Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

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

Pretty decent Amber. Not going to knock your socks off but not disappointing. It’s reasonably thin bodied for the style and relies on malty complexity more than anything else. A smooth beer

This amber ale really surprised me. Medium bodied witha dark ruby red color. Not much head. You can definitely taste all of the malts they use in the aftertaste especially. Nice little hop profile in there, which is expected with anything west coast seems like; just delicious and refreshing. You can also smell different malts on the nose as well. Nice amber.

Bottle thanks to nearbeer. Dark amber red with a thin beige head. Aroma of big caramel malt, toasty, bready, some apple fruit. Taste is much the same, caramel, bready malt, with a lingering grassy bitterness.

(bottle) A dark, cloudy copper beer with a beige head that leaves lacing on the glass. Aroma heavily malt and sweet with hops and berries. The flavor is quite hoppy and mildly sweet. There is fruit as well as bread, straw. The crisp, bitter finish is refreshing. Medium bodied.

Bottle...great example of a style I don’t like much. Red color very appealing. Nice texture of bitterness and maltiness. Special and reminds me of something I drank a long time ago but can’t remember what it was.

Draft. Nice amber color and a creamy head. Big malt notes in the nose. Caramel, earth, and a bit of hops come through in the aroma. Medium carbonation with a richer mouthfeel. Palate tends to follow the nose with the dominate taste being roasted malt and caramel, but there is also a pleasing hop bitterness in the back. Finishes very clean, with only a hint of lingering bitterness. A good, well balanced amber that is worth trying.

Bottle. Reddish color with a tan head that lasts through the glass. Smell is very malty, a little bit of roast coming through as well. This beer tastes weird, if its really cold it isnt good. As it warms up it gets progressively better. Very heavy malt presence completely dominates this one. Little to no hops. Very highly carbonated. Not really much of a session beer. I could drink it, but I prefer bells Amber to this. Interesting to try though.

Pours dark reddish amber, malty, caramel, hops, citrus, little fruity, dry finish.