Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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on cask at GBBF 2011. The peppers just destroy you on this one. No one else could finish their glass. I did and it stayed with me for a spell. The heat takes away rather than adding to this beer. The fire is so strong that it completely takes over the hops.

Dark amber in color, clear with a thin head. Big pepper aroma. The IPA hops are masked for sure the pepper and the hops blend well together and the peppers make for a very nice heat and flavor. Great Mexican food beer.

Tulip at Tony’s dart away. Good aroma, sweet. Minor pepper. Citrus, orange, grapefruit. Clean golden orange color. Small head that faded quick. Bitter flavor. Medium body, smooth oily creamy mouthfeel. Bitter dry finish. Better that I was anticipating. Heat is good. Not overwhelming. Enjoyable. Finish is my favorite part.

Served on cask at Al’s of Hampden. A - Pours clear golden yellow with a nice one finger tall white head leaving light patches of lace down the glass. S - Smells of citric hops, spicy peppers and some light caramel sweetness. The hops are strong initially but the peppers really take over as it sits in the glass. T - Starts off with a nice citric hop bite quickly giving way to a light caramel sweetness and plenty of peppery spice. The first half of the glass wasn’t too bad but the second half was all habanero spice. The spice sticks around long after the finish, lingering on the pallet for quite awhile. M - Compared to the regular sculpin this one is all peppers. The spice grabs hold of the pallet and never lets go. A touch of hop bitterness tries to break through but the peppers never really let it come out completely. O - I have wanted to try this one ever since I heard about it. I love sculpin but the peppers really drown out the best parts of the base beer. Glad I got to try it but I doubt I would get it again.

On tap at the Public House. Pours a clear pale amber with a small tan head that has good retention and leaves a lot of lacing on the glass. The aromas is grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, a hint of caramel malt, some pepper, and a grassy, vegetal note. The initial taste has a bit of sweetness with pineapple, tangerine, and some orange. The finish is pepper, grassy, and vegetal. The hops and pepper dominate any malt. The finish has a decent bitterness and a lot of pepper heat. Very spicy with the heat lingering for quite a bit. Medium body. Medium carbonation. This is a bit of a novelty, but I found it enjoyable. I certainly wouldn’t recommend to someone who doesn’t enjoy habaneros, but I’m glad to have been able to try it. Not as good as the regular Sculpin, but worth trying.

On draft at Gourmet Haus. The aroma is overblown with the habanero.....and then you get to the taste. This literally tastes like someone messed with a beer by adding hot pepper sauce. I do not get any of the original Sculpin flavor or aroma here. Very tough to drink from a brewer i love.

took my first sip and holy shit! The Habaneros hit the tongue but don’t cause to much hotness but when it hits the throat its almost a tad bit overwhelming. I’m a totally wuss when it comes to hot stuff so this totally took me for a ride. Once again the tropical fruit goodness of regular Sculpin was kind of missing here and the pepper was just huge. Everytime I took a sip it burned a new hole in my throat. This was a total sipper. It took me a good 20 minutes to get to the middle of the glass. But when I did get to the middle of the glass it seemed like things changed. I was getting used to the pepper and the goodness of Sculpin came out more and more. I was picking up the fruits. Then it was an enjoyable brew. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the whole ride but the end of the trip was a little bit better then the beginning. The pepper was still there but came together nicely with everything else. By the end of the glass I felt like I accomplished something =) and I also had heartburn. The mouthfeel on this was nice. Smooth. I’m sure the cask had something to do with that. Medium bodied.

On cask @ O’Brian’s: Poured a different color than I remember from the regular sculpin and appeared as a lighter golden blonde. Tiny formation of head which eventually fizzed out leaving the liquid naked. The aroma is not as easy for me to smell due to the food and atmosphere here at O’Brien’s but it does smell very similar to the original recipe. As for the drink, the taste is full of pine and citrus fashioned hops while a heavy spice flavor coats the back of my throat. The habanero is so apparent that lips begin to burn and even a bit of irritation in my stomach as if I ate a spicy dish of Thai or Indian curry. This has to be the strongest chili peppered beer I’ve come across.

Phone rate. Cask at O’Brien’s. Cloudy orange with 1/2 finger off-white head, dissipating to a thick ring rather quickly. Tropical citrus rind nose typical of regular Sculpin, tinge of vegetal notes behind.flavor follows, having a little trouble deciphering between fruity hops and habañero. This does pack substantial heat from the start, and builds throughout the pint, as expected. Probably about at my limit--any more heat would make it unenjoyable. Bitterness peaked at a 6, dry. Medium body with cask carbonation. Could be too hot for some. Burps vegetal. Tasty for the pint I had!

@ RnH. Got to applaud the guys at Ballast for such a unique offering but then again... are you out of your minds!? This sucker is hot... directed towards heat heads, not hop heads. Tastes like a finished product with habanero added afterwards.. like your buddy f’ed with your drink. Hard to see this going well with any food.