Ballast Point Abandon Ship Smoked Lager

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
San Diego, California USA

Date: 11/30/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery

clear dark amber, thin fine white head, touch of lace, nice earthy smoked aroma, strong smoked flavor on a rich dry caramel malt base,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Sampled at the brewery on 11/30/06: Pours a clear pale copper bronze with a wispy-lacing white head. Sweet smoky, slightly buttery aroma. Body starts lightly sweet and smoky, drying toward an authentic, slightly grainy and bittersweet noble hoppy finish.

Draught Fine head over copper-chestnut coloured beer. Smokey nose, slightly phenolic, Lapsan Souchong tea; Sweet and smoked - a bit too sweet, somehow molasses-like, and again Lapsan, as well as some smoked ham. Reasonably bodied, quite smooth and slick.

Tap at Downtown Johnnie Brown’s. Pale amber-brown beer with a creamy tan head. Great aroma. Soft smokiness over a lightly toasty malt base. Clean and crisp with a soft munich malt sweetness. Slightly briny with a fruity/smoky component that doesn’t work as well as the aroma suggests. Quite salty and briny without all that much smoke flavour. Quite astringent and not nearly as tasty as it smells like it should be. Meh.

Clear copper colored body. Light honey and chewy caramel malt nose, moderately sweet. Very light notes of toasted bread, very light smoke noticed, but pleasant nonetheless. Rich, full, vinous texture, pleasant charred toast and crusty grains, some unbaked dough and granola picked up. Very smooth and full, a well-made helles style beneath the very mild smoke, I like this one a lot.

Draft at Craft, which si something I write a lot of these days. Pours dark caramel brownish wuith ruby edges and 1-finger off-white head. Nose is heavy smoked malt, hops, brown sugary BBQ sauce. Tastes rich, caramel smoky malty, with solid complexity. This one doesn;t shove the rauch down your throat like the Aecht offerings, but is more subtle. If you give this aroma less than an 8 or 9, then you quite frankly don’t understand this style.

Draft @ homebrew shop. Poured a clear dark copper color. The aroma had a great balance of mild smoke, fruitiness and caramel malt. Notes of cereal as well. The flavor had mild but obvious smoke with a crisp malt. Hoppy finish.

Tap at CAH. Pours a translucent copper with a medium bubbly off white head. Aroma of smoked malt, caramel, nuts and earthy. Flavor of smoked meats, earthy, caramel and a little thin.