Moscow Mule
Ballast Point Brewing Company

Taster at Growler Guys. Medium amber pour, ring of head. Light fruity aroma, limes. Taste brings some ginger to the mix, sweet, tart, spicy. Very cose to its namesake drink.

First bought one at a college bar. Excellent. Lime-forward, no bitterness, easy-drinking, and 10% to boot. I rated it as my favorite beer at the time. I then bought a six pack and found out that I couldn't handle more than one in a sitting due to their pungency. These tasted more strongly of ginger and weren't nearly as palatable. There seems to be a great variability with this beer which does not work in its favor.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Date smudged and illegible.

A: Orange in color with great clarity. Bubbly white head settles to nothing in a short time. Spotty lacing.

S: Big whiff of lime, and then ginger too. Subtle alcohol tones. Tart. Touch of caramel/treacle malt sweetness. Shortbread.

T: In taste, I get a lot more of the lime than I do the ginger. Lime is pervasive, ginger comes through a little more on the back end. Grainy/sweet malt. Hit of stiff alcohol. Good tartness. This sample tastes a little cardboardy and oxidized too. Probably been kicking around too long. Tart and limey finish.

M: Medium-light body. Mild creaminess. Ample prickling carbonation.

O: An odd beer. With the base kettle sour, it comes across more margarita-like to me. It's fairly light and easy for it's size (10% abv!), and even a bit refreshing with its tartness. I still did not find it to be the most drinkable with the heavy-handed lime addition, though.

 

Well, this does taste like a Moscow Mule but in beer format. It's very tart, almost in the "sour" beer category. I'm not sure I'd say this is an ale. I taste a lot of ginger and lime. Very boozy too.

Okay, this should not be listed or advertised as an ale. This is extremely sour and should be a sour.
I was thinking it would be more on the ginger side of things but the lime and sour comes through the most.

At 10% I can't complain too much but WOW, buckle up, this beer will make you pucker up!

It poured a cooper color with a white head that leaves quickly and no lacing. The smell is ginger and more ginger, the taste is heavy on ginger but the lime does come in on the backend and this is when the tartness kicks in. The feel is medium, overall it is enjoyable even with the tart bite to it.

This beer pirs a slightly hazy amber with a small quickly dissipating head. The aroma is quite strong and somewhat artifical, with ginger candy, lemon syrup, and a whiff of orange peel. Also, lots of pure, white sugar is present on the nose. The flavor is less intense than I anticipated from the aroma, with a vague ginger ale flavor up front, followed by lemon candy, lime peel, and a lot of sugar with a sticky ginger finish. The mouthfeel is quite light, and undercarbonated. Overall this is not a great beer - it tastes more like a flavored malt beverage - with simple, sweet, and dull flavors. Want a moscow mule? I would say make one rather than grab this.

Eh, it’s not that bad. Ballast Point often tries to do way more than they can fit in 1 beer, here they pretty much just made Decent ginger beer though. I think the initial taste is pretty decent if you like Ginger. One of my go to non alcoholic drinks if Reeds extra strength ginger beer, and This has a similar kick. Not the best after taste however. Probably won’t get it again, but I don’t hate it

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Appearance: A copper orange, with a barely present head.

Aroma: Ginger. Ginger, ginger, ginger.

Taste: GINGER!

Hi, do you like ginger? Do you snack on ginger candy while drinking ginger beer, and look upon ginger ale the way we look upon Bud/Miller/Coors? If so, then have I got a beer for you! This beer's got ginger and plenty of it. "Slight hint of spice from the ginger"? Ha, more like a wallop of ginger upside your head!

To be honest, I've never actually had a Moscow mule, so I'm not sure what the cocktail tastes like, but if it tastes anything like this beer then I don't want it. The beer is overpowering with ginger. I haven't tasted this much ginger since I drank a Jamaican ginger beer.

For ginger-heads, this is the real deal! For mere mortals who like ginger, but don't absolutely love it to the exclusion of all else, maybe pass on this one. Or just get a single bottle if you're still curious and that's an option.

If you like drinking battery acid or embombing fluid, this is the beer for you.

 

Pours a clear bourbon color. Smell had ginger and lime in with some sour fruit. Taste was sour almost like a daqouri ,notes of ginger and lime with a boozy finish. This is a sipper that is best served in a 5oz tulip. I actually like this beer and 5oz was enough.

For the edification of those STILL not in the know, my westie cousin, Colby ChANdler is the VP of Brewing Operations at Ballast Point & I tell it like it is, usually much to his chagrin. I really wish that this was not a part of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, but I CAN't have everything, I suppose.

From the Bottle: "Ale with Ginger and Lime added"; "Product of the U.S.A."

That last bit is hy-lair-ious! What no added Mules? NOT made in Moscow? I'm devastated! 8=( Time to Pop! the cap & blow the Ballast on this Mule. Man, this poured like pop and sat in my glass like a stubborn mule! I gave it a vigorous in-glass swirl that briefly raised two fingers of fizzy, foamy, tawny head that quickly fizzled its way out of existence. I am told that kettle-souring has this effect. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was redolent with ginger and underlain with both lime and a lightly puckering tartness. It strikes me that this may be too clever by half on cuz's part. It is not doing well as an American Wild Ale, but if he had left well enough alone & just gone with the adjuncts, it could easily have qualified as an Herbed/Spiced Ale. Mouthfeel was watery, lacking any body whatsoever. The taste was … hack! OMFG! They did NOT spare the Ginger in any way, shape or form! It was like a lightning bolt coursed through my mouth & into my sinuses, which were unfortunately NOT clogged as they so often are. I nearly snorted fire through my nostrils like a dragon, having been caught off guard! Phew. My eyes welled up and tears gently rolled down my cheeks. Waaah! Then, the tartness kicked in, puckering my lips tighter than a duck's behind as the lime was the saving grace as I reached for my asthma inhaler. The notes mention "a slight hint of spice" & I would be curious to see what "overwhelming spiciness" might entail. Now, as far as the Style, it was kind of a weak sister in terms of its tart/sourness, but the ginger was enough to even cause a tingling on my lips. I will be honest - I LOVE fresh ginger! My brother is the wasabi freak so when we go for sushi, each of us doubles down on his favorite, leaving the rest for the other. This would be a great accompaniment to Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese cuisine, but on its own, I was starting to become fatigued. And why such a high ABV? I think that this could be much improved by toning things down - lower the ABV, less is more on the part of the ginger & don't bother with the kettle souring. Finish was dry and very spicy. Phew!

Moscow Mule has a thin, off-white head, an opaque, orange appearance, and no glass lacing. Aroma is of sharp ginger & lime, over a white bread undertaste. The flavor is similar, with a good deal of sourness. Mouthfeel is high medium, and Moscow Mule finishes medium dry and tart.

RJT