Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin

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

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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UPDATED: DEC 11, 2011 cask at GBBF 2011 ... golden yellow... zezty orange and pine hop nose ... fireburn in back of throat ... oh what a kick ... zezty orange light ... bitter big hop ... but oh what chilla ... good for small amout or with food... not so good for a fetival... and too firey for lots ... despite this loved it

Cask at GBBF 2011. An amber coloured pour with a medium white head. Hoppy aroma. Tastes like an IPA with curry powder and chillis thrown in, this really did not work, I had to pour it away after a couple of sips. Quite horrid!

Cask gravity at GBBF 2011. Way too hot fiery and just mostly undrinkable.

On tap at O’Brien’s’ pouring up via the Beer Engine with hazy gold to orange body and white head. The aroma has some sweetness and firm levels of Sculpin hoppiness with various citrus notes. I also get a mild background of chili pepper meat. The taste is Beer Engine smoothness and near creamy creating a Sculpin that is on the sweet side. It seems to start off a bit neutral in flavor with growing yet modest levels of sweetness and citrus before bold chili pepper burn and chili pepper flavor take over. The chili lingers and burns the lips for a good five minutes afterward. Darn spicy offering.

A - Served a golden-orange color with a thin layer of white head atop. The head faded fairly quickly leaving behind a touch of lace. S - Aroma is a mix of sweet caramel malts and grassy/piney hops. The pepper is noticeable in the background but not too strong. T - Starts off with a mix of caramel sweetness and piney hops and bitterness. There is some growing heat in the background from the pepper, but not too strong. Through the middle, the heat grows a bit along with stronger bitterness. As the beer finishes, the heat explodes and takes over and lingers for quite a while. M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. It feels pretty smooth and super hot, and keeps your tongue on fire for a while. D - Very much a sipping beer. It is so hot that if you drink it any faster it would be painful. Not really what I would call balanced, but a very interesting beer.

POurs hazy light amber with hop/grapefruit notes and some light pepper. The mouthfeel starts nicely like the sculpin pinning you down with nice biiter hops that drive a roller coaster of heat right to the finish.

On tap @ O’Briens - Pours a hazy light golden color with a small white head. Flavor and aroma is mostly Habanero. You can taste the Sculpin, but the pepper really leaves a bite in the finish. I’m talking spice and heat. I drank the whole glass. Interesting.

UPDATED: JUN 17, 2011 On tap at BP Old Grove; Light amber/golden color with a medium white head. Aroma is citrusy and light pine. Flavor starts lightly fruity sweet followed by grapefruity hops and sharp habanero heat.The heat almost takes over the beer, but is an interesting twist if you like hot peppers. Medium bodied and smooth with some long lingering habernaro heat. I would like to see a little more balance between the habanero heat and the citrus bitterness, but still I liked it.

Really enjoyed this. Aroma was lightly green, some roasted peppers, definitely heat, some habanero and the underlying sculpin we all know, some juicy citrus tropical hops. Flavor is much the same, really well done, some sweet heat, not overpowering at all.

On tap at Urge in RB/Poway on the Tap Takeover night. They had 25different brews from Ballast Point that day. It is exactly what it says to be. Sweet tropical hoppy Sculpin with the warming to sharp bite of Habenero. If you like this type of beer, it’s well done. If you don’t like these, you won’t like this one. I liked the levels of heat to sweet on this one.