Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Seductive nose of fresh citrus an earthy hop spice. Wow! Eventually the olfactories detect a warming malt presense forming the platform for the hop symphony. The delicate malt entry is quickly jumped in line by an utterly amazing hop complexity. Layers of hop flavors form a veritable essay on American hop varieties. While one could go on and on about the continuing wave of flavors this brew reveals with each sip, the structure bares the beauty. As the mid-palate elates with a seamless hop crescendo the body curves in a seductive finish. Caressing the tongue and gums this beauty leaves the room with a kind word and a hug. Left is a pleasant hop spice that lingers between the teeth and on the cheeks. As well crafted as any I have had. Watch out Dreadnaught. Enjoyed from a big ass wine glass. Not too chilly please.

500ml Bottle @ brew on quay. Pours rosey gold with a thick but small head. Aroma is floral, grass clippings, some mandarin with pettles spronkled through. A full beer in the mouth, palate is super hoppy with plenty of bitter raisin alcohol.

My favorite beer of all time (not including my homebrew of course). Available via cask (at least the night i was there) at the linkery in san diego. Entire table agreed that this was heaven on earth. cask moderated some of the intensity and added a smoother more robust finish lacking in some san diego ipa’s. The grapefruit intensity of the hops was mellowed by the cask and was delightful to smell in a balloon wine glass.

UPDATED: OCT 23, 2007 I didn’t expect this. I mean, I expected something good from Ballast Point but this just blew my mind. What a great friggin DIPA. My God! An aroma that’s just insane. Coconut, papaya, passion fruit, grapefruit, mango and pines. It’s like you took a trip to some tropical island and got all the best it has to offer in one sniff. Appearance is amber/orange in color with a nice eggshell white head. Mouthfeel is silky smooth..no harshness, no overcarbonation...for me...perfect. Flavor is more of this same with the aroma. Tons of tropical fruit, bitter citrus hops, sweet caramel malts....in a word...perfect. No noticeable alcohol levels, just a smooth, intense highly delightful beer to consume. Thankfully, I have another bottle!

UPDATED: OCT 3, 2009 22 oz bottle via lagunitasfan, thanks! Pours a hazy amber with an average off white head. Nose is grapefruity and floral hops. Taste is toffee, honey, grapefruit, pine, apricot. Body is medium/full, carbonation is medium. abv hidden very well, this is dangerously chuggable! This is tasty and a very nice flavorful/hoppy Double IPA. World class!!!

Pours out golden amber with lots of foam, that lasts. Great piney sweet smell. Taste is citrus sweet with lots of hops. Perfect sharp bitter crisp finish. One of the best Westcoast DIPA.

Not typically a fan of IPA’s but this Double IPA is amazing. For it’s high alcohol content the bitterness is not really present at all. Great aftertaste.

UPDATED: MAY 13, 2009 bomber from CBX. pours a gorgeous golden, amber color with a thin, foamy off white head and excellent lacing. aroma is absolutely amazing. huge citrus hops dominated by grapefruit and tangerine with big scents of peach, strawberry, mango, spicy pine, flowers, and just a hint of malt sweetness. flavor is an amazing, huge, explosion of delicious citrus hops, pine, tropical fruits, and apricot, backed by huge, sweet, caramel malts and lovely alcohol warmth. finish is deliciously bitter with floral and earthy tones. mouthfeel is perfectly balanced, medium bodied, sticky, and effortless to drink. i thought sculpin was great, but this one is on another level. great beer.

UPDATED: APR 14, 2010 2010-04-13, 8-5-8-5-17=43
Gorgeous copper to amber color, solar; creamy head. The bottle not being fresh, some of the hop qualities left, instead the aroma becomes more complex, creamy, with toffee, vanilla, mellow resins. Strong body structure, with powerful toffee flavor, enough sweetness to satisfy my sweet tooth, incisive resins immediately evident. Strong bitterness. Even not fresh, a very solid beer.

2008-08-31, 10-5-9-5-18=47
Hazy deep blond color with a thick head. Wonderful hoppy aroma, fruity first, then resiny, and with some vanilla in the end. Strong body structure, very strong caramel and toffee flavor, sweet as I need it, and extreme hopping. Most enjoyable final. I had to confirm the first impression.

2008-04-04, bottle at Ølbaren, Copenhagen, 9-5-8-5-18=45
Hazy golden color. Poweerful hoppy aroma, a lot of resins, citrusy resins; some fruitness too, and hop pellets; wonderful. Almost chewy toffee flavor, with some appreciated sweetness and an extreme and very resiny hopping. Extremely extreme, and one of the most enjoyable Double IPA I had in some time.

Bottled. Big thanks to Tomas & Magnus. Light hazy orange colour with creamy white head. Grapey, mandariney aroma that is very compact and intense - this is what I want from an Imperial India Pale Ale. Balancedly sweet with superb hopflavour and grapey bitterness. There is not much else to say here. Fantastic 2IPA! It’s big. It’s bold. But it’s balanced!