Ballast Point Serrano Pepper Pale Ale

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

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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On tap at Rokko Beer Diner. This beer is crazy, it looks like your typical lager but the the chili pepper aroma hits you like a smack in the face. No other flavors got through so it tasted more like drinking tabasco than a beer. Than cognitive dissonance was odd. I give them credit for imagination. It is a strange beer as the spiciness didn’t refresh me so much as had me running for something else to drink. Weird but interesting, too spicy for me...

Had this fresh at Antenna America in Yokohama. Lighter bodied and spicier than the Habenaro IPA. I personally liked this better of the two beers. Big spicy finish would make it a great beer to pair with Mexican food. Great stuff.

Pepper. And some beer in the background. but mainly just pepper. An interesting concoction, but a half pint and done for me. Hot sauce lovers will groove with this though. I needed a beer after this beer.

Location: Draft at Ginger Man (NYC), 1/19/13

Aroma: The nose is pepper/spice, with some malty and hop components as well
Appearance: This one pours a clear golden color with a small, slightly fizzy, white head
Flavor: Taste-wise, the pepper is in balance with the hops to make it peppery but still drinkable
Palate: The body of this one is medium (leaning light), and it has average carbonation
Overall Impression: I thought this was a pretty tasty pepper pale ale. This one is certainly worth trying, especially for those that have previously enjoyed the pepper beer gimmick.

Draft at ginger man with max for his birthday. Pours a clear amber body wih no head and light lacing. Aroma is pepper, slightly hot and light hop character. Mouthfeel is light with notes of malt, light pepper, and hop. The pepper really dies down in the flavor and is almost nonexistent.

Pours a clear golden with big white head. Aroma is of roasted peppers all the way, nothing else comes through. BIG peppers. Taste is more roasted peppers, slight malt bill and some watery finishing notes. The heat is medium, at best, and nothing to be worried about if you are not a big fan of heat. Overall, a nice vegetable beer but I don’t really get any pale ale comparisons and the mouth feel is weak.

On tap @ Home Brew Mart: Poured a beautiful golden liquid with no formation of head. Aroma is bold with a big personality that screams of roasted chili peppers but somehow reminds me of the scent of a bag of cocaine. The flavor is spicy with a taste of roasted chili peppers and is much more subdued compared to the other chili recipe beers I have sampled by Ballast Point. Okay stuff but not as special as spicy as some of the other chili beers.

This was a sample at the Ballast Point Brewery at Old Grove. The ale poured a clear golden color with a small head and lacing. The spicy ale hit you in the top of your mouth with tingles throughout. This is an ale that will be a new experience. The carbonation was average and the finish left a spicy taste in your mouth.

Tap. Pours a golden yellow color with a white head. Aroma is of dominated by pickled peppers and some spice, I also get some subtle sweet malt. The flavor is again of the pickled peppers with some spice notes, but it is not too intense, some grassy notes and the sweet malt. The body is light with a dry mouth feel. Overall an solid chili beer, not super spicy and not super interesting.

Dark amber in color, clear with a thin head. Nice pepper aroma. The heat in the flavor and taste is very good. Not over the top and so hot you can’t drink. Very good job.