Sculpin - Grapefruit
Ballast Point Brewing Company

imnodoctorbut from Texas

4.4/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

pours a slightly hazy deep near-amber gold body with an off white (near burnt cream) fluffy foam head that has moderately low retention and leaves no lacing as it dissipates completely within 10 odd minutes.

the aroma is deep lush earthy grapefruit and a dash of pine

taste follows the nose. there is a sizeable hop bitterness hit, but just beyond this is a wonderfully lush grapefruit bite.

moderate carbonation and medium bodied mouthfeel. smooth with a dry finish and an earthy bitter aftertaste

Feb 09, 2021

BillAfromSoCal from California

4.06/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice grapefruit smell upon pouring. Clear gold color without rising carbonation bubbles visible in my glass. 1 finger of head with some good lacing but the head is not long lived. Taste follows nose, with a fair amount of hop bitterness. Nice mouthfeel/ clean with mild carbonation. Overall a dependable offering that I often use as a benchmark to calibrate my judgment of other IPAs. Not the best IPA but consistently solid.

Jan 06, 2021

feloniousmonk from Minnesota

4.16/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: clear, bright golden coloring, gorgeous snow-white head stands tall atop and stays awhile.

Aroma: Grapefruit screams out of the glass and tears into the nose. Quite potent grapefruit-y aromas. Anything else? If there are, I can't hear them under all the grapefruit.

Taste: Boom! Grapefruit, with beer below it. The Sculpin IPA is here, but it's subtleties and nuances are fairly drowned out by the grapefruit. Other citrus notes and piney flavors can be felt but barely, here and there. Bitterness is all over it, but it's not devastating, it can be smooth and mildly exit the palate.

Another sip and there it is, the big splash of grapefruit, the easy, biscuit-y malt, the aggressive hop attack that's so friendly to my tongue.

Dec 16, 2020

Sigmund from Norway

3.88/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

355 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.0%. Deep golden colour, large white head. Aroma of grapefruit and pine. The flavour is distinctly hoppy throughout, like the "normal" Sculpin, but with the grapefruity and piney notes from the hops enhanced by added grapefruit. Good stuff.

Dec 13, 2020

detgfrsh from Texas

4.3/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

From a can produced 8/25/20. Light orange color with a finger of foamy white head. Strong grapefruit smell on opening the can. Medium body, slightly slick feel. Juicy grapefruit with bitter earthy hops. I think I like this better than the base Sculpin.

Sep 30, 2020

Specialmick from Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Backstory. I remember having this for the first time after I demolitioned an entire floor of a house with help in west hartford from the 20's yuck. The guy who was payin us for the job came back with these So godamned thirsty mm it was like heaven.
Look...nothing spectacular
Smell...hoppy for sure, unique pithy grapefruit yum
Taste...just spot on bitter...fruity want wanting another sip and another sip
Overall... I just love this one. A special place for this one. perfect summer beer....dangerous. Def Recommend

Jul 06, 2020

hopped_up_on_mountain_dew from Florida

4.56/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tried it because cans were on sale. The six packs are unusually expensive in my area.
Light amber with a foamy head. Used a curved pint glass.
Smells of grapefruit/pomelo citrus aromas.
Tastes of grapefruit with an obvious hint of citrus, and a bittersweet finish.
It is a bit heavy with a meal so my limit is usually 2.

Jul 05, 2020

adab123 from Ohio

4.56/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very pleasant tangy grapefruit aroma. Has the nice bitter malty taste and feel of Sculpin, though the grapefruit adds fruitiness and balances it out. Very drinkable: would highly recommend.

May 05, 2020

OrtheusMaximusRex from Colorado

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4 only because its an IPA, to which I am partial. But, what is the hype? And 11-12$ or more for 6? I've tasted more grapefruit in a beer without the grapefruit that I have in this beer.

Mar 17, 2020

dpao from California

4.44/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served off tap in a chilled 16oz tankard so wasn’t getting much of the aroma to start, flavor got better as it warmed slightly. About 2cm of tight, symmetrical white bubbles and slightly rosy golden color—very pretty. Alcohol is hidden extremely well, predominant flavor is (you guessed it) grapefruit, but this does not taste like most flavored beers—very similar to lagunitas supercluster which gets its grapefruit notes solely from citra hops. Pleasant bitterness and nice mild cereal/biscuit flavors from the malt make it slightly chewy and round. Not as sharp as ballast point describes it, while I like that, I think someone looking for that “sting” might want to stick with standard sculpin. Want to try a bottle/can soon and compare to tap.

Jan 25, 2020

Limazulu from Idaho

4.55/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A-clear amber with a fair amount of visible carbonation rising
S-hoppy grapefruit pith
T-Grapefruit, but less prominently than I remember last time I tried this. Alcohol is hidden well as usual. Above average bitter, below average sweet
M-Medium (-), smooth, average (-) carbonation
O-a bit of a disappointment from my previous rating

Jan 04, 2020

Anders91 from California

3.78/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Much like the regular Sculpin, however the grapefruit helps to mellow out the hoppiness. A solid IPA. Whether or not you will prefer this over the regular Sculpin depends entirely on how hoppy you like your beer.

Jan 02, 2020

TSFolke from Illinois

4.73/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Ambience counts and due to the hip locale this draft is pulled from, I will score this brew enthusiastically high. They claim grapefruit but the subtlety is so pronounced that without the title, one would not guess fruit. Still I enjoy this brew to the tilt due to it's smooth and boozy affect.

Dec 14, 2019

EJPA_0425 from California

3.96/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This one is definitely good, but still not as good as the original Sculpin. Pours reddish amber color with small head. Smells pretty mild, can't really detect any grapefruit flavors from the smell. Tastes like Sculpin, with just a hint of grapefruit. Doesn't have any notes of artificial flavoring. Still has a hoppy IPA aftertastes which I believe is pretty important. It also makes your burps taste like grapefruit. Overall I think this is a good IPA but not quite as good as the original Sculpin.

Nov 19, 2019

bret27 from California

3.03/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Clear yellow/amber. on tap in pint glass.
Grapefruit and tangerines, with the piney hop bitterness as well in smell.
The taste is primarily grapefruit juice.
Medium balanced consistency.
Drinkable in a basic way.
Personally I am not a fan. I may be a purist but I feel a talented brewer could make hops alone taste and smell like citrus fruit. This tastes like they dumped juice in it and overdid it.
(The base sculpin ipa is a winner, I gave that a 4.57 back in the day)

Nov 04, 2019

good_to_sea from Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Look: clear amber with a big, foamy tan head.
Smell: grapefruit, grapefruit peel, citrus, sweet fruit and malt aromas, hint of pine.
Taste: clean grapefruit, hint of blood orange. Just the right amount of malt sweetness. Pleasant, clean hop and grapefruit bitterness. Simple, balanced, and delicious.
Feel: medium bodied.
Overall: simple and clean IPA. Instantly one of my new favorites... I'm almost done and I wish I had another one!

Beer was 1.5 months old.

Oct 21, 2019

Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

(12 oz can, PKGD 22JUL19; purchased off shelf... poured into Belhaven pub pint)

L: crystal-clear, yellow-orange liquid; foam fizzled down posthaste... razor-thin collar; no lace

S: pine in the back, but all grapefruit juice up front - doesn't smell like an IPA, more like a Pellegrino; nice, but faux...

T: lots of grapefruit; back end bitterness rather pithy, but propelled by grapefruity (I'm assuming), peppery, spicy, piney hops... bit of a lithe, toasty, caramelled-grain underbelly, giving it at least a little contrast... stridently dynamic taste, but too heavy on its 'natural flavors'

F: light-bodied, glassy, spritzy... thin, silky resins giving it a little texture, but not much... for an IPA of this abv though, excellent sharp cuts and contours, though perhaps a touch too streamlined

O: alas, an elusive, sort-of-recent packaging.; kept finding year-old bottling, the rare times I was looking for this.. I don't normally go after flavored IPAs - simply checking off a box here... people must love this, otherwise, why bother with this crap? - wasn't that juice-infused IPA thing awhile back?... not a bad drink, but very much prefer base-Sculpin over this any day; this is a f'n boozy soft drink - an IPA/Pellegrino shandy (1446)

Aug 20, 2019

monkist from Hungary

4.33/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

After the amazing Sculpin I had to try its other varieties as well. This one came with real grapefruit added, just like it says, it is somewhere quite sour and grapefruity bitter. However, unlike many other grapefruit(y) IPAs, this one doesn’t fo the bitterness over, but keeps it on a level that you could expect from a real grapefruit. It really reminded me of real grapefruits, or at least real grapefruit juice, it blendes very well with the beer.
Actually it took me the whole beer to get to this conclusion - because I kind of expected it to be like the Sculpin, with which it could not catch up. But on its own, it is a quite nice, mild fruit IPA with medium intensity imho.

Aug 04, 2019

Beertsipper from New York

4.06/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Can dated May 20th 2019, so a little over three months old. I saw two cans at my local bodega for $.50 each. These were the last two, so I said '"what the heck" and bought both. Pour is a golden color with an off white head. Nose is citrus and sweet malts. Getting some white bread. Grapefruit is there but not dominating. Taste is definite west coast IPA. Citrus, hops, sweetness, some bitterness on the finish. A medium mouthfeel with average levels of carb. Goes down smooth. Can't detect the alcohol. No real grapefruit here. I mean it's there, just not dominant. It's a good, balanced beer.

I'd love to try a fresher can or bottle and that will be what I will search for. However, for being over three months old, it was quite tasty. I am wondering if a fresher offering would be hoppier. I'm thinking, yes.

Jul 31, 2019

robed from California

4.8/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

I had this while playing Torrey Pines South. Perhaps it was the golf course or San Diego or the right day, but it was excellent! I had it out of a can and it did not disappoint. Wonderful taste with a bite

Jul 15, 2019

osheamatth from New York

3.71/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I'm always surprised at how many people love this beer. I guess I'm in the serious minority but to me grapefruit notes are okay in a bee but not actual grapefruit. To me it's not a match made in heaven.

Jul 08, 2019

krh from Illinois

4.31/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Revisited this one tonight. I don't remember the first time well. To borrow from another review that sums it up so well:

"Overall: Quite a remarkable IPA. It's the first IPA where I can definitively discern the grapefruit without a doubt. It's actually so much grapefruit that I would argue this has more flavor than an actual grapefruit, b/c it cuts through the tartness. Definitely not as well-rounded as the original, and most people will prefer the latter."

Jun 08, 2019

DrBeergood from Ohio

4.09/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours orange, cloudy. Half finger of head, dissipates in lacing quickly. Light and citrusy on the nose. Hoppy, but not hoppy like other citrus, hop-monster, or dry-hopped IPA. The grapefruit really helps mellow down the IPA notes, I never thought I'd be thankful for bitter bitter grapefruit. Surprisingly light bodied and well balanced. I don't know if I'd call it an 'introductory' IPA, but it is a nice break from the same old same old.

After seeing so many reaction videos featuring the Sculpin IPA, I am genuinely surprised at how great it tasted. This beer is in my top 10.

May 31, 2019

defunksta from North Dakota

4.07/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: Pours a clear, but darker orange color with a moderate, crisp head that fades.
Aroma: Not much aroma. Slight grapefruit. Perhaps the beer is too cold.
Taste: Immediately hits you with a strong grapefruit flavor. So much that you could overlook it's other qualities. Robust flavor, even with some tartness. Moderately bitter. Some toasted grain malts, but finishes on the bitter end.
Feel: Medium bodied. Decently carbonated. Finishes dry and bitter on the palate.

Overall: Quite a remarkable IPA. It's the first IPA where I can definitively discern the grapefruit without a doubt. It's actually so much grapefruit that I would argue this has more flavor than an actual grapefruit, b/c it cuts through the tartness. It reminds me of what a grapefruit tastes like. Definitely not as well-rounded as the original, and most people will prefer the latter. However, this beer definitely achieves it's goal 100%.

May 09, 2019

ChicagoJ from Illinois

3.79/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

5/8/19 (Chicago): $6.00 plus tax pint pour at Edison Park Inn.Bronze draft 16 oz pour into pint glass, light pinky sized head dissipates quickly. Light grapefruit and hops aroma. Taste similar to aroma, nice blended hops and fruity taste, grapefruit strong and pleasant. Light mouth feel and carbonation, easy drinking. Overall nice offering.

May 09, 2019