Even Keel
Ballast Point Brewing Company

Sigmund from Norway

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

355 ml can, from a trade with Cunningham. ABV is 3.8%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of pine, dust and grapefruit. Dry flavour, with distinct piney and grapefruity hops throughout. Bitter finish.

Dec 12, 2020

Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

4.15/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

For west coast style session this is tops. I imagine as our taste for higher and higher ABVs have dominated the region this would get lower rating, but it is outstanding. My go to session until it was replaced in beer stores for the mango version that sold better. That one tasted artificial to me.

Apr 30, 2019

Squire from Mississippi

3.69/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Nice amber gold color with white cap and lacing.

Aroma of citrus hops and ripe mango.

Taste is hop forward that emphasized a fresh citrus approach resting on the ripe fruit tinged malt base. Mango is present from start to finish but remains a servant to the hops. I believe there's a touch of pine in the hops as well. I also find something in the aftertaste that I can only describe as slightly nutty. Don't know where that comes from but I like it.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

It's balanced, refreshing and a bit more interesting than the usual Session IPA but it's not something I find interesting enough to buy again.

Mar 18, 2019

GuyFawkes from Illinois

2/5  rDev -47.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Unknown vintage; drank 10/25/15 @ the Yarchives.

See-through orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a huge eggnog head; a curtain of frothy lace.

Pine, caramel & grapefruit notes in the nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Pine, caramel & grapefruit notes in the nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Pine, caramel & faint urine flavors; a hyper bitter finish.

The opposite of my IPA profile; I'm impressed they packed this much flavor into a session ale, but sadly that flavor is terrible.

Mar 17, 2019

VABA from Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A-Pours a light amber color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has hoppy and citrus hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a hoppy and citrus flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A nice Session IPA

May 14, 2018

deleted_user_1111368 from Delaware

3.96/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

20oz IPA glass. Pours light orange, with a quick dissipating light head. Fairly stick lacing throughout.
Smells of hearty hops, orange/GF with a hint of lemon. Light on the malt. Tastes of GF upfront with a round of citrus and hops cutting right through. Bitterness on the side, MF is carbonated, but well done for a 3.8ABV session. It has become my go-to session beer.

Nov 10, 2017

huthuty from Utah

4.67/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Golden/copper ale with a mean head
Smells very hoppy and springy, a near perfect pale ale aroma
Very unique spicy and citrusy hop taste with a bitter finish
Overall definitely a good session with tons of flavor

Oct 15, 2017

cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

3.99/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours orange yellow with a fluffy one finger head. Smells of citrus and piney hops, very hop forward for a session. Tastes of citrus hops with decent malt backbone, predominately tropical citrus. Beer is light bodied and every easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.

Oct 01, 2017

daliandragon from Maryland

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Enjoying this on my sister's porch in Oakland, CA while on vacation. It is tasty, with decent but not overpowering hop flavors, and crazy drinkable, at a puny 3.8% abv, less than Coors light. Tight in texture and well engineered throughout.
Definitely in the style of "daydrinking"IPAs. This is a nice impression of a "diet" IPA that you can inbibe all day.

Aug 02, 2017

Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.91/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a hazy golden burnt orange to yellow color with a slim finger’s worth of white foaminess that quickly dissipated leaving some ever so light stringy lacing sticking in parts and then sliding. The smell had a sweet to slightly piney aromatic hops in front of a light caramel malt. The taste combined freshly and gracefully the hops to the malts leaving no aftertaste and a semi-dry finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light on the body with a nice sessionable aspect running about it. The carbonation was somewhat smooth but also a semi - sharp bitter bite on the tongue. Overall, I say this was definitely one of the better session IPA’s I’ve had.

Jul 16, 2017

Guppy314 from District of Columbia

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

From a bottle, pours a clear gold with white (but almost no head). Aroma of floral hops. Taste of bitter hops and tartness like grapefruit, some caramel-like malt, and perhaps dark spicy fruit. Nice, but more of a one-per-night beer.

Jun 02, 2017

q33jeff from New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

**
05/13/15
Very nice. A bit less punch (in flavor and alcohol) than the Sculpin, but a nice refreshing beer nonetheless. Perfect for a nice spring day in a lawn chair. Taste is grassy, touch of pine, touch of citrus, touch of hops. Slight soapy finish, but not too off-putting.

**

Apr 02, 2017

Everydayoff from Thailand

3.84/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

355ml can poured into a pint glass.

Mildly hazed deep amber orange color, it tops with a finger of frothy white head that stays for a while before sinking to a long-lasting bubble sheet atop and leaving lots of lacing along the way.

Lots of hop aroma, citrus, grapefruit, pineapple, lime, pine, resin, and some spice, malt is also there with its biscuit and caramel.

Malt dwells in a base of the flavor structure providing its biscuit undertone. Hop comes into play providing notes of citrus, grapefruit, and some piney resin together with some clean bitterness. It is quite balance overall.

The body is light to medium with good crispness and lively carbonation through the palate, quite smooth mouthfeel, refreshing with a dry finish. Good session IPA, it is still able to keep hop upright despite being relatively low ABV.

Jan 29, 2017

TerryMills from Tennessee

3.11/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Poured from can to snifter , new penny copper color with 1 finger pure white head,heavy lacing.

Smell is pretty muted for an IPA bit of citrusy grapefruit smell and just a hint of sweet malts.

Taste is just a hint of hops but pretty watered down overall , not much going on here. Balanced but weak.

Feel is very thin and pretty bubbly, watery finish.

Overall it is sessionable for sure because you could drink them like water but ide rather have a little more flavor myself.. Would not buy again.

Jan 24, 2017

dsa7783 from New Jersey

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

On tap at Bonds Tavern in West Orange. Pours a golden, lucid hue with minimal frothing. Tropical, fruity, citrus aroma with hints of peach and grapefruit. Refreshing, light taste.

Dec 14, 2016

teromous from Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From the bottom of the can: "16099 12:49 EK 70"

Appearance: The body of the beer is slightly hazy with an amber color. There is visible suspended solids. The head is a very short white creamy cap. Not much head retention but the sliver of foam on the surface leaves a decent sheet of foam on the glass.

Aroma: It has a fairly strong hop aroma with a bit of a mango scent and somewhat of a tangerine scent as well. I get just a bit of an aspirin scent which is odd but otherwise it smells nice.

Taste: This beer packs in a ton of flavor for something standing at a simple 3.8% ABV. It has this great hop flavor that taste like a mixture of grapefruit, lemon grass, and just a bit of mint at the end. There is a light grain flavor that tastes more like just regular grain rather than malted barley.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a nice bitter kick at the end. It's a very easy beer to drink and before you no it the beer will be gone.

Overall: This beer has become my biggest "go-to" for light, flavorful, hoppy beers. It's a great beer to enjoy when you don't want a lot of alcohol and don't want to sacrifice any flavor. As a session IPA it's a great substitute for many garden variety pale ales. On a side note the beer fits in nicely with outdoor activities like camping or hiking where you can't bring glass in the area and you want a hoppy beer that doesn't have a lot of alcohol.

Dec 04, 2016

witster18 from Tennessee

3.06/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

Smells amazing. I get the difficulty in creating a brew like this, but had I not created many session IPAs that were of similar strength, and tasted exponentially better, I would probably think this is ok... at best. The hops take on some sour lime tinge, and the beer drinks like a macro twist beer and not like a lighter good ipa imo. This is coming from someone who digs MOST of the beers that Ballast puts-out. I can barely get through one of these. A sixer lasted a month in my house and that's a miracle in and of itself. The beer pours a golden hue with a tinge of orange in there. Really spritzy on the carb, and that smell just pops out of the can and gets you excited. Then the beer is quite the letdown. I'd say this very well may be the most overrated brew on BA.

Oct 14, 2016

zeff80 from Missouri

3.84/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden orange color with a small, white head of foam. It smelled of citrus, grapefruit and caramel. Sweet citrus, toasted caramel and a sharp bitterness.

Oct 02, 2016

Gajo74 from New York

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a golden and light amber color. An aggressive pour from the can yields a bubbly head that soon disapates into a sudsy cap and thin crown.
Citrusy in the nose, then mostly clean, and later followed by a stronger scent of caramel malt as the drink warms.
In the mouth the piny hops leave a prickly feel, a dry palate, some citrusy zest and a moderate bitterness in the finish. Light and crisp, it quenches the thirst really nicely.
I'm a bit confused about this brew's designation, as it is referred to on here as an APA and a session IPA in the can. Whatever you want to call it, it is indeed a nice sessionable brew.

Sep 09, 2016

DrinkThemAll from California

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I was actually very surprised with this beer. At 3.8% I kind of laughed before i opened it. The hop profile is very present, and looks good as well. It is a very light bodied beer, but still tastes so lovely. I could drink a million of these and be very happy. Definetly a beer on a hot summers day, that won't dry you out. I think this will server well as an entry brew for people just getting into the scene. Not over powering by any means, and still has that IPA aroma and taste.

Aug 30, 2016

AZBeerDude72 from Arizona

4.09/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour is medium yellow with great foamy head. Smells of hops, citrus, and little pine. Taste is very smooth with light bitters and hops, citrus abounds. Very light and smooth beer, this is such a tasty beer and just awesome for a hot summer day and you want a light beer with tons and tons of flavor. Just a solid beer and a great IPA taste without the heavy ABV.

Jul 11, 2016

OmahaKF from Nebraska

3.94/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Smell is all citrus and tropical fruit (orange, lemon peel, passionfruit, mango). Taste is citrus, mango, some breadiness, and just a light bitterness. Pretty much a quintessential session IPA.

Jul 02, 2016

Blueness from Texas

4.59/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Even Keel by Ballast Point was an awesome session ale.
Drank out of a 12oz can, poured into a Ballast pint glass.
2 finger head. Lacing stuck around well after beer was gone!

This was a great beer. Low ABV but the hop profile is still very present like an IPA. I would suggest this beer to anyone who likes Ballast Point, great beer, or someone looking for something to drink on a hot day and not get dizzy.

Jun 19, 2016

Kendo from New York

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Poured from the can into a Piraat tulip/snifter-type glass. Body is tangerine orange with a half-finger whitish head on top.

S: Modest hops - citrus, citrus zest and a bit floral.

T: Mix of citrus (grapefruit mainly), citrus peel and tropical fruit (mango comes to mind). Modest bready malt foundation.

M: Thin. Befitting to the style, I suppose, but it feels a bit more watery than most.

O: Good. Solid flavor for a beer with an ABV under 4.0.

Jun 18, 2016

psycHOPathy from Georgia

3.87/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

rich amber orange, very spongy/fizzy quarter in head
smells of bold and bright citrus. lot of mango, organge, grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, pine. a bready sweetness underneath
not as sweet as expected. hits back of tongue with some floral bitterness. very grassy, piney, a sort of flat hoppiness.
feels light, very slightly carbonated
smells awesome. for a very light beer (3.8%) it's pretty flavorful, but a little bitter for easy drinking

May 27, 2016