Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

Bomber - pours a hazy navel orange colour. Nose- sweet hop fruits. Taste- citrus fruits- not quite a blast of hops as age has taken its toll. Malt flavour is cookie dry. Carbonation is good and goes down smooth. Dry finish.

Bottle at Chris_O’s 19th April 2008 tasting. Pours a cloudy orange with an aroma of honey, pine and hops. Certainly not a fully balanced beer, this is all about massive hop bite. Clings to the mouth to deliver a warming alcohol finish. A good double IPA.

Bomber. Pours a hazy amber with 2 finger cream head and perfect lacing. Nose is sweet citrus, pine, floral hops and caramel. Taste is pine upfront that fades to some citrus and caramel malt before finishing with a lingering resin aftertaste. Pretty balanced for an IIPA and not as hoppy as the aroma indicates. Mouth feel is medium and creamy with some stickiness on the lips. Solid brew.

(Bottle) Pours a light oily amber colour with an off-white head. The aroma is of tropical fruits up front with tones of sourish grapefruit and lime, overripe mango, lychee, ripe apricot/peach, mild banana and pineapple. Medium to heavily hoppy and medium malty. Undertones of floral perfume, gooseberries, black currant, cat box, snow, herbs -lots of lemon balm but also some basil, toast, some caramel/fudge alongside some alcohol warmth. The flavour is of floral/resiny/citric hops, tropical fruits and toasted/light caramelly malt. Undertones of lemon balm, nettles, lychee and pepper. Some minty alcohol warmth. The mouthfeel is soft and light oily yet a bit crisp from the carbonation. Peppery, resiny and dry finish with citrus lingering. Light to medium sweet and medium to heavily bitter. Medium to full bodied.

(Bottle at Pikkulintu on 2008-06-15) Golde and hazy. Medium sized white head. Hops and alcohol in nose. Full and bit stingy palate. Fruity taste with some alcohol and lots of hops.

Bottled sample via (and shared with) oakbluff. Orange in colour with a bit of haze and medium carbonation. Aromas of vaguely citrusy c-hops, lots of pale malts, and a hint of caramel. The hop elements are both citrusy and earthy (probably due to age of the bottle for the earhtiness). Lots of malt and spice as well. Medium bodied, with more than enough bitterness to balance things out. A very good sample. I can only imagine how good this stuff is fresh, or on tap. Huge thanks to oakbluff for grabbing this one!

This was a cloudy pour with a big hoppy aroma and a nice kick to it,it was a very enjoyable IIPA and had hints of citrus and was a bit chewy and resiny and piney a real strong effort.CHEERS!

2008-08-31, 10-5-9-5-18=47
Hazy deep blond color with a thick head. Wonderful hoppy aroma, fruity first, then resiny, and with some vanilla in the end. Strong body structure, very strong caramel and toffee flavor, sweet as I need it, and extreme hopping. Most enjoyable final. I had to confirm the first impression.

2008-04-04, bottle at Ølbaren, Copenhagen, 9-5-8-5-18=45
Hazy golden color. Poweerful hoppy aroma, a lot of resins, citrusy resins; some fruitness too, and hop pellets; wonderful. Almost chewy toffee flavor, with some appreciated sweetness and an extreme and very resiny hopping. Extremely extreme, and one of the most enjoyable Double IPA I had in some time.