Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (North Star)

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

22 oz bottle
I only let this sit for a week before I could resist the urge to open it. West Coast IPAs seem to lose something even when chilled and I wanted the best experience possible. I don’t know how much this costs in California but if it were regularly accessible I may just buy it on a semi-regular basis.

Aroma / Appearance - The transparent golden body and stark white head formed a picturesque decoration on the coffee table. Bright and grassy, the nose was fruity with the main aspect being canned mandarin oranges.

Flavor / Palate - The hoppy bite grabs you from the first sip and is consistent throughout. A mixture of grass, pine needles, flower petals, and citrus it sits nicely on the tongue. Despite being 7% ABV this was not tough to polish off as spring transitioned to summer.

Thanks IBrew2or3 for the share. Pours clear yellow with a white head. Nose is grapefruit, orange, some pine, and a big caramel backbone full of malt. Flavor is similar with lots of caramel and grapefruit, and some pine. Flavor finishes off with lingering hop bite. Interesting.

Pours a bright golden amber with a dense head that shows very good retention and excellent lacing. Hops, hops, and more hops. Initial blast of resiny hops with major citrus aromas of grapefruit and lemon. This is what an IPA should smell like. Resiny, piny hop bitterness is the dominant taste with a definite lemony, grapefruit flavor. I get only the slightest bready malt flavor but enough to balance the massive hoppiness. Medium mouthfeel with a nice carbonation that shows up prickly on the tongue with the hop bitterness. Goes down smooth with the right balance of bitterness. For me, this is what all West Coast IPAs should aspire to be and is one of the most drinkable IPAs I’ve tasted. I would go well out of my way to get a hold of this one.

Clear orange color with a big white head. Knock-out nose of fresh hops...pine and hibiscus. Flavor is awesome with hops, honey and tasty malts. Easy to drink and very approachable. Loved it.

Fresh from the brewery. It’s a heavy looking brass color with a stiff layer of white head. The initial aroma is pure citrus and hop but a more detailed scent of grapefruit and fresh pine will shine through. The flavor is a strong delivery of citrus and piney hops with just the lightest dabble of grainy malt. This ipa sure does pack a punch which makes me wonder what the alcohol percent is. Also, I didn’t think this Sculpin IPA was very far off from Ballast Point’s el Dorado double IPA. I think the logo of this sculpin ipa was real cool too.

22 oz bottle courtesy of duffmansw extra. Pours a hazy golden pour, a touch amber, with moderate offwhte head, quite bubbly and carbonated, decent lacing. Aromas throw good floral hopping, grapefruit rind, resinous pine, and tropical fruits mellower underneath, with pale and caramel malts that take a backseat. Initial is medium bodied, even keeled wih a good hopping of citrus, florals, and tropical fruits, the malt body isn’t overbearing and a carmel bomb, but still packs a good balanced bitterness. Tropical mango always wins points with me in an IPA, with a touch of soapiness, good citrus to boot. This is a quality IPA than does’t weigh you down in the malt department, but still makes a valiant effort with a touch of gumball and good fruit and bitterness with pale and caramel malts in expertly decided quantity. One of the best IPAs I’ve had.

Thanks to Shane (I think)! Pours a crystal clear gold/orange with spacious head. Citrus hop aroma is heavenly. Taste is wonderful hops with thin malt backing. Absolutely screams hop flavor without being overly bitter. Could possibly use a bit more malt presence, but I shouldn’t press my luck. This is up there w/ the best of the best for me.

Poured a clear effervescent amber with a fizzy/frothy white head. Aroma of grapefruit and orange, some pine, some soap, a slight touch of candy sweetness. Flavor is quite bitter with strong notes of grapefruit rind, earthy and bitter pine, a slight touch of soapiness, leading to a very dry bitter finish. No metallic tinge to the bitterness, which is nice. Overall a very bitter IPA witih sufficient complexity and almost no sweetness which maintains a pleasant refreshing character. A major notch in the column of those who do not care for sweet or more “balanced “ IPA’s.