers surface. It’s too bad a lot of these become shelf turds, cause of these asshole Haze Boys that turn the other cheek at all these other styles of beer. I say, fuck ’em, more for me!
Metal Connection: Heavatar is a Power Metal band from Germany that was started by Stefan Schmidt, who is one of five vocalists for the Power A Capella group, Van Canto, which is a very interesting band, to say the least. Let me tell you about them real quick. Van Canto is exactly what it’s described to be, a Power A Capella Metal band. The band is consisted of five vocalists, and a drummer, no guitars, no bass. The “music” is provided by the voices of these individuals. It’s really fuckin’ cool. I have never heard about this band before until today, when I was finding a Metal Connection song for this beer. The actual song I chose is not from Van Canto, but Heavater, a Power Metal band that features all the normal instruments. Stefan Schmidt plays guitar and is Heavatar’s lead vocalist. In 2013, they released their debut full length album, Opus I – All My Kingdoms through Napalm Records. On this album is where our featured Metal Connection song comes from. I chose the song, “Abracadabra” for obvious similarities in the song title to the beer name. I really didn’t know what to expect when I first heard this song, as I had never heard of this band before this. Well it’s definitely Power Metal, that’s for sure. It’s got an epic tone, with classic Heavy Metal elements in there. Catchy rhythms, and vocal patterns. The riffs and drumming will have you head banging while you hear this. Round this out with fantasy lyrics, and you have a powerful fucking tune here. Schmidt’s vocals on it’s own here with this band is not your typical high pitched super singing style of most Power Metal bands, but rather a low, raspy style. In my opinion, it fits perfectly with their sound. Some might hate this, but there are parts of the song that remind me a lot of Lordi. Yes, that monster band from Finland. I have heard the other songs from this album, and they are all pretty good, as is their 2018 full length album, Opus II – The Annihilation. Well, let me know what you think of this song. Check out the video link below.
Beer Metal Media 