Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Company

charlzm

California

3.55/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Consumed 04/11/08.

Pours a clear golden (with orange highlights) with a foamy white head that lasts and coats the sides of the glass throughout. Some active carbonation.

Aroma is west coast hoppy with an unfortunate hint of cat piss and underarm odor.

Flavor is sweet and less bitter than anticipated. Sweet fruits, like apricot maybe, factor into the maltier-than-expected taste, complimenting the piney hop character. Some astringency and hop spiciness at the end, followed by a touch of tongue parching.

Refreshingly different and quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 03:21:31 | More by charlzm

Docer

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Alex for the trade.. nice to try a different IPA.

- Clear golden yellow.. hardly any head, little bits of lacing all about.

- Huge citrus scent mixed with a bit of bitter and sour hop skunkiness.. weed.. smells a lot like a Hop Stoopid to me.. extract and over-use of it.

- Dry and bitter, sour and sweet.. all IPA qualities wrapped up in one package... bit too dry and skunky for me though. Little bit of caramel malt profile but overall very unbalanced.

- Dry and oily .. bit sticky... bad dry/sour aftertaste..

- Great carbonation, too dry... bitter. To me this IPA is like mixing Indica IPA with Hop Stoopid. The over-use of this extract is getting on my nerves... but at first it was just Lagunitas I thought that used it... or more so stumbled across the flavor profile of it to get such a fruity, citrus-like flavor and scent... but for me it's unnatural in an IPA and uncalled for. I want to run to the closest bottle shop to regain my love for a real IPA, even if a double.. like Pliny the Elder... this IPA doesn't deserve the A that it has here... I'm afraid I have had many that are better and I felt deserved a better grade.

*** Anyone who wants to argue or send hatemail for this review.. come up to Oregon and let me buy you an IPA!

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2009 17:39:51 | More by Docer

femALEist

California

3.55/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had this on cask at the Firkin Festival 2010. Not sure if it's exactly the same beer as it says it's 8.7% abv.

This poured a cloudy,dark yellow.

It smelled incredibly sweet, with not too much of a hop nose, no pine, no grass, just juicy tropical fruits.

It tasted light but with a heavy bitter grapefruit skin ending. It had decent carbonation.

This was just ok for me, it wasn't anything to write home about.

Serving type: cask

04-28-2010 20:44:31 | More by femALEist

psiweaver

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Duvel tulip.

Cloudy and an orangeish yellowish color and a soft slightly off white head.

Very floral and fruit based smell but not quite as hoppy or fruity as i would prefer.

average middle of the pack IPA taste. hoppy but without much fruit or floral taste that was present in the nose present in the glass. Not nearly as balanced as i would prefer.

good mouthfeel though not as balanced or integrated alchohol as the best in this style

pretty easy to drink but not something i would really seek out especially at its price point compared to what else is avaliable.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2011 03:04:37 | More by psiweaver

macktbone

California

3.58/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Now that this is much more available it's time to crack a bottle for no apparent reason what so ever...

A- Probably the best lacing I've ever seen. Tons of stark white head that refuses to disapate. Nice combination of large and small bubbles. Very cloudy with a "heffe" color, not quite tangerine but close to the color of the sculpin on the bottle.

S- Lots of bitter citrus aroma, with a hint of all spice. A little green vegetable and cardboard.

T- Orange, honey, grass, and cardboard. Not the stunner I was hoping for

M- Beautiful mouth feel. If it was darker it would compete with some great imperial stouts.

D- Unfortunately I think this one has been over exposed to oxygen. I sure hope this is not the "great sculpin" i've been waiting for for that past few years. If so Captain Ahab wasting years on Moby Dick and so did I...

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2011 06:55:29 | More by macktbone

Treebs

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Review #50

Poured from bomber into snifter

A: Pours a nice clear golden apple color with a light peach 1.5 finger head. Great retention on this brew. An incredible net-like lace follows me down the glass.

S: Nice light citrus hops, sweet honey, floral hops as well.

T: Very sweet flowers with a light citrus hoppy note. Just a tad bitter on the backend but mellows back to a nice sweet oak.

M: Light bodied, incredibly smooth and a nice light carbonation as well. Leaves a nice sweet and bitter taste.

O: I think this was good, but the flavors and smell sort of fell flat. There was some sediment in the bottle so I plan on revisiting this when I know I'm having the freshest Sculpin I can have.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 21:40:03 | More by Treebs

Luk13

Quebec (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Small 4oz pour at Mondial de la bière 2011. Appearance: Dark gold with lasting white head. Aroma: Spicy hops upfront, some citrus and a considerable malt presence (toffee, caramel). Taste: Bitter but not overly so, balanced with caramel notes and spicy hops. Palate: Solid with medium carbonation. Overall: A good IPA but I was expecting more from its reputation. Maybe it wasn't very fresh.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 20:28:55 | More by Luk13

bryanbrick

California

3.6/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle, with no apparent dating on the bottle, into a Burgundy Schott Zwiesel glass.

Cloudy orange color with paper white head, about 1/4 inch thick after a vigorous "straight down the middle" pour. A pleasing color but a surprising lack of head for an IPA, that same lacking head dissipates quickly and leaves little behind. Sure there is minimal lacing around the edge of the beer as it sits in the glass and also some spotty pea sized dots from rim to liquid but this thing should be clinging on for dear life.

A great freshness to the nose with prickly, sappy, orange pith, dried evergreen, sage, rosemary and clove notes. A touch of malt comes through in the nose as well giving a more bass toned note of vanilla and cocoa nibs. A solid but somewhat four-square nose, nothing to set it apart from many others but well done nonetheless.

This is just exactly what you'd expect and not much else on the palate with a nice hop driven attack and just enough malt, sweet fruit character and carbonation to keep it from becoming burdensome. Sure the flavors are plenty tasty with the dry, earth side of the hops coming forth showing collard greens-like bitterness, grapefruit rind and a nice stony lace to the forest-y flavors, but there just isn't much depth here. Everything seems to be only on the surface.

In the mouth this sits a bit heavy and cumbersome, not from a cloying sweetness or over carbonation but from lack of a driving force or direction. It seems just sort of lifeless, without energy or verve, something just floating by aimlessly.

Because of the reasonable ABV level here this is more drinkable than most "modern" IPAs I've had, but when I want to go this route it is usually because I want to have a one or two beer night. I'm not worried about my palate being stepped on and treated like a rag doll; I know what I'm in for. But this seems to be drinkable for lack of any original character rather than impeccable balance or interesting, complex flavors.

Honestly IPAs are not really high up on my personal fave list but I've had many that are way better than this. I think my expectations were a bit too high here or the hype machine on this was just a bit too out of control. Either way it is something that I wouldn't necessarily want to buy again.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2009 01:27:14 | More by bryanbrick

GRG1313

California

3.6/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A very different beer in the bottle than when on tap!

Pours a honey yellow with firm white head. Huge very ripe and sweet pineapple nose. Huge and very appealing.

Mouth is full and medium rich; somewhat bold although does not have the bright character whatsoever of this beer on tap.

Flavors are bitter pine and pine resin with some grapefruit skin, not the bright bitter charachter when on tap.

Appealing but not nearly as bright and inviting as this one on draft. Draft and bottle are two very different beers for this one, draft being far more inviting and far more appealing. This draft rivals any "big hop brew" I've tried. In the bottle, it's good but that's about it-not outstanding as it is on draft. Bottle was actually quite disappointing after trying this on draft. EDIT 08/31/10 - the new batch with the first "new" label is wonderfully drinkable and appealing. Review stands as written and yes, tap is still better. But Ballast Point is able to make a wonderfully fresh and crisp hoppy beer and still make it creamy and mouthfilling. A wonderful drink. End Edit

Finish is grapefruit skin and lemon oil that goes to pine and resin.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2009 06:34:27 | More by GRG1313

sinstaineddemon

Connecticut

3.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - transparent straw, pilsener color, with almost two fingers of white head that reduces to half of a finger quickly, moderate amounts of active visible carbonation

S - super citrine aroma, some serious grapefruit bitterness notes with a great piney side, the fruit aromas continue with some peach and apricot aromas, as the label suggests, though i dont pick up on the mango it refers to

T - wow, whered the fruit go. in the taste, the hops are completely piney, some background dark sweetness, like a bit of brown sugar, theres a sense of a cloying fruitiness, but it never arrives, just hop bitterness throughout the entire taste

M&D - you need to be a hophead to enjoy this, not because its huge on the hops, but that its only characteristic is a superb hop profile, maybe this one sat too long, (only a week in my cabinet) as a pervious reviewer mentions, the supreme quality of this brew is its linger-osity, you can feel/taste the hops for minutes after each sip

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2010 22:37:23 | More by sinstaineddemon

organicbrewer

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Hazy gold with a large eggshell head.

S-Peach and pine. Very light strawberry.

T-More peach with citrus. Big bitterness. Bordering on harsh. Bready malt is almost hidden behind the hops.

M-Medium dry. Medium carbonation. No alcohol heat.

D-Nice beer. The previous bottle I had (a month or so ago) seemed to have more flavor/aroma. Maybe this bottle is showing its age.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2010 22:31:18 | More by organicbrewer

ratedz

Kansas

3.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bomber received in a trade with MrTopher. Thanks Chris!

Pours a hazy golden orange with about an inch and a half of fluffy off-white head. The head was slow to dissipate and left a lot of sticky head on the glass.

The nose is full of citrus and some piney hops. There is a slight malt backbone to help balance the surplus of hops.

Taste is also loaded with citrus...pineapple, grapefruit, and oranges. The malts help to balance out any hop bitterness that may have existed.

Mouth feel is medium bodied with above average carbonation. Fairly drinkable and tasty, but I can't pinpoint any one thing that sets this well ahead of other beers of the style that would make me want to buy this on a regular basis if it was available here.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2011 02:14:28 | More by ratedz

Cisco619

California

3.63/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

64 oz growler poured into Duvel tuip several times. This is a staple in my fridge, I felt it was time to review it.

A: Golden amber that has a lingering, stark white head. The head dissipates to a filmy cap that covers the top of the brew. Clear & paints my palm golden honey hue akin to a San Diego summer sunset. California in a glass.

S: Slight mango scent greets the nose that is tempered with an orange zest. A slight sweetness follows that ends in a dank hop aroma. Quite the balance of the hops is achieved, creating an intoxicating blend that draws you in.

T: Dank hops with a citrus zest. The hop bitterness is slight & lingers after sip is long gone. Not as powerful as the aroma, but quite pleasing.

M: Medium mouthfeel with a hop stickyness that lingers. Nice carbonation that tingles the tongue slightly, letting the hops do their thing.

O: Great brew that never fails to please. Nothing better on a hot Cali night like tonight.

Serving type: growler

10-14-2011 06:23:41 | More by Cisco619

egajdzis

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured a dark golden color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of more resiny pine (gotta love San Diego!), citrus fruits, caramel malts, and floral hops. Taste of toffee malts, citrus fruits, light malts, and a dry bitter finish.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2008 23:52:04 | More by egajdzis

chaz410

North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this beer at the good ol' common market.
Pours a medium amber body with pale white finger length head.
Smells amazing! Lots of floral and citrus hops dance around your nose. Not much pine but a little dry smell comes out amist the grapefruit, orange, and flowers.
The taste is, well not as good as the smell in honesty. I was expecting a little more on the hop bitterness but not disappointed with how easy it was to drink. It has a little caramel sweetness and some obvious crystal malts that lay the stage for some subtle citrus and floral hop character. A moderate bite at the end from the hops but not overpowering.
Very drinkable and very floral

Serving type: on-tap

07-13-2010 03:10:57 | More by chaz410

sfprint

Germany

3.65/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Transparent orangy gold with no rising carbonation and a two finger sudsy head.
S: floral soap on top of a fairly standard light ipa. mild hops and malt.
T: Dirtiness in the hops, like many German beers, floral soap, invisible alcohol, light bitterness/tartness. Very hidden refreshing fruitiness (grapefruit). Good, but I don't see what everyone is raving about.
M: Light to medium body, carbonation has a fluffing effect, slight mouth pucker for bitter/tartness.
O: Decent. A good one but doesn't stand out to me and for the price ($9), I'd much rather have a blind pig or a hop stoopid.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 06:58:56 | More by sfprint

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.68/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

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

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2009 03:34:23 | More by Gueuzedude

wedgie9

Tennessee

3.68/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tasted from bomber bottle. Pours a clear, pale gold with a medium white head that dissipates quickly. Nose is hoppy with some malt and some tropical fruits. This is somewhat malty on the front of the palate with a stone fruit sweetness on the mid-palate. The finish is bitter hops. Overall, this is a very solid single IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2010 05:21:59 | More by wedgie9

kaips1

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A bomber into my sam a perfect pint glass
there is no bottle date so i dont know how fresh this one is

Ok, to start this off, it poured a nice clean goldenrod with a thick frothy 2 finger head that is coating ever bit of glass it touches. this is a very clear beer completely transparent with lots of lively bubbles partially in thanks to the laser etching in the glass. the smell is a little pungent with a slight grapefruit/citrus with some banana and bready notes. the malts stand out at the end of the nose with a certain sweetness i dont mind. I get more citrus than grapefruit in the taste but you definitely get the bready taste more the end of the sip than the beginning with a solid pronounced malt backbone the whole sip. This has some lively carbonation that i enjoyed, lots of tingling from start to almost finish, with a slightly dry finish that makes you want another sip. overall this beer never really amazes me especially with it sitting at the top of the ipa list, dont get me wrong this is a good beer and has lots of balance to it but i dont think i get the freshest bottles because its no in distro in my area. so one day i may change my mind but this beer is worth getting at least once to try.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 17:26:40 | More by kaips1

zrab11

Indiana

3.7/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Pours a copper orangish color with a small white head

S- smells of grapefruit and hops and some citrus notes in their as well

T-Bitter hoppiness followed by some citrus flavors. finishes crisp

M- Medium bodied with good carbonation

D- Overall this is just another IPA. Hoppy but nothing overall interesting. Good but boring. Im looking for more than just hops and citrus. Need to stand out to get me coming back.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2011 01:55:47 | More by zrab11

dgilks

Australia

3.7/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear dark gold colour with a moderate, creamy, dense white head. Good head retention.

Sweet malt and dank hops on the nose. There is clearly a lot of hop here but for some reason it doesn't gel for me.

Silky malt which supports a pleasant, dank hop character. Easy drinking but nothing special. What's all the hype about?

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Silky and pretty damn good.

A smooth, easy drinking IPA. There's good flavour here but I feel as if it doesn't live up to the hype.

Serving type: on-tap

07-01-2011 21:15:05 | More by dgilks

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

3.7/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to ThaFATkid for sending this bottle.

This beer has a hazy gold color with a nice fluffy head and GREAT lacing. Perhaps the best I've seen. It has a typical IPA nose; very fruity and zesty with floral and citrus notes and just a hint of bubblegum. The flavor is quite sweet. Biscuit and fruity flavors predominate and are accompanied by a soft, dry hoppy bite and a little detectable alcohol. Nice firm mouthfeel, but a little under-hopped for my palate. The malt is there and there seems to be `room' for more hops.

Overall this is a really nice IPA, but the undeniable sweetness and slight hint of alcohol lends it a bit of that medicinal flavor that I find undesirable. To me, there are better IPAs out there. Still, I'm glad I tried this. It is certainly different than the IPAs I have access to around here.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 10:04:41 | More by deadonhisfeet

RichardMNixon

Delaware

3.7/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a seidel at cellar temp.

Gold-colored and very clear body with a half finger of pure white head. Head fades but maintains a fizzy layer on top and lots of lacing. Strong notes of pine, grass, and dirt in the nose, you're smelling your way through a forest. Taste is clean and sharp but fairly one-dimensional. Definitely on the bitter side of single IPAs. Nice level of carbonation with a very, very dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 23:31:56 | More by RichardMNixon

brewtus

Ohio

3.71/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours golden orange, nice white single finger head. Smells and tastes a lot like dark fruit and malt, bready, caramel, lemon, earthy. Taste is malty for an IPA but has a nice hop presence too. This was a little less hoppy than I prefer. It is extremely balanced and easy drinking but it didn't hit me at a 100. I'd say this one is a little overrated, I'd love to try it on tap to compare.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 03:17:53 | More by brewtus

djaeon

California

3.73/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a great golden color. Moderate white head, with average retention and little lacing.

S - Smells like a great example of an IPA. Moderate citrus & pine with a generous amount of hops.

T - Hops at the forefront of course, with a decent citrus & light pine backing. There's a noticeable bitter tang in the aftertaste, but not unpleasantly so.

M - Good carbonation which mellows the bitter IPA sting.

D - This is a fairly easy drinker. I found myself drinking it a bit faster than normal.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2010 03:32:55 | More by djaeon