Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

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

Amber with a small white head. Weak aroma of bready malt and citrus hops. Dry fruity flavour with balanced malts and hops.

Bottle at EBF 2008. Cloudy amber coloured with a small white head. Fruity aroma of malts, caramel and hops. Fruity flavour of caramel, liquorice and hops with notes of pine needles. Hoppy finish.

[EBF @ Copenhagen, September 2008] Bottle. Average creamy beige head that mostly lasted. Good display of lacework. Aroma of toffee, dusty grain like, good solid hoppy feel. Medium bodied with a soft carbonation and mild dry texture. Moderated bitter and sweet flavor well balanced. Mild bitter dry finish with a malty touch.

Pours a clear reddish amber color with a medium, fluffy, tan head. Nice aroma of earthy malt, carame, some fruityness and a shy hops presence. The hops is more vigorous in the mouth, providing a floral, citrusy flavor, and the earthy malt, caramel and fruits are also there, there’s mild bitterness in the end. The body is light to medium and the carbonation is gentle. This is a fairly interesting amber ale.

Bottle at EBF - white labs. Clear amber - offwhite head. Caramel, resin, nutty, sweetness, nice bitterness, herring, nice malty body, cookie, bisquit, roasted. Very nice.

Sample at EBF Copenhagen. Nice head with good duration. Color is amber. Aroma and taste are hops, malt and caramel.

Bottle from Canal’s in Lawrenceville. Nearly clear rich copper supporting a small but sturdy light khaki head. With eyes closed you might mistake the aroma for that of an IPA because of the piney notes. Lots of toffee and caramel with some spicy whte pepper flavors. A little thin. Snappy finish with a brisk hoppy kick.

Bottle @ EBF, 2008, Carlsberg.
Pours a nice, red amber with a small, creamy, off-white head. Aroma has pine, caramel and cauliflower (?). Pretty dry, okay mouthfeel. Flavour starts off sweet, and has a long, bitter, dry aftertaste.