Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Company

Soonami

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

IPA's are not supposed to get much better than this: fresh Sculpin served on draft at the perfect temperature in a big Duvel tulip. The beer is extremely hazy, it's as if I can see hop oils swirling around in the chill haze. The soft orange glow of the beer is highlighted with a fluffy white cap of foam that carries the aroma with it. There's really no other way to describe the beer other than tropical--it smells like fresh cut mangos, papaya, and tangerines covered in orange blossom honey. There is a little pine aroma but the fruit dominates the nose. The taste is a lot the same, juicy fruit, sticky pine grounded by sweet lightly toasted malt that provides a nice roundness of flavor and mouthfeel. The bitterness really comes in at the end but there is enough residual sweetness and mango flavor for good balance. The carbonation is spot on with just enough prickliness to dance on you tongue without drowning out the hops. It's hard to imagine a better IPA but perhaps I would like one that's a little earthier with more herbal woody hop flavors and less papaya (a fruit that tastes like meat to me). Otherwise this is an excellent beer and a great experience on draft

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2011 00:02:26 | More by Soonami

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