Ale Asylum Ballistic IPA

Brewed by Ale Asylum
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Ballistic has a golden color w/ moderate hop aroma and flavor. Nothing about the hops is overpowering including the flavor which is perfectly balanced by the abundant smooth maltyness which caresses the insides of the mouth. The high ABV (7+) is noticeable only by the warm feeling and happy thoughts that won’t fail to come cascading in waves minutes after finishing a pint of this beauty. You can tell by counting the foam rings on your glass how many sips it took to finish this one; the head never disappears. This is truly a beautiful IPA and is perhaps the best of the hoppy beers from Ale Asylum, 1 of the Midwest’s premier breweries. Ballistic is like Two Hearted Ale on steroids! My only criticism is that Ballistic is perhaps a tad maltier than one might expect from an IPA, but that never stopped me from loving a highly hopped beer. This is a beer not to be missed.

Aroma was citrusy with a quickly catching up of caramel malting,others thought it was much more citrusy then I did. Taste is a monster shot of grapefriut flavor and tartness, not tremendously strong, but as distinct and clear as if you had licked a grapefruit,just enough malting to prevent you from puckering in the finish. On tap at the Malt House in Madison,hope the bottle is as good

Pours a dark amber.caramel color with a nice off white head. Great citrus aromas that are quickly consumed by the aromas of caramel malts.Flavor is of citrus hop that fades to a nice bitter finish. Seems to be just a slight malt backing, but not enough to out weigh the hop bitter. Has a medium body to it as well.This is a very enjoyable IPA! Thanks Ubamartian!

Draft at the brewpub. Brown-orange color. Foamy, soapy head. All out Amarillo aroma, very nice. Hop taste is in your face too, quite a big Amarillo blast. Strawlike bitter and dry notes. Some citrus too. Very well done.

After finishing my taxes at the last minute, I was already going ballistic, so why not have a beer whose name kinda fits my mood. Cloudy amber-orange with a medium off white head that leaves some lacing. Aroma of caramel at first then lots of hops – citrus, pine and grapefruit. Tastes pretty much the same. I notice the sweet malt and caramel right off the bat but then the citrus, grapefruit and pine take over. Bitterness wasn’t too extreme and the finish reminded me a bit of how orange juice finishes - bunch o’ gossamer at the back end of the throat. Pretty darn tasty and a nice end to Tax/Jackie Robinson day.

Hazy amber pour with a large, sticky, glass-coating off-white head. Aroma blends grapefruit hops and caramel malts in about equal measure. In the mouth, the hop bitterness is more present than the hop aromas, despite the caramel-vanilla malt backbone. But a resinous nutty component balances it. Medium to full body, very creamy mouthfeel.

Thanks to Steve for the bottle.. this sucka FLEW off the shelves! Poured medium orange with a dusting of eggshell head. The aroma was vibrant and lovely with huge grapefruit and passion fruit over caramel and juicy grapefruit meat.. peppery notes on the very back. The flavor had sweet toffee and caramel at the core with the juicy grapefruit, bright pine, and pineapple bitterness around.. dryness on the back that was akin to oxidation, but I don’t think it was.. finished spicy and warm with a long citrus impression. Medium-bodied and well-balanced on the palate.. excellent brew!