Ballast Point Fathom IPA

 Ballast Point Fathom IPA.

6 % ABV, 60 IBU. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA. 

Clear, bright golden/amber hue, large and lasting ivory head. Looking nice. 

In the nose: Brimming with citrus and pine. Orange and grapefruit, side of lemon. 

In the mouth: Big blast of bitterness starts it off. Classic West Coast-style approach to an IPA, giving hops, hops, and hops, and not afraid of bitterness. Crisp and clean. Zesty, citrusy hop flavors pound the palate, filling every crack and corner of the mouth. Grapefruit rind and orange peel. Lean malt body, long bitter finish, just about delicious. 

I love a good West Coast IPA, and this is surely one of them. 

Fathom IPA highlights our favorite characteristics of the west-coast IPA style. This crisp and clean brew features a touch of malt on the surface with an ocean of zesty orange and piney hops below. The result is a refreshing, easy drinking IPA with just the right amount of depth.

Ballast Point Passing Haze IPA Session India Pale Ale

Ballast Point Passing Haze IPA Session India Pale Ale.

4.2 % ABV, 30 IBU. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA. 

Lightly hazed, bright golden hue, slim white head. 

In the nose: Mild citrus notes, with a twist of the tropical, slight sweetness. 

In the mouth: Light on the palate, mild hoppiness, light-bodied, easy drinking. Session IPA, no doubt, with the extra element of the hazy style. Citrus flavors, with the touch of pineapple & guava, swim in the senses, alongside a modicum of hop bitterness. Plays it nice and cool until the very end. 

Not a bad beer, but far too meek and mellow for me. It's no great shock that I mainly bought it because it was a $9 6-pack. 

Passing Haze IPA is an off-the-charts exploration of the India Pale Ale. We’ve loaded the hop cannons and fired a late addition blast bursting this incredibly sessionable IPA with juicy, tropical citrus hops. The result is an easy drinking treasure trove of hop gold.

Ballast Point Citrus Cove Gose

Ballast Point Citrus Cove Gose. Lemon-lime session ale.
4.2 % ABV. 5 IBU.
Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA.

Clear, dull yellow, slim head.

In the nose: Loud lemon and lime. Outsized sourness. Bright and citrus-y.

In the mouth: Tart. Citrusy. Big ol' lemon and lime. Slightly salty. Simple, but does the job. If you want a nice, light citrusy ale, you can't go wrong here at all.

I'd love to say more, but there's nothing more to say.

I'll let this guy say it: Citrus Cove captures the salty spray of an ocean wind mingled with a bright tropical character that begs one refreshing sip after the other. Crisp, lemon citrus acidity leads the way to a nice, dry, salt and lime zest finish. The result is a surprisingly fresh take on the classic Gose style, turning all hours into happy hour.

Ballast Point Lager

Ballast Point Lager.
4.2 % ABV. 10 IBU.
Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA.

Clear, bright golden, clean white ivory head atop.

In the nose: Slightly floral, lightly hoppy, grainy/malty.

In the mouth: Clean, crisp, light bodied, easy on the palate. Little bit of hops, brief citrus blitz. Little bit of malt. And altogether light and drinkable.

That's about all I have to say on the subject. I'm sure that the brewery has more to say.

Our Ballast Point Lager is the quintessential cooler beer for lively adventures or leisurely days. At only 99 calories, this incredibly bright lager still packs a ton of flavor. Brewed with 100% 2-Row barley and a light touch of Apollo hops, Ballast Point lager is a refreshing choice for any occasion. Whether you’re docked or at sea, it’s the perfect companion for whatever destination lies ahead.

Ballast Point Tart Peach Kolsch

Ballast Point Tart Peach Kolsch. German-style ale with natural flavors. All. 5.2% by Vol. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA.

Clear, peach-colored, slim head.

In the nose: it's peach-y! (And little else.)

In the mouth: Tart grips the palate at first sip, and then in rushes the sweet, peach flavors. Slightly bitter on the tongue, until sweet peach rushes in. It's a little tango between the tart and the fruit. With the smooth character of a kolsch below. Light-bodied, easy drinker.

However, this is just me, maybe. I don't want sour/tart and peach to go hand in hand. Maybe you do, though, and this may be the best beer you'll ever drink. For me, it's nice, thirst-quenching treat.

Our Tart Peach Kölsch is a fresh take on one of our very first beers. The juicy aroma and flavor of ripe peach complements the subtle fruitiness from the Kölsch yeast in this bright, refreshing ale. Add a tickle of tartness to round out the senses, and you get a new brew that’s interestingly delightful.

Ballast Point Aloha Sculpin Hazy India Pale Ale

Ballast Point Aloha Sculpin Hazy India Pale Ale. 7% ABV, 70 IBU. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA. "Juicy Tropical Notes from Brux Trois yeast."

Lightly hazy, bright golden hued, slimmed down ivory head. Looking' alright.

In the nose: Tropical fruit aromatics. Pineapple. Guava. Etcetera. Maybe mango. And still, a lot of hoppiness. Nicely bitter.

In the mouth: Bright and fruity, bold and bitter. Juicy. Medium bodied, long, hoppy finish. Tasty. Hey, this is alright. Good ol' IPA, and there ain't nothing wrong with it.

With Aloha Sculpin, we used Brux Trois yeast to turn our award-winning IPA into a tropical oasis, with bright and refreshing notes of mango, pineapple, and guava.

Ballast Point Moscow Mule Ale

Ballast Point Moscow Mule Ale. Ale with ginger and lime added. Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA.  10.2% ABV.

Clear, amber-ish hue, slim, soon-gone head.

In the nose: Hey, there's ginger in there. And along comes the lime, as advertised. And nothing else.

In the mouth: Big, fierce, large and in charge ginger flavor. Once again, lime comes next, in full force. Light bodied. Lean, clean and powerful. Crisp and refreshing. But, where's the vodka? And, while we're at it, where's the beer?

This is not for me. Gimmick beer. Too much lime, too much ginger, not enough beer. No, thank you. I don't even think it's very good. I hate saying that, but sometimes you have to.

But, I didn't drain-pour. I always finish, whether I want to or not.

Ginger, lime, refreshing; all the good things you’d expect from the cocktail of the same name. We started with a light, sour base beer and then loaded it up with tons of fresh ginger and lime zest. All that is missing is the copper cup.

Ballast Point Sour Wench Blackberry Ale

Ballast Point Sour Wench Blackberry Ale. Ballast Point Brewery, San Diego, CA. 7% ABV. 10 IBU.

Bright, bold crimson coloring, slimmed, creamy head above, looking good.

In the nose: tart, fruity, very blackberry.

In the mouth: Big sour from the start, big blast of blackberry. A little bit of lactic sour. Bright, bold, fierce. Puckering. Refreshing. Lightish bodied and easy drinking. Tasty.

If you're into fruity kettle sours, why, by all means.

This pretty lady will make you pucker.
Our Sour Wench Blackberry Ale is a fruity Berliner Weisse-style beer bursting with Oregon blackberry flavor and aroma. The fruit addition adds a beautiful violet hue, and the taste has an approachable soft tartness from kettle souring. This artful gypsy will surely lure you into the world of sour beers.

And here's more, less marketing-ese:
Sour Wench was a Home Brew Mart recipe that we made every year for the Southern California Home brewers Fest in Temecula. This Blackberry Ale was originally developed by Ballast Point’s original Master Brewer Peter A’Hearn and Colby Chandler. While interning in Germany, Peter fell in love with the Berliner Weiss style of beer. A beer made with a procedure in which the mash was soured. The tartness of the Oregon State Marion Blackberries, at one pound per gallon, was a perfect addition for this sour style. Sour Wench is not aged in oak barrels. In the end, it’s a great bridge beer into the sour styles.

Ballast Point Bonito Blonde Ale

Ballast Point Bonito Blonde Ale. Clear, pale gold color, slim white head.

4.5% ABV. 25 IBUs.

In the nose: soft, slight aromatics, a little bit floral, herbal, but fairly quiet and pleasant.

In the mouth: Crisp and refreshing. Light bodied. Minor hops, low bitterness. Easy-drinker. Pitch perfect American blonde ale.

I don't drink very many blonde ales, it's not what I reach for. But if you dig 'em, by all means give this one a try.

Ballast Point Nitro Red Velvet

Ballast Point Nitro Red Velvet, golden oatmeal stout with beets, chocolate and natural flavors added. 5.5% ABV. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA.Bright crimson coloring, with a slim, pink head. Definitely an individual look here.

In the nose: Interesting. Sweet, vegetal, fruity. Is it the beets? I'm getting a resemblance of cherry-like cake frosting in this, which must surely be their intention.

In the mouth: Huh. If they meant to make a beer that's like red velvet cake, though I'm not an expert on the stuff, I'd say they came pretty damned close. (I don't eat a lot of cake, sorry Marie Antoinette.) Smooth, light bodied, silky and sweet. Tasty stuff, for sure. But strange. Golden oatmeal stout, they say? Never heard of such a thing. What the heck is it? It doesn't taste much like an oatmeal stout. The beets were added for color, I've been told, not for flavor.

This is an interesting beer, but I'm not sure what to think of it. It's been getting raves, but I don't see it as more than a gimmick. An interesting one, a fun one, but not much more than that.

I feel like an old, buddy-duddy by not getting whipped up into a frenzy about this one. I want my beers to taste like beers, not cake. Ugh.

Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale

Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, California. 5.5% ABV.

Clear, golden hued, solid slab of egg-white head atop.

In the nose: bold and citrus-y. Lemon and grapefruit. Just right.

In the mouth: Starts out sweet, then quickly turns to the bitter, and malt catches up with hops. Lean bodied, light and quenching. Citrus hop flavors cling to the palate and remain prominent throughout. Long, hoppy finish. Smooth and lovely. Hey, this is my kind of pale ale.
Refreshing and delicious.

Good one, and you know what you can do with it. Drink up, friends.

Ballast Point The Commodore Stout

Ballast Point The Commodore Stout. "Dry, Roasty Stout" Alc. 6.5% by volume. Crafted and bottled in San Diego, California.

Solid blackness, with a rich, tan, lace-leaving head. Looking just like a good stout should.

Does it smell like a good stout should? Yes, it does. Dry 'n' roasty. Little bit of cocoa powder, cola, rye bread, anise.

In the mouth, it's a highly pleasing thing. Full-bodied and slightly filling, rich and hearty. Here's a stout without any fancy tricks up it's sleeve, no extra ingredients, no barrel-aging or additions, just good old stouty goodness. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Good and dry, and pretty easy to push down the gullet. Commodore gets a bony thumb up from me for a good ol' reg'lar drinkin' stout.

And it's great to see one of these San Diego breweries do something that has nothing to do with hops.

Ballast Point Longfin Lager

Ballast Point Longfin Lager. Handcrafted and canned in San Diego, California.

Mostly clear, and brightly golden, slim white head above.

Slightly sweet aromatics, floral, honey-ish, a little bit hoppy. Nice.

Easy entry into the mouth, smooth going on the palate. Light bodied, clean and just a little crisp. Nice little bit of hoppiness, delicate malt. Hey. It ain't bad. (In fact, it's a good beer, that you can also drink.)

Ballast Point Indra Kunindra India-style Export Stout

Ballast Point Indra Kunindra limited release India-style Export Stout. Stout with Madras curry, Cumin, Cayenne, Coconut & Kaffir Lime.

Utter blackness, rich, large roasted tan head, leaving lace. Looking great.

Aroma: sweet and lovely. beautiful. hard to describe. honestly. unheard of. A little caramel, some toffee, but never too sweet, always balanced, always matched with plenty of hops.

Now to drink: There it is, again, the undescribable! It comes off as a sweetness, but never sweet. Candyish, but never candy-like. There’s coconut in this, and vanilla, and caramel, too. It’s not what I’d expect from an export stout, but it’s damned delicious. Toasted cocoanut…vanilla…wait, I said that… what else? Caramel…oh, I said that, too….Big time cocoanut in this big, big stout. And I love it.
It’s getting a little hot, though…peppers?

If anything proves that I don't read about these beers before I drink them, that above paragraph does. I reached for the bottle after reading that and sighed to myself. Aha, an Indian-style of Export Stout. Now, I get it.

Delicious, and wholly unique. Go get this. Worth every penny.

Let’s read some gobbledygook: “Indra Kunindra is a burst of Madras Curry, Cumin, Cayenne, Coconut, and Kaffir Lime, Enjoy! Our India-style Export Stout is a unique collaboration with award-winning home brewer Alex Tweet. Released in limited quantities, this explosion of South Asian flavors is reason enough to kneel down and thank the heavens. And further proof of San Diego’s status as a brewer’s playground and a beer lover’s utopia.”

Went a little overboard at the end there.

Ballast Point Pumpkin Down

Ballast Point Pumpkin Down Scottish Ale, with Pumpkin, our Piper Down Ale with Pumpkin and Spices. Alc. 5.8% by Vol. Crafted and bottled by Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA.

More skeletons! This one weighted down to the ground by his bagpipes, apparently.

Clear, light brown coloring, slim, beige head that settles soon to nil.

There's the spice right off the bat, cinnamon, allspice, etc., clove, a bit. Maybe there's pumpkin here, too, but I haven't hit it yet.

In the mouth: spices lead the way again, with a hint of the orange gourd just beneath. Malty stuff, slightly sweet, with spices always leading the show. It's mostly spices stealing the spotlight. Not my favorite kind of "pumpkin ale", I like to taste the vegetable flesh, too.

You know what? I like this, but I don't love it. But it is good beer, and I can drink it, so there's something to be said for that.

Ballast Point Dead Ringer Oktoberfest

Ballast Point Dead Ringer Oktoberfest Traditional Marzen Lager. San Diego, CA. Alc. 6.0% by Vol.

BP has always used aquatic  life on it's labels. Now, they seem to be the skeleton brewery. I suppose we are to imagine a jolly German who perished at sea, still clutching stein and pretzel. Okay, that's cool. Not sure if I get the name, though. If you figure it out, shoot me a line.

Clear, and copper-y colored, with a small head that disappears quickly.

Sweet and malty nose, just a little earthy and herbal.

In the mouth, sweet and malty again. Caramel and toffee, clean and free of bitterness. Drinkable? Of course. It's hearty to a point, too, and tasty, sure, but I'm not in love with this one.
Maybe I'm just not into marzens anymore. It's certainly not a style I look for from an outfit like Ballast Point. "Where's the hops?" I scream in the general direction of San Diego.

Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

Got some more samples, including this guy that I first tried from a 22 ounce bomber received in a trade from a Californian. Let's take a lot at those notes from December, 2003:


Clear and perfectly amber appearance, with a nice 1/4" head of creamy foam above.

Aroma: sweet, rich, & malty, copper-toned, with minor hops.

Taste: warm, rich in flavor, yet smooth, with high drinkability.

Very mellow, but, again, never quits on the fine taste. An excellent session ale, this 22 oz. bomber went down very happily indeed.

Guess what? I still like it.

Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA

I first had Ballast Point Sculpin IPA in 2009, from a trade, and it was then and is now a prime example of the San Diego IPA, hops a-blazing. I next tracked down a bomber in Chicago, and posted my original '09 notes about Sculpin here. It's been in our market for nearly two years now, so we can enjoy Sculpin whenever we want, though I find it's a bit too expensive to pick up with any frequency. But, look, the brewery is using it as template for adding extra ingredients, such as this one, which I did plunk down the coin for....

Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. India Pale Ale with natural grapefruit flavors. Handcrafted and bottled in San Diego, California. Alc 7.0% by Volume,

Appearance: clear, bright golden coloring, gorgeous snow-white head stands tall atop and stays awhile.

Aroma: Grapefruit screams out of the glass and tears into the nose. Quite potent grapefruit-y aromas. Anything else? If there are, I can't hear them under all the grapefruit.

Taste: Boom! Grapefruit, with beer below it. The Sculpin IPA is here, but it's subtleties and nuances are fairly drowned out by the grapefruit. Other citrus notes and piney flavors can be felt but barely, here and there. Bitterness is all over it, but it's not devastating, it can be smooth and mildly exit the palate.

Another sip and there it is, the big splash of grapefruit, the easy, biscuit-y malt, the aggressive hop attack that's so friendly to my tongue.

But, a question remains: is this really necessary? And I'll go even further, which may alienate me even more from the common class of beer geek. There are some variations on popular brews which should remain small batch and one-off, rare and hard-to-get. You really need to just be at the one bar on that one night, and get it out of that one randal the enamel animal. You should have to be one of 40 people, some times. They shouldn't be mass-produced, and shipped over several states. This beer should not be in 6-packs. It was, and I paid the price, and this was the last bottle, and the previous 5 went down well and enjoyably, but left me somewhat hollow.

But it leads me to more questions, such as, is adding grapefruit juice, or essence, or whatever it is, better or worse than barrel-aging? Or randall-izing? It's real grapefruit, sure, but it's more grapefruit than needed. The original Sculpin has the grapefruit flavor in spades, there's no need for such an addition. It's like adding lemons to a hefe weizen or orange slices to a witbier.

The question remains whether I will try the Habanero Sculpin. Something tells me that I have to.

Ballast Point Even Keel Session IPA

The session IPA trend continues, and while that happens I wonder how long until we exhaust the clever names to accompany them. All Day IPA from Founders suggest you can keep on drinking them all through the day with little consequence.  Lagunitas' DayTime suggests it isn't one meant for midnight snacking. Stone has Go-To, utilizing one of my least favorite cliches of recent days. (I'm sorry, I may be the only one who feels this way, but every time I read it or hear it, I feel like I've lost an IQ point.)Firestone Walker calls theirs "Easy Jack", emphasizing the easy drinkability. New Belgium has released Slow Ride, for a bike pun, and now Ballast Point brings us Even Keel to continue with their nautical themes. I guess we've tired of hop puns, and it's time to turn to session drinking jokes, and such.

Appearance: Lightly cloudy, bright golden color, short-lived, slim white head.

Aroma: Fresh and arresting, bursting with lively hoppiness, plenty of citrus notes and piney tones. Utterly lovely.

Taste: Bitter bite hits the palate first. Smacks the tongue around and slithers down the throat. Climbs back in with each new sip, spreads bitter tones all around, then eases back and slides on down.  Medium malt, holding it down, letting the hops do their thing. Grapefruit and lemon up in here. Terribly tasty, and definitely downable.

The label for this can lets us know that it's not merely a "session IPA", but also "San Diego Session Ale."

Alc. 3.8% ABV. Some say to be a session ale you have to be under 4% ABV. That is one perspective. This one gives us that and doesn't hold back on the hops.

I'll bet there's something they want to tell us on the other side of the can. "Our Even Keel is a hoppy ale designed for smooth sailing. A Full-flavored beer with a silky malt backbone and bright hop profile of herbs and citrus, it packs all the taste of an IPA in a sessional alcohol content. This ale is perfect for leisurely days on the water, when all you want are a few beers and a level ride."

I have to apologize for the photo. I poured the beer , then found that the camera wasn't working. Lesson for next time.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Collaboration with Ballast Point: Electric Ray India Pale Lager

Number 2 from the Beer Camp Box. Sierra Nevada/Ballast Point Electric Ray India Pale Lager. 8.5% ABV. Shouldn't it be Imperial India Pale Lager? IIPL? And it's either 10 or 70 IBUs. I honestly can't tell if it's a 1 or a 7, but it can't "India" if it's merely 10 IBU.

Slightly hazy, dark golden/amber coloring, under a slim white head.

Aroma: delicately hoppy, pineapple and pine, a little bit of lemon. Nice stuff.

Taste: Mmm. Hops up front, a flash of bright, beaming hoppitude. Lean-bodied. Finishes fruity and bittersweet, ending on a dry note. Crisp, clean, with long-lasting, lingering bitterness on the palate. Okay, I can drink this.

Don't know if I'll ever really be won over to the side of the "IPL", so called. But there's nothing wrong with them. Do they "fix" what I don't like about pale lagers, i.e. the thin body and the low hops. Maybe it's not just hops that I like about ales, it's everything else as well?

Let's read the label, alright? "This nautically named India Pale Lager combines intense citrusy, floral American hops with the clean, classic malt body of a blonde lager." Also, this: "As ever, San Diego's Ballast Point looked to the sea for inspiration. A play on the fish's scientific name--Torpedo californica--Electric Ray pays homage to our Hop Torpedo, the source of much of this beer's big flavor. It's massive grapefruit and floral notes deliver a high-voltage hit of hop flavor."