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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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!

hugely hoppy, habenaro everywhere. Full bodied.very long lingering spiciness. Like food and beer together. Excellent.

Poured an orangish color at Hunhapu day, with huge aromas of hot peppers, and light hops. Flavors are the same, all hot pepper meat, light pepper flesh, and a touch of hops. Pepper flavor lingers on the palate.

Clear orange color with no head. Aroma of pepper, citrus, and hops. Lots of habenero upfront with citrus sweetness right behind it. Not sure what possessed one to add habenero to a very good IPA, but this works.

Looks just like the regular sculpin...retention and lacing arent quite as good. Aroma is also the same but has just a touch of vegetal pepper. Flavor is sculpin all the way with peppery heat in the end that burns pleasantly for some time. Mouthfeel is medium and the finish is dry and peppery hot.

Draft at Mexican Food Factory Marlton. Pours out an attractive slightly more amber color than normal Sculpin with a nice white head. Aroma is of tropical fruits, citrus bitterness, and some light earthy/spicy chili pepper. Pepper is definitely subtle and maybe somewhat turns down the normal hop profile. Taste is where the peppers make their mark. Notes of tropical fruit and citrus hoppy bitterness, and then a spicy/earthy/fruity chili pepper (yes, the wonderful Habenero) comes into play. Luckily the spice is not over done, and despite the popular belief this pepper doesn’t only pack a lot of heat, there is a lot of flavor in there too. The hops meld rather well with the pepper that initially only leaves a slight burn, but definitely stings your lips for minutes after your sip...and if eating spicy food can linger even longer. A great rendition to one of my favorite IPA’s.

On cask at the PP Carlsbad Real Ale fest. It pours orange with a cream colored head. The aroma is nice with the peppers only playing a minor part to the fresh citrusy hops. The flavor is all dominated by hot peppers. There is some citrus notes in there as it burns your throat on the way down. Its actually a pretty cool beer, but I can’t help but feel like the pepper ruins a classic IPA.

On draft at Issacs Amber pour with a floral hoppy aroma. Caramel malt taste with hop, pepper and curry. It finishes hot. Ehh.

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.

Golden hazy pour thin creamy off white head orange tint and light sticky lacing .. aroma is pretty much like regular sculpin, citrusy and tropical fruity hops .... taste well thats a different story ... for a few seconds you get a light tropical citrusy fruity hop flavors along with some caramel malts and then it is all heat .... spicy and hot peppers that pretty much hit the back of my mouth and tongue and numbed my lips ... bitter peppery finish ... in one word heat ... but interesting brew no trace of abv ... good for one beer, not gonna taste much after drinking it though