Grunion Pale Ale | Ballast Point Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Ballast Point Brewing Company
California, United States
ballastpoint.com
Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.50%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Our Grunion Pale Ale wasn’t born on a beach, but in a backyard. Originating from an employee-only home brew contest, this award-winning hoppy pale ale is named after the tiny local fish known for late night frolics on shore. A pair of new hop varieties lend strong yet balanced summer melon aromas and herbal flavors, while a soft caramel malt sweetness holds it all together.
Added by barleytimes619 on 10-02-2013
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 1,379 | Reviews: 251
3.95/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a hazy gold with a white head. Smells of hops, fresh citrus, and some malts. Tastes of bitter hops, slightly off citrus, and malt. Medium in body and carbonation. Overall a very good APA, just a little something off in the flavor.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a hazy gold with a white head. Smells of hops, fresh citrus, and some malts. Tastes of bitter hops, slightly off citrus, and malt. Medium in body and carbonation. Overall a very good APA, just a little something off in the flavor.
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4.15/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.21/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Look - 4 - Nice golden brown color, very clear once settled, about 1 finger of foam head (but not very substantial perhaps)
Smell - 4.25 - With just a touch of hops and a good sniff of citrus the smell is very pleasant. The citrus lingers nicely
Taste - 4.25 - It tastes like it smells, but perhaps the hops linger on longer than the citrus this time around
Feel - 4 - Very pleasant to the mouth and slips down nicely
Overall - 4.25 - For some reason I think of this is as the "poor sibling" to the Sculpin, but do not let that put you off. They are very different, and yet similar, at the same time. In the Grunion, a nice balance of hops and citrus sits on the tongue, in a very lively and pleasant manner, their blend definitely works well in the warmer California environment. I would perhaps say this is the "casual drinking" Ballast Point IPA that is best suited to the evenings out here, where its "big brother" is for the more formal occasions! ;)
[ Meh - read that how you will - basically, if you like Sculpin, you'll like Grunion, and the price difference is awesome - just try it out!!!! :) :) :) ]
1,112 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Look - 4 - Nice golden brown color, very clear once settled, about 1 finger of foam head (but not very substantial perhaps)
Smell - 4.25 - With just a touch of hops and a good sniff of citrus the smell is very pleasant. The citrus lingers nicely
Taste - 4.25 - It tastes like it smells, but perhaps the hops linger on longer than the citrus this time around
Feel - 4 - Very pleasant to the mouth and slips down nicely
Overall - 4.25 - For some reason I think of this is as the "poor sibling" to the Sculpin, but do not let that put you off. They are very different, and yet similar, at the same time. In the Grunion, a nice balance of hops and citrus sits on the tongue, in a very lively and pleasant manner, their blend definitely works well in the warmer California environment. I would perhaps say this is the "casual drinking" Ballast Point IPA that is best suited to the evenings out here, where its "big brother" is for the more formal occasions! ;)
[ Meh - read that how you will - basically, if you like Sculpin, you'll like Grunion, and the price difference is awesome - just try it out!!!! :) :) :) ]
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3.84/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Drafted pour on a half pint glass.
Clear amber copper tone with an inch head.
Sweet hoppy nose with subtle grapefruit peel.
Rich resin hoppy but refreshes the palate.
Above average IPA, definitely on the list of an IPA lover.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Drafted pour on a half pint glass.
Clear amber copper tone with an inch head.
Sweet hoppy nose with subtle grapefruit peel.
Rich resin hoppy but refreshes the palate.
Above average IPA, definitely on the list of an IPA lover.
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4.09/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.75/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a hazy burnt orange color with a light transparency about it. Carbonation runs up at a moderate pace to fill a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within less than a minute. Spotty lacing sticks nicely around the glass. The smell starts off with a nice crisp sweet fresh cut grass to it. A little bit of citrus and sweet pine come in underneath. Bitterness is there but not overly bearing. The taste was balanced between the sweetness and the bitterness. Malts don’t show much sweet presence as the hops seem to be the leading factor of the sweetness. A light citrusy to pine aftertaste leads into a dry finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice crisp sessionability about it. Carbonation runs nicely as an APA and the bitterness seems a little bit more than other APA’s but that’s okay. Overall, I like this one and would have it again.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a hazy burnt orange color with a light transparency about it. Carbonation runs up at a moderate pace to fill a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within less than a minute. Spotty lacing sticks nicely around the glass. The smell starts off with a nice crisp sweet fresh cut grass to it. A little bit of citrus and sweet pine come in underneath. Bitterness is there but not overly bearing. The taste was balanced between the sweetness and the bitterness. Malts don’t show much sweet presence as the hops seem to be the leading factor of the sweetness. A light citrusy to pine aftertaste leads into a dry finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice crisp sessionability about it. Carbonation runs nicely as an APA and the bitterness seems a little bit more than other APA’s but that’s okay. Overall, I like this one and would have it again.
947 characters
3.9/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.78/5 rDev -7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.68/5 rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12 ounce can into a Shaker pint glass, there is no "best by" date that I can find.
APPEARANCE: pours a nice golden color with small bits floating about, one-finger white head that slowly dissipated until a thin layer of small bubbles remained, medium carbonation, there is light lacing on the glass.
SMELL: pineapple, bread and pine.
TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially sweet pineapple, bread and then a nice piney finish.
PALATE: medium body and carbonation.
OVERALL: this is a decent beer but nothing special, there are better beers available in this style so I will probably not but buy this one again.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12 ounce can into a Shaker pint glass, there is no "best by" date that I can find.
APPEARANCE: pours a nice golden color with small bits floating about, one-finger white head that slowly dissipated until a thin layer of small bubbles remained, medium carbonation, there is light lacing on the glass.
SMELL: pineapple, bread and pine.
TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially sweet pineapple, bread and then a nice piney finish.
PALATE: medium body and carbonation.
OVERALL: this is a decent beer but nothing special, there are better beers available in this style so I will probably not but buy this one again.
637 characters
Grunion Pale Ale from Ballast Point Brewing Company
4.07
out of 5
based on 1,379 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4