Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

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

Bottle. Pours a clear amber with a 2 finger dense cream head with spotty lacing. The nose is floral hops and caramel malt. Taste is citrus hops and sweet caramel malt with some piney hops in the finish. Medium mouth feel. Not outstanding, but not bad and an easy drinker.

Bottle. Smally but lasting, thickk, creamy off-white haed. Beautiful clear red brown body. Complex fruity fruity spicy hoppy aroma with a bit of choccolate in the background. Mild, smooth and yet tasty apple pear lemon flavor with a fair amount of hops bitterness as well as a bit of caramel, creamy mouthfeel, long bittersweet aftertaste and a low carbonation. Impressive results with such a low alcohol percentage.

Bottle, $1.75 in CT. Pours “under-ripe” red with an energetic white head. Aroma has soapy, floral bouquet, perhaps a dash of lemon. Flavor was well-balanced, starting out with refreshing hoppy notes, then turning towards maltiness without ever really reaching sweetness. The result is a very drinkable, delicate red.

Pours a gorgeous amber with a thick creamy off white head that leaves behind a massive swath of lacing. Carbonation is light. Aroma holds light toffee, a bit of brown sugar and lots of grapefruit. Well balanced with the malt coating the tongue throughout most of the swallow, however, aggressive hop bitterness with an earthy character makes up the finish and long aftertaste, leaving a slight leathery overtone as it fades. Impressive!

Nice looker, with a clear dark amber, almost copper, body and lavish beige head with lots of sticky lace. Citrusy grapefruit hop aroma with a hint of toasted caramel. Body is creamy, but way too thin. Taste has aggressive hop bitterness that is mostly grapefruit. Some earthy hops underneath and a solid, if subtle, toasty caramel malt backbone. Good westcoast amber.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with an average, frothy, light brown head, mostly lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (toasted grain, caramel, bread), average hops (flowers), average yeast (fresh leather, warm dough) with notes of pear, date, apple, and light brown sugar. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

Poured an effervescent amber with a fizzy off-white head. Aroma of some faint grapefruit and lemon citrus with some grassy hops thrown in. Taste is lightly sweet toffee with some notes of grassy hops and some earthy pine bitterness, with just a touch of alcoholic character to round it out. Easy drinking amber ale, though I would have liked it to be a bit more assertive... atlhough I know that’s not the point of an amber. Oh well.

Reviewed 12/29/2008 (bottle): Pours a nice clear brown colored body, fizzy. Big creamy off-white heap, good lacing, lasting. Some alcohol in the nose, some flowery maltiness. Dusty and musty too. Carbonated palate. Malty nutty taste. Dusty too. Some hoppiness, grapefruit. Some sweet spiciness. A little tastier as it warms more.