Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

San Diego invades the Twin Cities! In the past two weeks, Ballast Point and Green Flash have entered the market through the same distributor. No more picking up GF when I visit Wisconsin (every month or two) or BP when I cruise through Chicago (every 20 years is the current average, right?). For their standard IPA, I'm cheating and using a review from February, 2007, and a bottle achieved through a trade.


Clearish, golden/amber hue, fiercely carbonated, under a slim ring of creamy foam.

Hugely hoppy aroma, grassy, piney, bursting with fruit, orange and apricot, lemon zest...lime peel...fresh, and inviting.

Full-bodied, juicy, delicious. Fresh, invigorating, with brash and bitter hops, matched well with judicious malt. Toasty and sweet. Constant deployment of tastiness, jettisoned again and again onto the tastebuds. Tangy, tart, and well-tempered. Sticky puckering bitterness never quite quits. Citric feel remains dominant, hops ever-lasting.

Killer diller IPA. Reminds of Two -Hearted, no shocker as they're both all-Centennial. But, still quite it's own beast. Sure to please any hoppy ale afficianado. It just never stops tasting good!

2 comments:

Professor Sudz said...

I for one welcome our new SoCal overlords!

Al McCarty said...

I'd like to remind them that as a trusted beer personality, I can be useful in rounding up others to toil in their hop gardens.