Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

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

Tasty, malty beer. Really nice toffee notes. Little hop presence other than balancing bitterness, though there is some spicyness in the finish. A well tasty pint indeed.

Draft at ginger man. It was a light brown. Sessionable. Nice maltiness and some hops.

Bottled@Konttori, Tampere. Amber colour, mediumsized beige creamy head. Some lace. Aroma is caramel malts, grass, toffee and some mild spicyness. Flavour is quite much the same. The spicyness is dominating though. Nice wooden and grassy aftertaste.

Deep amber pour with a thick sticky white head. The aroma is fairly sweet. A touch of earthy/fruity hops and a fairly prominent note of diacetyl. Kind of dirty smelling with a bit of rotting orange peel in there as well. Meh... these guys can do so much better.

Pours a nice clear dark amber color with a thick foamy head. Aroma is a bit sweet with a little soapiness and hops. Malty taste with nice hop balance. Beautiful, well balanced beer.

Pours a nice darker amber with tan head sweet citrus aroma very sweet smell ..... sweet malty citrus and caramel taste with a balanced hop bitter finish ... this is an excellent beer very sessionable

Cask at Rattle n Hum: Deep amber pour with a fading bubbly head. Very fruity aroma with some apparent esters & berry-like suggestions. Residual sugars are apparent as well with notes of honey and raisiny hints. Very fruity flavor as well- the yeast doesn’t seem that clean. Has notes of dark fruit, quite a bit of maltose giving a fig character. Way less hoppy and dry than I expected. Not bitter enough. (Perhaps this cask was in poor condition).

Pours dark copper-amber with a 1 finger chunky tan head that has great retention and leaves decent lacing. Aroma is citrus, herbal, toast, caramel, rich grainy malt, a little thick crusted french bread and chocolate chip cookie dough. Flavor is caramel, toasted grain, mellow citrus, a little chocolate, just a little cardboard, some roast like notes, bread and tea. Finish is slightly bitter citrus, grainy and herbal notes. Palate is light to medium bodied with a fine carbonation, a slightly syrupy entry and dry finish. Pretty good for an amber.