Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (North Star)

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Diego, California USA

Bottle from Stan at Lone Hill. A good recommendation - not as citrus juicy as I like them, but I was intrigued with the mango notes. If the bottle you get is off, however, gets malty fast and starts to taste English. Beware!

In short: An amazingly drinkable well-malted and ultra hoppy IPA. Complex, never aggressive, extra-refreshing. Fantastic
How: Bottle 22oz. About 3 to 4 months old. Big thanks to the simultaneous generosity of drewbeerme and hapjydeuce. I’ve got one more to drink!!! Yeah! You guys rule!
The look: Partly cloudy glowing orange topped by a small white head
In long: Ultra-hoppy orangy nose. Pillowy well-malted body. Malt sweetness has sponge cake flavour and mouthfeel. Enormous amount of hops. Next to the sponge-cake maltiness I had orange peels dipped in caramel, cedar, dried bananas, honey, some pineapples and some sponge cake. Pillowy body with a soft-medium carbonation. That dry cedar flavour fit so well in there. This is not a simple hop-juice IPA, this is rich, complex yet highly refreshing. Simply put this is one of the best “small” IPA I’ve ever had. I can’t believe people in San-Diego can drink that on a daily basis. I hate you guys, I hate everyone from San-Diego, may you all drown in your San-Diego beer. But before you do, one more trade please.

Ordered this beer from South Bay Drugs and Liquor. Thanks Joey! This is probably my favorite IPA and I’ve only had it twice. It poured a nice thick off white head and it has a beautiful golden color. The smell is just exceptional, above and beyond any other IPA I have ever had. Smells floral, grassy, piney, grapefruit, pineapple, and mango. Just all sorts of things going on in the smell and this translates directly into the taste. It tastes nice and hoppy, similar to the smell, and it also has a nice malty sweetness then a lingering, pleasant bitterness at the end. The mouthfeel is pretty good and the drinkability is amazing. This is really the best IPA I have had to date and I will definitely try to get some more in the future. Highly recommended!

22oz Bottle: Pours a clear bright orange with a thin white head. Big aromas of citrus! Hops dominate the taste with pine and orange coming through the best. It’s such an in your face experience that also delivers bits of tropical fruit. The body seemed medium to lighter but it could be the carbonation. This has become one of my favorites IPAs. Too bad we won’t see it for a while.

Bottled at Papsoes Blind tasting 19th. June 2008 no 27: Pine, herbs, flowers and citrus in the aroma. Flavour is sweet, herbal, has light caramel, flowers and pine. Meidum to full bodied. Dry. Medium to strong bitterness in the end. Is quite balanced. High drinkability.

Medium statured light tan head, retention is good with a thin clingy lace. Hazy gold/orange appearence. Nose is fine with notes of pine, fruit, melon, some tropical aromas maybe some mango and a hint of pencil shavings, large and lucious. Body is medium with a prickly carbonation and some gentle resiny notes, lightly acidic and somewhat oily. Big piney hop flavors, grapefruit, grass and some earthy notes as well. Big hoppy flavors abound with maybe a touch of caramel malts shining through. Finish is big and bold, hoppy, dry with a magnificent bite. A really massive IPA, right up my alley! Many thanks to SDbruboy for the bomber. Thanks Cliff! Mucho grassyass bro !!

Overall an exceptional beer. Very unassuming given the competition out there in CA and this style. Really seaking out more and more of the Ballast Point seasonal / rare beers has become an addiction. This was widely available, but very very quickly dissapeared, though lost forever. Very lucky that a friend had some extra bottles that got "lost" for me to have the opportunity to purchase again. Will drink 1 more soon, and keep the other 2 for the next several years. Has more oil and orange flavors than other IPA’s. Complexity of hops thru the finish is what makes this stand out. I can now see why you would ever want to buy a case of a craft beer after this experience. Usually you want to move onto the next one, here you want to come back again and again. Re-tasted again last night... This beer continues to WOW me. The smell is mesmorizing. The hops perfume are very complex and creamy on the nose. Intense and balanced. Great mid and finish also but the star is the nose. Glad I was able to buy more again this week from a hidden stache, which is now no more. Maybe rating this too low.

(Bottle 65 cl) Courtesy of WeeHeavySD. Slightly hazy golden with a small off-white head. Distinct aroma of peach and pine. Medium body with a rather sweet fruitiness. Aromatic and fruity hop bitterness. Lovely. 190608