Ballast Point Old Barmy Ale

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

Tasted at the 13th Annual Strong Ale Fest on 12/4/2009. This fruity beer pours a light orange gold color from the tap. Small to meium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity and sweet, apricots and honey. A medium bodied fruit beer. The malts are fruity and sweet with lots of apricots and honey flavors. The beer is fairly sweet, but not cloying. It is nearly mead like, but has a nice malt backbone. The hops are herbal. Nicely balance, with good carbonation. The apricot flavors are very nice. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is sweet.

Well done fruit beer. The flavors really work and are natural tasting. On tap at the SD Strong Ale Fest 09. Orange pour, fluffy white head. Sweet malt, dried apricots, light fruit, honey, light pepper. Quite enjoyable.

On tap at the 2009 Pizza Port Strong Ale Fest, this beer was clear golden, sweet and a very pleasant change of pace from the rest of the beers at the event.

On tap at PP Strong Ale Festival 2009. Orange yellow color. Peachy with a hint of citric acid. Lastin white head. Almost an illusion of Brett. Very good.

Served on tap at the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival 2009. The appearance is hazy orange/apricot hue with a large white head. The aromas and flavors are sweet apricot, peach, and other stone fruits, honey, very sweet and creamy. The fruit flavors are excellent and natural.

Tap at Blue Palms for LA Beer Week. This beer is legit. Nose of powdery cherries, mold, wheat, slight funk. Color is that great powder violet of Count Chocula berries. Flavor is full of fruit, lavender, just hinting at sourness but never quite diving in. Finish is dry and rather long. Really enjoyable. These people deserve more attention for their sours.

Dammit deleted ratings. This shalll be short and sweet. On tap @ Downtown Johnny Brown’s. Clear golden with a short-lived white head. Aroma of ripe apricots and peaches, a little fruity tang, some candi sugar and honey. Flavor is canned peaches/apricots with the candied syrup. There is still some tangy peach/apricot and alcohol noted, but not enough to combat the overall sweetness. Bitterness is minimal in the sweet finish. Full body with low carbonation. Very good beer, but gets a little too much even after this 10oz pour with the sweetness.

Appearance: Pours out a clearish, deep yellow body with a small-sized, white head. Smell: Simple, though distinct aroma of sugary sweet honey and fresh sliced apricots splashed with a little Viognier. Taste: Lightly tart, fruity apricots tossed with a good dose of table sugar and coated with copious amounts of honey. There’s a touch of alcohol in there, but, to me, it’s nowhere near the asserted high ABV. Well, Ballast certainly doesn’t cheat the drinker when it comes to fruit or honey flavor. No real hop character or bitterness though. Finishes expectedly sweet and fruity. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation. Lightly sticky mouthfeel. Drinkability: While it is quite flavorful, the excessive sweetness and somewhat expansive body does, as GAManiac says, hamper the overall drinkability. But would I recommend it? Sure, why the hell not?! Recommended! So long as "sweet" and "apricots" are fond members of your vocabulary that is.