Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Ballast Point Brewing Company - Sculpin IPA

A few months ago, I was just starting to get really interested in beer. With the aid of Kenny, I started to explore some of the beers made in the San Diego area. It wasn't long before I began trying a few of Ballast Point's beers and soon, I found one that blew almost everything else out there away- Sculpin IPA.

Sculpin is (sadly) a seasonal beer that Ballast makes every spring. When I toured the brewery a few weeks ago, they were at the very end of Sculpin season. While this made me a little (ok, more than a little) sad, we saw some barrels of another seasonal beer they make called Victory at Sea- another phenomenal beer that is due to come out in a few months. So, if nothing else, at least there is that to look forward to in the near future.

I bought a bomber of Sculpin a few weeks ago and finally tried it out last Saturday. Wow. I've never tasted an IPA quite like this in my life. For one thing, this beer is full of flavors that most IPAs don't go near. Right off the bat, the aroma of the beer is full of apricot and mango and grapefruit along with clean citrusy hops. The taste is really full with the sweetness of apricot and then ends with a nice hard finish of piney hops. Even though this beer has so much going on, everything is perfectly balanced and the result is really amazing. I only have one complaint - Why does it have to be seasonal? Why?

Final Grade- A+

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