Sculpin
Ballast Point Brewing Company

Favorite IPA. Tomorrow I will taste this off against my #1 IPA Great Divide Titan and this one may win. It's more jammed with radiant flavors.
Appearance - The pour is perfectly clear, a deep orange amber, very orange, almost shiny. Much carbonation forms a three-finger head of white active foam, and it lasts and laces.
Into a .5l glass.
Smell - As others wrote, I could just sit here and sniff. I get more orange rind, more brightness than grapefruit, but certainly lots of fresh citrus and hops with lots of variation. Very fresh and inviting, great with food: in this case, garden tomatoes, 3 cheeses, rosemary bread, lemon olive oil, balsamic.
Taste - The flavor follows the aromas, and leads with very sharp, fresh, crisp, again orangey in the best sense of the word - flowers of hops, fireworks of hops, powerful leaps of hops.

As one reviewer wrote " the floral taste being almost bigger then the beer itself." Pine, hay, grass, open sunny herbal slopes of the California coast. The finish was large, dry, and bitter. Very complete.

Mouthfeel - great finish. makes you want another. clean and sharp and leaves you in such a good place. Totally worth a premium price.

O - Ties for my top IPA, and I think probably edges out Titan for top honors.

 

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.

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!

 

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.

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.

 

Pour clear and golden, but the head doesn't last long.
Aromas of apples and light flowery, with medum strength.
Taste is juicy enough, but I'm getting a bit of harshness, like carbonation. I don't get the high ratings of this one?
Not very thick in the mouth. Feels like carbonation when you leave on your tongue.

Overall - i will not buy this one again. Just not that impressed.

This is the best West Coast American IPA I have ever had. The hops taste crisp and go great with food - particularly crabs, fried seafood, and steak. Truly a world class beer!

 

One of my favorites!

 

12oz can PKG 031323 (2 months ago) poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 7% ABV. The beer pours bright light amber with light khaki head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and rocky cap. Slight lacing. The aroma is mild with light citrus, pine and caramel. The taste is bittersweet piney, citrus with relatively weak caramel malt. Strong bitterness. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and mostly dry finish. Overall, good, but not the world class IPA it once was...

 

Great San Diego IPA. Lovely goldenrod color, big bouquet aroma, big head that lasts most of the way through the glass. It's lovely.
Plenty of apricot, lemon, and maybe cantaloupe aromas, big piney-lemony-tropical hop flavor, nice viscous body. This is a winner.
Cans were on sale -- I never pay full price for Sculpin. It's great for them that they have pricing power and can extract a $2, 3, or even $5 price premium per 6-pack, but there are probably ten other IPAs I enjoy as much or more, and they're cheaper. If I can get in for $12/6, Sculpin is a solid choice. That's not very frequent, which, again, is good for Ballast Point Brewing.

 

 

 

Not a big fan. Too floral, malty. Carbonated