Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Company

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I'm to the point now that if I see this at my local beer store I just buy as many as I can. This IPA is well worth the $2.75 a bottle I get it for. Sculpin pours out as a pleasing golden color with a nice soapy looking white head. The head settles and leave a white bubbly film over the beer that leaves a pretty damn good lacing down the glass. The smell of this beer is very inviting. It's got hops in there along with Grapefruit, lemon, orange, and a faint aroma of peach. The taste is very good as well it's gives off a really nice sweetness upfront followed but a cotton mouth bitter dryness in the back end. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation to it. Overall it's a very pleasing IPA, once of the best that isn't an Imperial in my opinion. The more you have the better they get. I really hope Ballest Point never pulls out of PA.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 20:09:34 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.53/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Based on 2nd bottle (cheers Bitterbill!) I'm bumping up Appearance, Drinkabilty & MF

Got this one from tendermorsel, cheers Mike! Very happy to try this!

Pours a honey color with a finger of cream colored head. Very good head retention & lacing

S: Citrus & floral hops

T: Grapefruit, lemons, a touch of apricot & breadyness, plus dryness up front. More grapefruit as this warms, then dryness & some honey & biscuitty malt, plus lemons. Finishes crisp, dry & with puckery grapefruit

MF: Medium bodied & assertive carbonation; fairly nice balance

Drinks easy, not a top flight AIPA, but almost there. Reminds me a lot of Odell IPA, but slightly better. Would love to try this on draft or cask. Finishes with lemony & grapefruitty hops, slight pepperyness. Another good one from Ballast Point!

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2009 03:48:06 | More by russpowell

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

emerge077

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Super fresh bottle courtesy of Weibull...

Poured into a fluted tulip, it's quick to generate a fluffy head of sticky foam. Instant resiny aroma packed with floral/herbal hops and tropical fruit. Color is a light high-clarity orange with tiny rising bubbles. Lacing forms in sudsy sheets, and sticks around for awhile.

Concentrated citrusy hop flavors of pink grapefruit and bitter orange pith. Residual leafiness and a juicy mango aftertaste. Pale malt is relegated to the back of the bus, but provides a slight tip to the balance scale. Moderate and creamy carbonation with the obligatory hop bite to it. Slightly dry in the end with a fairly long finish.

This is a fresh and vibrant west coast IPA, check it out...

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2008 01:47:19 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

4.03/5  rDev -9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

22 oz. bomber, love the label,

A: Pours a light amber with a great clarity. Light cap of white foam and good strong lacing. Looks great as the mid-afternoon sun shines through it.

S: Definite tropical fruit - mango, pineapple juice, heavy apricot. Not terribly aromatic, but a nice scent, smells like a fruit salad.

T: Heavy grapefruit pith at first, reminded me a bit of Blind Pig on the first sip. Lemon zest and apricot preserves form the remainder of the complex hop flavour. Malt is light and doesn't get in the way.

M: I really like the mouthfeel in this one. Very soft carbonation allows the hop oils and resin to shine and makes for a very drinkable beer.

D: A very good IPA from Ballast Point. Did it live up to the hype for me - not completely, but it is quite a good beer. The hop complexites in this one give it the potential to be incredible on cask - I hope I can find some, but if there's any it's probably in San Diego. Definitely try this release.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2008 00:15:03 | More by Halcyondays

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle, from the Kahala Whole Foods in Honolulu. Sufficiently unattractive representation of the eponymous fish front and center on the label.

This beer pours a clear, medium golden orange hue, with three fingers of roiling, foamy, bubbly off-white head, which leaves some crooked bonsai tree lace around the glass as it slowly seeps away.

It smells pungently of grapefruit rind, blood orange, a slight herbal tinge, pine resin, and the faintest hint of bready caramel malt. The taste is big bitter blended citrus and pine, a slight uptick in the herbal, almost yeasty notes and a still suppressed bready malt, with zero heat from the 7 points of alcohol.

The carbonation is steady, and average, and well, everything you didn't know you wanted, the body a decently svelte medium weight, and more or less smooth, the hops bypassing this usual vein of interference. It finishes still pretty hoppy, but even more muddled, the citrus, pine, and herbal factions all united in plastering my palate with the ol' bitterness.

A pretty solid west coast IPA, with the extra herbal notes adding a complexity that I sometimes find interesting, and others, not so much. Given that here it's the former, I have to go with the overwhelming majority, and pimp this straight out.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 04:58:19 | More by biboergosum

Gavage

New Jersey

4.72/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: pours a orange color with a 1" head that breaks to a thick surface foam. Some spotty lace develops.

Smell: floral hop bitterness, orange citrus, and a mild fruit sweetness is easy to detect.

Taste: caramel, orange, lemon zest, pink grapefruit, a nice bitterness, and some pear sweetness to round it out. Alcohol is not noticeable at all. Very well balanced.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp throughout with some dryness late. Aftertaste is long as the bitterness and citrus ride the tongue.

Drinkability: this beer is refreshing, and hits the spot. Goes down quickly, one could savor a few pints of this in a session.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 19:02:50 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.85/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Thanks fo Bitterbill for this gem!

22 oz. bottle:

Pours bright orange amber with a foamy white head that leaves broken rings of lacing.

The smell is of tangerine, grapefreuit, resiny pine - spicy herbal/grassy notes. This is a wonderfully hopped brew! Very aromatic.

The taste is of grapefruit and tangerine with grassy/herbal notes - some pine - complex hoppy goodness. Bitter notes - but with rounding caramel sweetness in the back that rounds it out in the finish.

The body is medium.

Hoppy, but rounded. An American IPA classic. This is a great example of the style. Not just hops thrown in, but well-blended with a nice caramelish backbone. Awesome! (There's alcohol in this?)

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2009 22:41:06 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Shared a bomber at Tap and Table in Emmaus, PA for $14. Totally worth it. This is easily one of the best IPA's I've had in sometime. Reminds me in terms of quality of the pint of Town Hall Masala Mama I had last week. The hops jump out of the glass once the beer is poured - I love when that happens. The hops are a mix of spicy citrus that are juicy, but dry and drinkable. There are also tasty notes of apricot, white grape, and orange peel.The aftertaste just doesn't go away. I had to go out of my way to find an even bigger beer to follow this up, otherwise this beer would have still been hanging on my palate.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2009 14:07:21 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A firkin hand-pulled at Al's. This is dry-hopped with simcoe hops.

A: The hand-pulled ale has a hazy amber glow, hazy enough to be opaque except as the narrowest base of the glass. A fragile off-white head, thanks to the cask, has legs but it isn't the normal vibrant head you'd be used to seeing.

S: The nose caught me attention immediately. So much so that I almost had to cry. The hoppiness, piney and citrusy, is rather intense, augmented by the simcoe dry-hoppping. Resiny, the nose seems oily and rich.

T: Man, oh man. The taste just doesn't live up to the hype of the nose. The cask conditioning has settled the ale down, even with the dry hopping. The result is a full caramel base and plenty of hops that are nondescript. The intense Sculpin flavors have been lost behind the living, breathing ale. Perhaps the subtlety of cask ale is lost on IPAs of this magnitude?

M: The mouthfeel is smooth, aided by the lower carbonation levels. The finish is particularly enjoyable, but the flavorful hops get lost in translation.

D: I had two pints, so it's not a bad beer. It just seems out of place from a cask.

Serving type: cask

08-06-2010 11:52:36 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.83/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Bocktown had this on tap, it lasted from Wednesday nights tasting to mid day Thursday. I'm glad I stopped in for some lunch time beers on Thursday. Appears a pale copper hue with a bubbling bright white head, forms intricate fine lacing down the sides of my glass as it dwindles. Aromatics have a full blown hop garden going on with bountiful citrusy graperfruit and tropical fruit tones, raw floral and herbal qualities as well, with some mild sweetness making it's way from the pale malts. Flavor was brazenly bitter full on assault of bitter orange peel pith, floral herbal hops, and again tropical fruit juiciness. Pale malts gave enough bread and biscuit components just to balance out the huge hop profile. Killer experience I can't wait to try more from these guys, mouthfeel was oily resinous medium bodied ale. Soft mellow carbonation made this one lubricatingly smooth experience, drinkable as all hell. I'm 100% sold and I'm glad I found this brew that I have been trying to track down for over 5 yrs now, a welcome addition to the Pittsburgh beer scene.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2010 10:30:53 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a barely foggy amber with a thin creme head. Nose is pine resin and slight citric tones. Flavor is that biting acrid salty hops tone. Pine is definitely there. It's biting, but still smooth enough somehow. Feel is typical on liquid and carbonation is even. This is an easy to drink IPA, but it's best judged when you look at it as a San Diego IPA as opposed to an IPA in general. Still, I like it.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2008 14:51:29 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.47/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a nice yellowish orange color with good carbonation and a small white head. Nose is pine, grapefruit and other citrus, perhaps ornage, apricot. Taste is huge citrus and pine , sweet and nice bittering. Mouthfeel slight alcohol more citrus, pine and hops. Drinkability is phenom!

Serving type: growler

11-15-2009 15:57:35 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark gold with a mild chill haze. Wonderful and large off-white head--settles to a dome. Leaves a ton of chunky lace.

Strong grapefruit and pine hop aroma. Floral and fresh.

Excellent balance at the start of the taste. Starts with a dry pale ale malt flavor. The swallow brings out wallop of bitterness--very peppery with a hint of grapefruit rind. The body is spot-on.

After seeing the glowing reviews, I can honestly say this didn't disappoint. It is one of the finer IPA's in the world.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 21:58:44 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.83/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thanks goes out to Bitterbill for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a very nice hazy golden light orange color, very nice carbonation, awesome one-finger plus thick creamy off-white head, which leaves some small islands and sticky lacing behind. The nose is slightly malty, big time hops, some scents of lemon/orange, and piney. The taste is slighlty sweet, nice malt notes, very nice hoppiness, with some lemon/orange tones, and some pinyness. Medium body, a very nice chewyness with a slightly dry/bitter finish. Very drinkable, a truely awesome IPA, highly recommended. Thanks Bill!

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2008 19:06:24 | More by Wasatch

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I've head so much about this gem I've been salivating already since I finally found the bottle yesterday. Must be pretty fresh too. I'll have to pour this baby into my oversized DFH snifter, as with any awesome IPA.

A: Pours an airy decent sized head, little less than a finger. Lots of large bubbles disperse throughout as it slowly fades to a light head covering. It lightly covers the golden pale orange and pretty hazy color that almost mask the myriad of little bubbles rising to the top.

N: Oh yeah, with the crazy noble hops! Lots of pine and some citrus, it's got that similar malty like nose that most crazy ass IPAs have, that almost reminds me of a sweet like crystal malt, but it's actually the hops I believe. I think my nose is cringing from the bitterness itself and I haven't even tasted it yet. Lots of spiciness from the hops and some floral qualities also run deep. I get some juicy fruit (not the gum dammit!) thats almost a musty peach or apricot, but its not. Oh that brings me to my next point, it has that somewhat musty aroma that most fresh crazy hopped IPAs have, but this one is a lot more subtle than most.

T: Oh yeah, I can taste it too huh?! Sorry, still nosing it. Mhhmmmpppfff... Wow bitterness right out front. Lots of noble hops with pine and citrus hit right away, and it fades quickly to a really juicy and fruity hop taste, more ripe peach. A very slight malty taste, but it just flicks you enough to make you notice its there. The bitterness again takes over and really dominates once the juice fades. More musty tropical fruit taste in the center, that transforms into a piney minty taste, that reminds me of that time I ate a bunch of pine cones wrapped in mint leaves. Some hop resin and oil find their way through and tickle your tongue a little.

M: Semi thick with a slight sticky hop oil feel, actually its got a really rich fatty oil quality like an unchill-filtered whisky. Decent carbonation but nothing to brag about in this dep, not that that is bad. Also, slightly spicey hops.

F: Damn! It's bitter. What's the IBUs, some huge number? It almost scrapes the feeling off my tongue, like the crazy sculpin fish on the label. But it is saved by a slight touch of sweetness as its not too dry, and the juicy center really eases that tension. The bitterness leaves a winterfresh mouth feel, like I just used mouthwash, I'm totally serious. I think the crazy piney bitterness lingering along, and added the slight fruit it tricks the taste buds into tasting that.

Final thoughts: Wow, it was just as I anticipated. A crazy hop bomb with little malts, lots of pine, citrus, juicy fruit hops, some spice, and lots of greatness. The thing that did surprise me was the slight minty mouthwash feel. If this wasn't so limited and expensive I'd really use it as mouthwash and it would be so great!

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2009 01:11:42 | More by jlindros

mdfb79

New York

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 oz. bomber into a pint glass.

a - Poured an orangish/golden color with one finger of white head and a lot of carbonation evident. Somewhat transparent.

s - Smelled this as soon as the bottle was opened and while pouring. Lots of hops, pine, and citrus to it. Smells great and very fresh.

t - First tastes are of hops and citrus. Has a strong bitter taste throughtout drinking, and hints of bready malts after some of the bitterness and hops subside.

m - Medimum body, moderate carbonation, pretty easy to drink.

d - Overall I really enjoyed this IPA. The smell was one of the best smelling IPAs I've ever smelled, and the taste was great too. Very easy to drink and wonderful fresh. I would put this right below PTE and HopSlam in terms of my favorite IPAs and would highly suggest trying this if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2010 01:01:04 | More by mdfb79

Billolick

New York

4.43/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 ounce bomber, w/o freshness info. $9.99 at DeCicco's in Ardsley, NY.

Pours slightly hazed golden, lighter amber with bubbles rising to the top. The off white head is very long lasting, tight knit froth, nice looking sheeting and gobs of lace.

Minty, earthy, bright hop nose.

Simply delicious AIPA. Hops out in full force, on the smooth, soft and earthy side, which is to say not crunching in their approach. With citric/orangy notes shining through. On the lighter side body wise, adding to the easy drinkability. Dangerous at 7%, cuz this goes down easy like a sessioner.

Very tasty and high quality, I can only hope this one will remain available locally for a while.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2009 00:31:28 | More by Billolick

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12oz bottle from who knows where. Might have bought, might have come in a trade or GATM, not really sure. Just hope it's as good as the hype.

Poured into a CCB pub glass, forms a 1/2" off-white head over the slightly cloudy golden amber brew. Head dwindles gradually, with lace that lasts and lasts. Aroma is piney hops.

Taste starts sweet, some hops stank funk in the middle, citrus pine bitterness to the close. Mouthfeel is oh-so smooth, and drinkability is excellent, esp for the abv. Survey says, ding (the sound, not the former ba), we have a winner!

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 22:42:36 | More by ppoitras

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appears a transparent gold with a small white cap that slowly fades into some soapy bubbles. Spotty bits of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of heavy pine, citrus, herbs, and flowers.
Taste is of caramel, citrus, grapefruit, pine, and peppery notes.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, herbal, citrusy, with a long, orange-like finish.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 22:15:41 | More by weeare138

Zorro

California

4.1/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A beer named after the California Scorpion fish, Does it have a sting?

Clear orange colored beer with a tall off-white head. This falls on the light end of the beer spectrum I call IPA Orange.

Smell is strong NW hops. Very strong on the pine and grapefruit. Little bit of menthol and mint, other than that no strange hop aromas here.

Starts out semi-dry with a good ale flavor. Grapefruit peel with pine resins tasty with no wood or tea flavors. Nothing outstanding about the taste but it is well balanced and tasty. This is one of the milder California IPAs.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a tasty and very easy to drink IPA. Not outstanding in any respect except being very user friendly. I could see drink a pitcher of this by myself.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 01:03:51 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap @ the Old Grove Ballast Point location on 3/18/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a fairly clear shiny copper, with a thin covering of bright-white frothy head. This stays rich and creamy for the most part, leaving some thick foamy lacing down the sides of the glass. The aroma is just chock full of juicy grapefruit, mango, and pineapple notes (with the emphasis on the grapefruit), floral hops, and spice. Bready caramel malts work with some of the tropical fruits to give the nose a bit of a sweet edge. Just so fresh and hoppy smelling. Mmmm....

The taste is aggressive up front with a firm dose of hops, laying a ton of spice and pine on the roof of the mouth. That succulant blend of tropical fruits and toasted caramel helps drench the mouth with a sticky and juicy blend of sweetness. Just great balance between the two extremes. Spice and resins linger for a good long bit in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a prickly creaminess to it that expands on the palate. This stays very smooth in the mouth overall, laying just the right amount of a sharp prickle on the tongue that really brings the bitterness of the hops out. And did I mention that the ABV is pretty non-existent? Yeah, that's pretty awesome too..

Just a classic American IPA here from Ballast Point, that combine massive but well balanced West Coast hop flavors into a wonderfully smooth and easydrinking package (for the size of it at least!). Just awesome stuff here as usual, that tasted the best that it could here on draft at the source.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2010 16:38:05 | More by Kegatron

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.47/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to biegaman for cracking this one at his annual saison tasting. Grub was also kind enough to open one about a week after.

Pours a lightly hazed golden, very thick white chunky head forms, drops a ton of lace, great retention, keeps a solid layer. Smell is great, very intense, tons of grapefruit, pine, floral, caramel, sugary malt, pineapple, complex hop aromas, just great. Taste is caramel and brown sugar up front, very fruity, grapefruit, pineapple, floral, very hoppy, pineapple is pretty intense, some alcohol near the finish, balanced but significant bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, some warmth, bit of spicy alcohol/hop bitterness kick in the finish, this one doesn't fuck around. Definitely all the hype, kickass IPA! Thanks Jan and Russ.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2008 04:29:47 | More by Viggo

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've had this several times in the past, but can't remember the details. This is from a recent tasting on tap at Blind Tiger, NYC.

Pretty standard IPA here; not really sure why it's rated so extraordinarily high on BA, but oh well. Bright golden body, almost completely opaque with haze, and capped with a creamy off-white head that retained well and left nice lacing on the glass. Nose is hop-dominant as would be expected, but not too aromatic, grass, citrus, subtle traces of ammonia well within tolerance. More of the same in the taste: citrus and pine hops, quite bitter, almost to the point of being a palate wrecker, biscuity malts in the background, lasting bitter aftertaste. Medium body, a bit harsh...not quite as smooth as some of the country's better-made IPAs, but still good quality and drinkable overall if you're in the mood for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

06-29-2012 20:32:53 | More by Rifugium

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.5/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Looks like a standard IPA, nice color, nothing spectacular. Smells very much like a standard citrusy grapefruity IPA. Tastes the same. Maybe a little more bitter than I expected. Well balanced nonetheless, a little maltier than I expected too, but I guess that's needed to balance the heavy alcohol and bitterness.

A very good IPA, if its not in the top 10 ipas, its close.

Did a bunch more of these at the SDIBF, was even better than remembered. Aroma really jumped out this time, its funny, sometimes, you drink a beer with other beers, it actually stands out more than it would on its own.

This beer is massively different with age. Don't be one of those fools who says it changed or whatnot. Go drink it on tap, fresh. You'll then see. . .

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2009 00:23:15 | More by Beerandraiderfan