Harpoon Brewery Partners with Dunkin’ on Seasonal Beers

Harpoon Brewery is one of the nation’s oldest craft breweries and while it has a strong series of core brands, the Boston, Massachusetts based craft brewery is always look for ways to innovate. The latest on the list is a series of new beers brewed in collaboration with Dunkin’, with seasonal beers for fall and a pair of brews made with actual Dunkin’ Donuts.

This is not the first time Harpoon and Dunkin’ have collaborated on beer. Their first joint effort, Harpoon Dunkin’ Coffee Porter, was a smash hit with consumers and paved the way to the present collaborative effort. Craft beer collaborations have, of course, been around for a long time, but the idea that a donut and coffee establishment would team up with a brewery was somewhat unusual. The success, however, of Harpoon Dunkin’ Coffee Porter greatly exceeded expectations and all but assured that more collaborations were in the works. I’m only surprised that it took this long, really.

For these new beers, Harpoon and Dunkin’ are serving three new collaborative efforts certain to whet your donut- loving whistle:

• Harpoon Dunkin Pumpkin– This spiced latte ale is brewed using real pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and coffee. It serves up the fall flavors we love with added coffee to make it a touch different (better!) than the typical pumpkin beer. It contains 5.2 percent alcohol by volume.
• Harpoon Dunkin’ Boston Kreme– Anyone who enjoys Boston cream pie will love this beer! It’s brewed using actual Dunkin’ donuts along with cacao nibs for authentic taste. The beer is brewed in the style of an Irish stout and contains just 4.3 percent alcohol by volume, making it light enough for breakfast (just kidding! Or am I?).
• Harpoon Dunkin’ Jelly Donut– Again, Harpoon has reached for real Dunkin’ donuts to add directly to the brew. This time around, the beer is a lighter take on a hazy New England style IPA complete with Hüll Melon and Citra hops for an added fruity edge to complement the taste of the jelly donuts. This beer has an alcohol by volume of 5.7 percent
• Harpoon Dunkin’ Coffee Porter– Why mess with a seasonal classic? This is the beer responsible for launching the partnership between America’s favorite donut/coffee shop with one of its most beloved craft breweries. The result is a beer with notes of chocolate, coffee, caramel, and toffee with a moderate 6.0 percent alcohol by volume.

Brian Gilbert, Vice President of Retail Business Development at Dunkin’, says the new beers are the natural next step in the Harpoon partnership and he has no doubt that fans will love the results.

“We’re excited to elevate our collaboration with Harpoon this fall with the introduction of Harpoon Dunkin’ Pumpkin beer and the first ever Harpoon beer made with real Dunkin’ donuts,” said Gilbert. “We have no doubt the new donut brews, along with the rest of this new fall lineup, will bring the same moments of sweetness and smiles our coffee and donuts have created for 70 years.”

Dan Kenary, Harpoon’s CEO and co- founder, is excited to create the brewery’s first ever donut- infused beers.

“After more than two years and three seasons of collaborating with the Dunkin’ team, our fans have come to expect a delicious fall beer from us, but we wanted to give them something extra special this year,” said Kenary. “Our brewers have always been master innovators, but brewing beer made with real donuts was a first even for them. It’s hard to pick a favorite of the four recipes – just like it’s hard to pick a favorite donut from Dunkin’ – but we hope both our and Dunkin’s fans have a blast trying.”

Harpoon Dunkin’ Pumpkin will be sold in six packs of bottles and on draft. All four donut- inspired brews will be sold as part of a 12- pack mixer with three cans each of the four above styles. Look for these beers throughout Harpoon’s distribution footprint beginning in September, 2020.