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Sculpin
Ballast Point Brewing Company
- From:
- Ballast Point Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- American IPA
Ranked #11 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 97
Ranked #583 - Avg:
- 4.38 | pDev: 9.82%
- Reviews:
- 2,629
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 09, 2024
- Added:
- Apr 02, 2006
- Wants:
- 1,596
- Gots:
- 6,200
Originally named Northstar IPA. Debuted in 2005.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ricke:
Reviewed by ricke from Sweden
4.32/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.32/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Yellow, almost straw-colored (great to see an IPA of this magnitude that's actually a pale ale). A rather thin white head settles in a moderate pace.
S: Massive hop aromas. Plenty of exotic fruits, but not so dominated by grapefruits as many other hop forward beers are. Instead here are generous amounts of mango and passion fruits (along with the grapefruit of course). Here is also a very pleasant smell of elder flowers. Some pine needles and hop resins. Biscuity malts are present as well.
T: Replicates the smell with very fresh hop flavors all around. Exotic fruits (grapefruit, mango, passion fruit) mix with elder flowers and hop resins. A semi-sweet crisp and biscuity malty backbone. The finish is really bitter with notes of pine-needles and, citric notes and grassy hop notes.
M: Medium to semi-full body, nice sticky mouthfeel. Crisp carbonation.
D: This is a great IPA with a massive and very tasty hop profile. Still, it manages to stay very balanced. The malts are almost perfectly suited for the hop centered flavors.
Jul 20, 2009S: Massive hop aromas. Plenty of exotic fruits, but not so dominated by grapefruits as many other hop forward beers are. Instead here are generous amounts of mango and passion fruits (along with the grapefruit of course). Here is also a very pleasant smell of elder flowers. Some pine needles and hop resins. Biscuity malts are present as well.
T: Replicates the smell with very fresh hop flavors all around. Exotic fruits (grapefruit, mango, passion fruit) mix with elder flowers and hop resins. A semi-sweet crisp and biscuity malty backbone. The finish is really bitter with notes of pine-needles and, citric notes and grassy hop notes.
M: Medium to semi-full body, nice sticky mouthfeel. Crisp carbonation.
D: This is a great IPA with a massive and very tasty hop profile. Still, it manages to stay very balanced. The malts are almost perfectly suited for the hop centered flavors.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by whitro17 from Florida
4.34/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Look - clear golden with a bubbly white head
Smell - piney, citrusy, lemon rind, grapefruit
Taste - piney, lemon rind, mango, grapefruit, apricot
Feel - med body, moderate carbo, bitterness on the finish
Overall - At 7% and 70 IBU's this is a hoppy bouquet of tropical fruity flavors with a firm bitterness. A Championship brew that has won many awards throughout the years and for good reason. Just a well-crafted brew and still great after all these years. Pairs well with We Are the Champions by Queen.
Mar 06, 2024Smell - piney, citrusy, lemon rind, grapefruit
Taste - piney, lemon rind, mango, grapefruit, apricot
Feel - med body, moderate carbo, bitterness on the finish
Overall - At 7% and 70 IBU's this is a hoppy bouquet of tropical fruity flavors with a firm bitterness. A Championship brew that has won many awards throughout the years and for good reason. Just a well-crafted brew and still great after all these years. Pairs well with We Are the Champions by Queen.
Rated by jbolger from Connecticut
4.29/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Classic West Coast IPA. Prefer the Grapefruit version. Would be a favorite if they distributed in CT.
Dec 30, 2023Reviewed by Danmooney40 from Virginia
4.42/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.42/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
One of the first IPAs I ever drank many years back. What I now know as a WCIPA . It started me down the path in the right way. I haven't been able to find it on the East Coast in recent years.
From can poured into a 10 oz pub glass, showed a 2 finger head that lingered. A dark golden colored .
Still as good as I remembered.
Oct 14, 2023From can poured into a 10 oz pub glass, showed a 2 finger head that lingered. A dark golden colored .
Still as good as I remembered.
Reviewed by nwalke16 from Michigan
4.84/5 rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.84/5 rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
I haven't reviewed this beer yet on here, but the last time I had Sculpin IPA was seven months ago and it's still as great as I remembered. This is what I am looking for in a West Coast style IPA and it is the best one. It is hoppy, yet the most nicely well balanced flavor that I crave for when trying an IPA. I highly recommend buying this one if you can't get it at Ballast Brewery.
Sep 20, 2023Reviewed by Burrocreek from Arizona
4.42/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.42/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This beer, and Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, are the best two widely distributed old school IPAs in America. This one leans bitter and the other leans sweet. Both are exceptional and difficult to surpass. Cheers!
Sep 06, 2023Reviewed by eWell
4.57/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.57/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
It’s my favorite among American IPAs. Has slightly sour taste but comes across as very fruity. Unfortunately, this beer (and the grapefruit version, which is perhaps the even more gifted sibling) is hardly ever available around where I live.
Aug 23, 2023Rated by soma5 from Texas
5/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This is a ridiculously good beer. Unfortunately we can't seem to get it any more here in Texas. Bottles are always better than cans.
Aug 21, 2023
Sculpin from Ballast Point Brewing Company
Beer rating:
97 out of
100 with
14658 ratings
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