Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (North Star)

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Diego, California USA

Bottle. Pours light golden color with one finger white head. There is an immediate nose of pine needles and lemon rinds. The mouthfeel is light but compliments the hoppy characters very well. The malts form the perfect canvas for the palate to fully appreciate the hop complexity. There is a light sugary-sweetness that finishes this drink off. Great IPA

Pours with a frothy, two finger thick, pale, tan tinged, off-white colored head. The beer is a clear amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, bright copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma certainly hits the spot for any hop lover with a melange of herbaceous, spicy, fruity, citrusy and yes even dank hop character. Malt, I don’t know much about that, though I am sure there might be a hint in the aroma some where, right now I am focusing on the hop aromatics that the malt character is supporting. Vibrant lychee, ripe tangelo peal and bitter grapefruit oil round out the fruity hop aromatics, but in the deep draughts of the aroma it is the herbal hop components that reign. There are turpene rich hop notes, a slight grassy edge, perhaps a hint of chive, but what really jumps out is the essential "hemp" oil components; sticky, dank, resinous, slightly rosemary like, touches of pine tar and a spiciness that almost make my nose itch. Definitely a hop heads beer by the nose.

Lightly sweet up front and then a bracing, richly herbal, bitterness grabs hold of the tongue; this never recedes either as the bitterness lingers on in the palate after the beer has left my mouth. The hop flavors have a fruity, almost oily character that is sensed as a backdrop to the other flavors; tropical fruit, lychee and bitter orange peel. The flavor profile is dominated though by the herbal hop components. Pepper, amply spicy, a touch of sharp rosemary, green turpenes and of course it has a biting, dank, "hemp" oil green flavor to it that lingers on with the bitterness in the finish. This is definitely an aggressively hoppy beer, this can be nice, but somehow this beer seems a bit too one-dimensional, even for a overly hoppy IPA. There is a soft supporting malt character that brings a hint of sweetness as well as a touch of cracker light malt to the flavor, it also supplies a medium’ish body to this brew.

A bit too herbal focused to be great for me; I prefer a nice balance of tropical fruit notes as well as the sticky herbal hop character (the aroma is a bit more balanced than the flavor, though still not quite enough). Still this certainly has appeased my hop fix for the evening.

Purchased: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach CA

Bottle. Pours a clear golden hue with a thin white head. Fair amount of lacing. Nose is full of intense floral hops. Fruits of apricot, lemon peel, and mango. Wonderful smell. Great flavors. Tons of hops. Starts sweet and turns more bitter. Pine resins strong, lemon peel, apricot, grapefruit, peach, and a slight vanilla note. Medium bodied, spicy bitter aftertaste. Excellent IPA, one of the best I’ve had!

On Draft @ Barley & Hops Tavern. Pours golden with creamy white head. Strong aroma of hops and tropical fruits. Flavor is mainly C hops with nice malt balance. Combination of hop flavor w/ hop/fruity aroma is amazing. Very drinkable. Love this beer!

22 oz. bottle shared with DuffmanSW while brewing a Centennial single-hop IPA. Pours a clear bronze/copper with low carbonation and a small off-white head with decent lacing. Light bready malt aroma with an abundance of citrusy/pine hops typical of the west coast style. Initial flavor mimics the aroma, light maltiness with lingering bitter/dry hop finish. Light to medium palate with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. From beginning to end, it’s really all about the hops.

tasty excellent IPA. Orange appearance with white head. Grapefruit aroma, very nice.Very smooth, very drinkable. Great resiny hop. One of the best IPAs I ever had, and the bottle picture is cute too.

Style; glass: IPA; tulip 22 fl oz x 7% ABV = 154 / 60 = 2.56 beers * 150 C = 384 calories (est.) Purchased at: Craft Beer Outlet, Phila, PA for $11.99 Aroma: nice, calming, beach, field, grassy, salty, citrus. Visuals: brand focused packaging, a bright engaged yellow, brilliantly clear, bright white tight bubbled head, sticky lace. Taste: expertly balanced, honey, citrus, rind, peppers. Palate: Bright, crisp, and layered, drying, increasingly bitter long finish. Overall: Fantastic. In my top 3 IPAs, certainly. A favorite. From a firkin. Oh boy. This knocked me over at the Bella Vista Grand reopening in October in Philadelphia. Those 2 oz samples were like little tiny bricks sealing me in to a personal twiddly state. It was amazing, memorable, and significant. After about the third small sample, the world was a blur. Use with caution, and enjoy. If you can get it, suckas.

Cask at Bella Vista Grand Opening: pours a golden amber with a thin white head, aroma is full of citrus and hops (amazing aroma), taste is hoppy with some citrus, very easy to drink. This is a very nice IPA, I had assumed it was a DIPA,