Love Beer. Love Life. Since 1986.

Tell us your story/detailed overview

1986: The Beginning… It all started with three college buddies and a shared love of beer. Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle, and George Ligeti were passionate about beer, but they weren’t able find what they were looking for on tap at their local pubs. While traveling in Europe after college, they drank many diverse, fresh, local beers and experienced firsthand the wonderful beer culture that existed just across the pond. They wanted to bring that to Boston, so they decided to do just that. In 1986 the Harpoon Brewery received Brewing Permit #001 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And that, friends, was the beginning of Harpoon…. We had the building, brewing equipment, and a bunch of people who loved to drink beer….now we just needed someone to come and actually brew the beer. Enter Russ Heissner, a graduate of the UC Davis School of Fermentation Sciences. Russ started formulating the recipe for Harpoon Ale in the summer of 1986. Friends and family were the lucky (and, at times, unlucky) quality control team through many months of test batches. Finally, in June of 1987 the “original” Harpoon Ale was brewed and delivered to Harpoon’s first accounts; the Sevens Ale House on Charles Street and Doyle’s Café in Jamaica Plain. And the rest, as they say, is history.

When open (hrs.)

Mon-Thu: 3-8pm Fri: 12-10pm

Need To Know/Community Rules

Fika moments: Brewery Tours & Tastings (Tastings are currently staffing dependent. check here: https://order.toasttab.com/online/harpoon-beer-hall-boston. If there are no slots available, we are likely unable to offer them that day.) We offer daily 30-minute Guided Tastings for $5 per person which includes a walk through of our brewery over to our original tasting room where you will learn about our brands and sample our core offerings! You will be able to pre-purchase tour and tasting tickets online or in person first come, first served day-of only. All time slots available for the day will be posted online and go on sale by 10AM. You must arrive 10 minutes prior to your tour time. Tours are 21+ unless accompanied by a parent or guardian (must still purchase a ticket, will not be permitted to sample). No strollers. No refunds or time exchanges, no exceptions.