Grapefruit Sculpin | Ballast Point Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Ballast Point Brewing Company
California, United States
ballastpoint.com
Style: American IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Our Award-winning IPA, with a citrus twist.
Our Grapefruit Sculpin is the latest take on our signature IPA. Some may say there are few ways to improve Sculpin’s unique flavor, but the tart freshness of grapefruit perfectly complements our IPA’s citrusy hop character. Grapefruit’s a winter fruit, but this easy-drinking ale tastes like summer.
The Sculpin IPA is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. It showcases bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon. The lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops. The Sculpin fish has poisonous spikes on its fins that can give a strong sting. Ironically, the meat from a Sculpin fish is considered some of the tastiest. Something that has a sting but tastes great; sounds like a Ballast Point India Pale Ale. This version of our Sculpin IPA has grapefruit added; the grapefruit flavor really enhances the citrus aroma of the hops.
Added by arfenhouse on 01-19-2013
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 6,204 | Reviews: 879
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
12 oz bottle from a six pack purchased at the LCBO; bottled Aug 8 2018 and served slightly chilled.
Pours with a golden orange-colour and a foggy, translucent body that is capped off with one finger of loose, off white froth. It fizzles off within a couple of minutes, scattering a modest amount of lacing about as it recedes down to a soapy collar; looks fine to me. It smells mainly of pine and resiny hop oils, with a strong undercurrent of grapefruit juice. Maybe a hint of honey, orange peel and light cereal grain sweetness in there too, but it's a pretty one-dimensional aroma - though I do like grapefruit, so I'm certainly not complaining.
Delicious stuff. The grapefruit is front and center throughout the sip, buoyed at first by a subtle grainy pale malt backing that soon gives way to juicy orange and grapefruit citrus, as well as peach and apricot. A pithy bitterness asserts itself nearer the finish, becoming more resiny and earthy at its conclusion. Medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that provide a proper bite to what is actually a rather slick, persistent mouthfeel. Fantastically easy to toss back - I rationed these six bottles out over the course of two weeks, but I could've easily knocked 'em back in a night (with the right motivation).
Final Grade: 4.25, an A-. I drink a hell of a lot of IPAs. I've tried so many that it has gotten to the point where genuinely impressive ones are becoming harder to come by - and that is why experiences like Grapefruit Sculpin remain so delightful to my senses. This was priced a few bucks higher than the average (imported American) sixer in this market, but as long as they can keep a fresh supply coming I think they'll have plenty of takers in Ontario - I'll certainly be back for more, and I'd love to see more BP stuff crop up in these parts in the future.
1,843 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
12 oz bottle from a six pack purchased at the LCBO; bottled Aug 8 2018 and served slightly chilled.
Pours with a golden orange-colour and a foggy, translucent body that is capped off with one finger of loose, off white froth. It fizzles off within a couple of minutes, scattering a modest amount of lacing about as it recedes down to a soapy collar; looks fine to me. It smells mainly of pine and resiny hop oils, with a strong undercurrent of grapefruit juice. Maybe a hint of honey, orange peel and light cereal grain sweetness in there too, but it's a pretty one-dimensional aroma - though I do like grapefruit, so I'm certainly not complaining.
Delicious stuff. The grapefruit is front and center throughout the sip, buoyed at first by a subtle grainy pale malt backing that soon gives way to juicy orange and grapefruit citrus, as well as peach and apricot. A pithy bitterness asserts itself nearer the finish, becoming more resiny and earthy at its conclusion. Medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that provide a proper bite to what is actually a rather slick, persistent mouthfeel. Fantastically easy to toss back - I rationed these six bottles out over the course of two weeks, but I could've easily knocked 'em back in a night (with the right motivation).
Final Grade: 4.25, an A-. I drink a hell of a lot of IPAs. I've tried so many that it has gotten to the point where genuinely impressive ones are becoming harder to come by - and that is why experiences like Grapefruit Sculpin remain so delightful to my senses. This was priced a few bucks higher than the average (imported American) sixer in this market, but as long as they can keep a fresh supply coming I think they'll have plenty of takers in Ontario - I'll certainly be back for more, and I'd love to see more BP stuff crop up in these parts in the future.
1,843 characters
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev -3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
355 ml bottle served cold into a tulip. Purchase came out to $3 CDn per bottle, but it's not often that we get SoCal IPA's available in this neck of the woods.
Appearance - Hazy rich golden / amber colored brew. Two plus fingers of super light off-white head sit on top. Good staying power and lots of visible carbonation. Spotty lacing at the edges of the glass.
Smell - Plenty of grapefruit initially with some minerally aspects and subtle earthiness in behind. But, mostly it's grapefruit, grapefruit and more grapefruit.
Taste - Tons of grapefruit, fairly intense bitterness, lots of pith, with some leafiness. Transitions to a little sweeter mid sip with healthy malt bill and a touch of other tropical fruits, think melon and cantaloupe, but first and foremost the taste is about grapefruit. Lemon zest too at the end.
Mouthfeel - Slick and sticky, fairly heavily bodied, approaching DIPA level of this, but a fizzy body relaxes the tongue and mouth and makes this an easy beer to drink.
Overall - Certainly one of the best IPA's I've had this year and stacks up pretty damn close to it's prodigious reputation.
1,122 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
355 ml bottle served cold into a tulip. Purchase came out to $3 CDn per bottle, but it's not often that we get SoCal IPA's available in this neck of the woods.
Appearance - Hazy rich golden / amber colored brew. Two plus fingers of super light off-white head sit on top. Good staying power and lots of visible carbonation. Spotty lacing at the edges of the glass.
Smell - Plenty of grapefruit initially with some minerally aspects and subtle earthiness in behind. But, mostly it's grapefruit, grapefruit and more grapefruit.
Taste - Tons of grapefruit, fairly intense bitterness, lots of pith, with some leafiness. Transitions to a little sweeter mid sip with healthy malt bill and a touch of other tropical fruits, think melon and cantaloupe, but first and foremost the taste is about grapefruit. Lemon zest too at the end.
Mouthfeel - Slick and sticky, fairly heavily bodied, approaching DIPA level of this, but a fizzy body relaxes the tongue and mouth and makes this an easy beer to drink.
Overall - Certainly one of the best IPA's I've had this year and stacks up pretty damn close to it's prodigious reputation.
1,122 characters
4.31/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.36/5 rDev -22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I don’t love it for some reason
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look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I don’t love it for some reason
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4.31/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.87/5 rDev +12.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.59/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Like this a lot, have tried several Ballast Point beers, like them all, this is my favorite. Citrus in nose & taste, good mouth feel, expensive so I pick it up when on sale.
174 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Like this a lot, have tried several Ballast Point beers, like them all, this is my favorite. Citrus in nose & taste, good mouth feel, expensive so I pick it up when on sale.
174 characters
4.31/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.93/5 rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.58/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Darn good
9 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Darn good
9 characters
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.46/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is my favorite IPA so far. Tried about 15 and I'm from SD, the "IPA capital of the US" so most have been local and very highly decorated and rated. This one is NOT what I thought it would be. I actually hate that "piney" (guess some people eat pine...) and "hoppy" IPA taste. I hate grapefruit too. This is much more like what I like: Juicy orange and apricot with a HINT of grapefruit and lemon rinds. Very, very well done. I consider this world-class, minus the smell and look, which drag it down a bit.
OK, I just smelled it again. Gotta move smell up to 4.5. Smell is fantastic out of the bottle, but hard for me to smell in the glass. Very addictive and unique smell.
688 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is my favorite IPA so far. Tried about 15 and I'm from SD, the "IPA capital of the US" so most have been local and very highly decorated and rated. This one is NOT what I thought it would be. I actually hate that "piney" (guess some people eat pine...) and "hoppy" IPA taste. I hate grapefruit too. This is much more like what I like: Juicy orange and apricot with a HINT of grapefruit and lemon rinds. Very, very well done. I consider this world-class, minus the smell and look, which drag it down a bit.
OK, I just smelled it again. Gotta move smell up to 4.5. Smell is fantastic out of the bottle, but hard for me to smell in the glass. Very addictive and unique smell.
688 characters
4.37/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L - golden with notes of orange highlights with a good amount of clarify and a medium off-white head that dissipates quickly but leaves behind a little bit of lacing.
S - piney, bitter hops along with sweet citrus up front - definitely the grapefruit. The smell is good, but not particularly prominent
T - Grapefruit up front and throughout - it's pretty prominent, but well done - alongside notes of piney, bitter hops and a malt backbone to tie it all together.
F - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Smooth, somewhat creamy but very crisp at the same time.
O - This is another great scuplin IPA from Ballast Point with great notes of grapefruit that give this beer it's own character compared to the standard Sculpin - that said, I think this version is slightly one noted compared to the standard sculpin IPA. Great, but not as good as the original.
873 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L - golden with notes of orange highlights with a good amount of clarify and a medium off-white head that dissipates quickly but leaves behind a little bit of lacing.
S - piney, bitter hops along with sweet citrus up front - definitely the grapefruit. The smell is good, but not particularly prominent
T - Grapefruit up front and throughout - it's pretty prominent, but well done - alongside notes of piney, bitter hops and a malt backbone to tie it all together.
F - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Smooth, somewhat creamy but very crisp at the same time.
O - This is another great scuplin IPA from Ballast Point with great notes of grapefruit that give this beer it's own character compared to the standard Sculpin - that said, I think this version is slightly one noted compared to the standard sculpin IPA. Great, but not as good as the original.
873 characters
4.43/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.49/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very nice orange color, a bit cloudy. Big long-lasting head. Excellent balance between bitterness and citrusy sweetness, with just a hint of the namesake grapefruit coming through. A great beer and a very well-balanced IPA!
234 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very nice orange color, a bit cloudy. Big long-lasting head. Excellent balance between bitterness and citrusy sweetness, with just a hint of the namesake grapefruit coming through. A great beer and a very well-balanced IPA!
234 characters
Grapefruit Sculpin from Ballast Point Brewing Company
Beer rating:
4.32 out of
5 with
6,204 ratings
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