Sculpin - Habanero
Ballast Point Brewing Company

Sculpin - HabaneroSculpin - Habanero
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From:
Ballast Point Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
7%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 15.96%
Reviews:
547
Ratings:
2,653
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 20, 2021
Added:
Feb 26, 2011
Wants:
  200
Gots:
  803
Our Sculpin IPA with Habanero Pepper began as a crazy experiment that’s taken on a life of its own. While its bright fruit notes and hoppy bite has made the original one of our favorites, this version takes that balance of flavors to the next level with the citrusy, floral heat of habaneros. Sculpin are known to sting, but this one’s got a kick.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by neenerzig:
Photo of neenerzig
Reviewed by neenerzig from Ohio

4.09/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
My extremely good and awesome buddy Jon Passow, who is the Barrel Operations Manager at Anderson Valley Brewing Company, sent me this in a package from northern, CA a few weeks ago. then like 4 days after receiving this package my wife and I began our 2 week trip to California, one week of which was spent going to many breweries there with my friend Jon. I also got to try this beer on-tap when we went to Ballast Point about a week and a half ago. Onto the review. Poured out of a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass of mine, this beer pours a slightly cloudy and hazy, but mainly clear, medium golden color with a nice copper/amber hue with a white head that is about 1/2 of an inch thick when first poured that settles quickly to a solid surface coating along with a pretty thick ring lining the inside of the glass. Not too much lacing unfortunately. Aromas of some toasted malts, citrus hops, and certainly the habanero. Has a slight toasted malt sweetness presence upfront followed by a nice floral, citrus hop bitterness. The spicy heat bite from the peppers is at just the perfect level for a chilihead like myself, and I understand how and why this might be too much of a hear bite for others people. Has a clean finish. Has a crisp, slightly smooth and frothy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel with moderate to heavy carbonation. Easy to drink for me in the a well crafted beer ought to me.

Eric
Jul 17, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of LesDewitt4beer
Reviewed by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Notes from 3/26/2016 first tasting.
12 oz bottle into a 16 oz pint glass.
L: Pours a light orange yellow caramel with a 1/2" white head, good carbonation with some random lacing.
S: Regular Sculpin IPA (essentially grapefruit, citrus, mango) with a musty, musky hot pepper aroma. A light pepper heat sensation under my eyes.
T: Grapefruit, pineapple, peach, mango, pine. Sweet hops then habanero pepper. Lots of pepper. Not too musky nor too hot on the palate (unless one is not accustomed to habanero heat levels) but more so on the back of the tongue and throat. An enjoyable sensation. Fruit flavors remain valid throughout the heat.
F: Just like traditional Sculpin IPA but with Scoville scale heat that enhances the malts and simultaneously allows the bittersweet citrus and pine to pass by long, moderately bitter hot lingering finish. Pepper heat and pine slowly fade.
O: This is one of my personal favorite IPAs and Pepper Beers. Some bottles have more pepper than others and are hotter. I like that. In this case inherent hop flavors blend with the habanero for a refreshingly delicious and exciting IPA. It is very excellent in it's style.
Oct 20, 2021
 
Rated: 3.42 by Slyde180 from Texas

Jul 29, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

2.88/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.75
355 ml bottle, from the Norwegian importer. ABV is 7.0%. Deep golden colour, slightly hazy. Moderate white head. Aroma of fruity American hops, hints of dust. Can hardly detect the habaneros. Hoppy flavour, some fruit and pine, immediately followed by a vehement habanero burn in the finish and aftertaste. Way too hot. Unbalanced, to a degree bordering on the ridiculous.
Dec 14, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Aug 18, 2020
 
Rated: 2 by TallGuyCM from California

Jun 16, 2020
 
Rated: 3.67 by ryanf2192 from District of Columbia

Jun 08, 2020
 
Rated: 3.76 by Yendor61 from Michigan

Mar 21, 2020
 
Rated: 3.79 by BalancingBrooms from California

Feb 01, 2020
 
Rated: 3.31 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Nov 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.45 by ChuckkieB from New York

Oct 04, 2019
Photo of macrosmatic
Reviewed by macrosmatic from Florida

3.43/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Cycle Brewing goblet.

A: Hazy gold with a fairly low amount of visible carbonation. Forms a thin white head that fades to a ring of foam.

S: Grapefruit and spicy peppers almost in balance. Some tropical fruit, mangoes, and a light cracker malt body. Not as big of an aroma as I expected, but pretty decent.

T: Spicy peppers and citrus fruit. Some tropical fruits again. Can’t taste much of the malts here – just a touch of sweetness. Then the burn from the hot peppers takes over – quite spicy, to the point of tingling gums and a fire in the belly. A nice chili flavor develops though - it tastes like you’re biting a pepper (though not into a whole habanero, of course). The spice grows and lasts for quite awhile after the swallow, masking any of the fruity hop bitterness that I typically enjoy from Sculpin.

M: A medium body, average carbonation sensation. Who knows about the alcohol flavors that might be lurking under the pepper burn…but it doesn’t seem overly alcoholic.

O: Look – it’s a good (very good) beer that has had a huge amount of spicy peppers added. If that strikes you as something you’d like, I think this is really good. I’m having difficulty finding fault in the beer, other than it’s too spicy for me. And I like spicy food, hot sauce, etc., but I don't look for it in my beer very often. But true faults are few in this beer if you can get around the sheer undrinkability factor - other than you can’t taste around it to find the Sculpin characteristics at all. I will say that the more I drink through the beer in the glass, the less "burny" the beer seems. Maybe my taste buds are seared off.
Aug 04, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

1.09/5  rDev -71%
look: 1 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1
Unknown vintage; drank 7/3/14 @ World of Beer Evanston.

Clear dandelion hue.

Off-white head; decent lace.

Mild mango nose.

Thin mouthfeel.

Um, nope. From the moment this touched my lips, an unpleasant burn set on my tongue, lips & esophagus.

Endurable but thoroughly unenjoyable. Got through 3-4 sips & rejected it like a baby bird touched by humans.
Apr 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Mar 06, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by KMcGrath from Massachusetts

Nov 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.17 by Noahmoore32 from California

Nov 08, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by JohnDon from Texas

Oct 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.94 by Unclevince from West Virginia

Sep 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.85 by Dada100 from New York

Aug 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.08 by Tlock from Hawaii

Jul 17, 2018
Sculpin - Habanero from Ballast Point Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 2653 ratings