People get all jumpy about this beer. Ballast Point, a seemingly modest (albeit “fishy”) San Diego brewery, won Small Brewery of the Year at the 2010 World Beer Cup and picked up a Gold Medal for their Sculpin (in the International IPA category). They brew several other beers, a gin, a rum, and (according to their website) a soon-to-be-released whiskey.
I get kinda jumpy about this beer, but I’m not flopping around purporting it to be the best thing ever. I like it because it exhibits all the characteristics of a good IPA in a perfectly balanced way. There is just enough citrus, pine, hop, malt and alcohol showcased in a very balanced way. It’s the kind of beer that should appeal to a lot of different palates, and I think that for the world of microbrewing in general, and IPAs in particular, that is a very good thing.
So drink it. Let it change your life if it tries to. But stay alert for another beer that blows your freakin’ socks off, maybe even makes you question what kind of beer you like and why you like it. Swig freely, party people.
I love this stuff. It tough to get super fresh here on the Philly Area but I had it on draft at Philly Beer Week last summer and feel in love.
Check out my bro’s review here:
http://boozedancing.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/beer-review-ballast-point-sculpin-ipa/
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