Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

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

Golden orange-yellow color with thin white head. Huge citrus and floral aromas and flavors (pomelo, orange), candy, hints of pine, honey and biscuits. Late palate balances hop-bitterness and mild sweetness. Mouthfeel is oily, medium body and long finish. This is one of my favorite IPAs to date.

Holy mackerel, this beer smells so good; grapefruit, tangy spice, lemon bright golden / amber hues with, disappointingly, no head at all nice carbonation and light on the tongue Definitely a hoppy beer. The hops are right up front, just like smelling a handful. The sweetness of the beer couldn’t be better balanced with the hopps I would call this a PERFECT IPA.

Bottle. Light to moderate aromas of light bread and caramel for the malt, moderate pine and orange for the hops, moderate soap for the yeast, with pepper and date in the background. Head is small, thin, white with spotty lacing and is almost fully diminishing. Color is clear pale orange/tan. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic, then finishes lightly acidic and bitter. Palate is on the lighter side of medium, watery but a little slick, with lively carbonation and is lightly astringent in the finish. A great beer and a perfectly balanced IPA.

Pours golden from the 12oz. bottle at Plan B (Simsbury, CT): Smooth floral notes balance with a strong, resiny flavor. This one doesn’t try to re-invent it’s style, rather complementing a traditional, solid IPA. Drinkability: Robust flavors, however very smooth throughout and into the finish. Rebuy: Yeah. #216 on 24112009, DG.

Tap at Blue Palms. Nose is a great grapefruit, orange, sweet hop nose. Flavor is much more subdued than the scent lets on, and is straightforward and almost acidic - none of the creamy sweetness the bouquet implies. Nicely balanced.

Pours a nice golden amber color. Kind of like a sunset. Big, two-finger plus, head of thick, creamy white foam. Great retention and excellent lacing. Big citrus and floral hops dominate. There appears to be some sweet maltiness in there, but it’s buried. Smells like it’s going to be bitter. Grapefruits and oranges, mostly. Some pine notes and hints of lemon zest. A little more balanced than expected. You get to taste a touch of sweet maltiness, briefly. Then you get hit hard by the bitter hops. Slight notes of toffee are followed by big blasts of grapefruit and pine. All of this is enshrouded by floral hops notes. Light butterey biscuit notes. Actually maintains it’s crispness, while being a touch creamy, also. Very nice carbonation level. Fairly smooth and easy to drink. This wouldn’t be the first IPA that I’d reach for, but it’s a top twenty for sure, maybe a top ten. Refreshing and creamy, together, is a good combo.

Pours copper. Nose is all the typical west coast IPA usual suspects ... citrus, pine, grapefruit, etc. Flavor is bitter grapefruit rind, unripe oranges, resiny pine al nicely melded together with a sweet malt backbone. Another great job from Ballast Point.

Bottle courtesy of hopshunter. Pours a hazy dark amber color with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of honey, caramel, grapefruit, lemon, citrus, floral hops, light spice. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of honey, pine, grapefruit, light citrus notes. Medium body with a pleasing floral hop finish.