Sculpin - Grapefruit
Ballast Point Brewing Company

 

 

 

My shock and horror to see that after all these years I hadn't reviewed sculpin grapefruit! Well no more. I love this beer, as grapefruit is a lovely way to compliment the biting hops of sculpin. Not for amateurs or posers, and BMC drinkers head's will aspolode upon the first sip. Similarly to arrogant bastard, keep this one away from the unsophisticated newbies.

Had to have while visiting San Diego. Perfect west coast IPA to drink while on the west coast. perfect amount of grapefruit and perfect sipability to the whole brew

Not much to say... Beer like this makes me Hoppy! Absolutely delicious! Smell taste body is all 10/10

 

 

 

 

12oz can purchased off the shelf as part of a mix-a-six pack for $2. PKG 07APR22, so this is almost four months old.

Look: Pours a very pretty copper color. Almost completely clear; just a very faint haze that appeared after I poured the bottom of the can. There was a thick, rocky off-white head that slowly reduced to a very thin layer.

Smell: I definitely smell the grapefruit aroma up front. It smells nice. Other fruity, caramelly, and herbal/vegetal notes but nothing distinctive besides grapefruit. After delving into it, I can detect nice apricot and orange zest aromas.

Taste: It's very tasty. Up front, there's grapefruit flavor with a bit of acidity. The mild, gentle initial grapefruit flavor explodes into an oily, bitter, pithy profile that attacks the sides of the tongue and the back of the palate. The finish is long, piney, resinous, and bitter with lots of grapefruit peel and pith. Eventually, I can detect a pleasant caramel malt sweetness after the bitterness subsides. Even though this beer is so bitter, I feel like there is an element of balance to it because along there's also a lot of caramel malt to help counteract the strong bitterness.

Feel: Medium bodied with an appropriate level of carbonation. Someone oil, slightly chewy mouthfeel.

Overall: This has got to be one of the quintessential West Coast IPAs. I tried regular Sculpin IPA many years ago, and I was utterly unprepared for how bitter it was. This is also very bitter, and I think that my palate has adjusted over the years and now embraces bitterness. This beer requires a palate adjustment for many folks, and that's okay because many folks' palates (and minds) need to be adjusted! It's also nice to see that this beer can hold up to Father Time; at almost four months old, it's still very aromatic and flavorful.

Grapefruit Sculpin
India Pale Ale
With Natural Grapefruit Flavors

I found the taste to be completely unpalatable. Way too bitter, not very smooth. Hated it

 

 

 

 

Delicious summer drink. Great fresh taste (glass bottle preferably).

12 ounce can poured into a tulip glass. Canned 2/24/22, so less than ideal, but not horrible.

L---Pours a medium amber color with good clarity. Fluffy, off-white head faded slowly and left beautiful lacing.

S---Well, um, grapefruit. But not hit you over the head with a hammer stuff, it's more subtle than that. Hoppy & fruity.

T---Tart grapefruit. Again, subtle, which is a whole lot better than most folks do with adding fruit flavor. Hoppy with a little bit of pine.

F---Medium bodied and well carbonated. Lightly quenching from the grapefruit.

O---A very nice one.

 

Really fantastic. One of the most refreshing IPAs. Ballast Point has a super great flavor developed here with awesome balance. Not too bitter but definitely hoppy enough you know you’re into an IPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a light amber. Thick foam. Mild grapefruit aroma. Big bitter grapefruit body. Bitterness persists. Could use a little sweetness at the end. Average at best.

Canned 3/10/21

As mentioned in my Sculpin review (last night), this was also one of the first beers that got me into the craft scene. Thusly, I never got around to actually reviewing it. At the time I just knew that I liked it, but couldn't articulate what about it I liked. Finally, 3 years later it's getting an actual review. Let's dive right in

Pours a cloudy amber gold with 3 fingers of soapy white head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

Obviously some hops can give off a pithy grapefruit character, but it's easy to tell that it's just straight up grapefruit used in this one. I'm picking up on aromas of fresh ruby grapefruit, bready malt, white pepper, earthy hops, and light pineapple

In the OG, the aroma is far superior to the taste. Here, they meet in the middle and equalize, matching each others intensity. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting orange rind, sweeter grapefruit juice, grassy hops, bready malt, and light lemon. The swallow brings notes of toasted grain, pithy grapefruit, orange rind, bready malt and light pine

A light medium body pairs with very gentle carbonation, resulting in a slick yet biting beer. Finishes mostly dry without much sweetness

It's good, great even. But it doesn't match the smoothness of the original. Definitely a worthy variant and it stands on its own as a good beer

It's been some years since I had this as one of my neighbors gave me a can he purchased in Cincinnati. For a few years after Sculpin was widely available locally, but now I rarely see it. In any case, it had the great hop bitterness of regular Sculpin -- with grapefruit on top. I liked it, but have not sought it out.

Obviously very citrussy scent with the sweetness of a little malt.

The taste is almost exclusively bitter which is good and then the grapefruit and some bready malts.

It's thin with moderate carbonation.  The finish is actually both bready and a little citrus.

Overall it's a very solid IPA.  I give it a 4.9 out of 6.

 

 

Have seen this around forever and bought a six. Not impressed. Has a nice puffy head and plenty of lace, but it tastes like grapefruit peel and is more bitter than anything else. Won't be buying again....

 

For a fresh pack im kind of disappointed. Feel is great there is definitely a grapefruit taste so that's a win but the hops don't come through as much taste wise. The overall feel is great though.

Upping the taste a little bit as since this is a variation the grapefruit should be the featured flavor and I did get it

 

First off this is definitely my favorite grapefruit beer of all time..Its been awhile since I've seen it on the shelves but it just showed up at my local hipster, labodega, gourmet beer store so I was enticed to pick up a can. ..

The date shows that it's only a month and a half old which is game on for an ipa, and I've had it in the past so it was like running into an old friend that your actually happy to see..

I poured this beauty into my speigelau IPA glass and got a perfect 2 finger head with a slight carmelized note and a pure strong grapefruit scent like no-other beer I've ever experienced...

Like I said before, best grapefruit beer on the market period!!! And at a solid 7% abv you can't go wrong!!! HOMERUN!!!!