Ballast Point Unfiltered Sculpin

Not everything that is unfiltered is meant to replicate NE-style. Are they trying to piggyback on the 'hazy train', maybe, but no where do I believe any of the referenced beers indicate a recipe target of NE-style.

 

Just perused the entire "Beers" portion of the BP website. No mention yet.

 

I really like Pineapple Sculpin, and would like to try this, but I forked up that 15 bucks without even realizing it til it was too late the last time I purchased a six pack. Hard pass til they rescale their price points.

 

I like the base beer and the Grapefruit Sculpins quite a bit... That being said, for $16.99/sixer this beer grows old rather quickly on the shelf in my parts...on tap, it's a different story... Never thought I would say this but I pass on this beer and its variants every day because I already know it's going to be old when I do... Those are the same sixers that were sitting there 2 months ago...

 

I haven't bought a Ballast Point beer in over a year due to their ridiculous prices, but if I see it around here, I might pick it up.

 

I only buy maybe two sixers of Sculpin a year due to it's cost.
When I see it on tap I'll order it as it never seems to be more expensive than other choices so I'm really confused on their pricing.
Un-filtered Sculpin may/might/probably will be excellent.
I'll assume they'll charge even more for this one so I'll probably read here how great it is.

 

Just saw a tweet from BP. They say its in retail locations now, and should be available nationwide soon. I'll definitely keep my eye out for this.

 

Eh, it's still Sculpin. Over priced and underwhelmed. The haze doesn't impact the taste, theyre bandwagon jumping. I have to say that there's not one beer they make I like let alone love. Same with Green Flash.

 

For instance, just picking up a sixer of Lagunitas Hop Stoopid for $10? ;-)

 

Sculpin isn't worth $14-15 a six pack. This is a draft option only. Ballast Point rarely gets my money because of their prices

 

this whole unfiltered craze is really cracking me up. I picture the brewer saying: "let me get this straight, we don't have use extra time or resources to filter our beer, can put it out quicker, and keep it gross looking and hazy, and people prefer this? ok....."

Anyway, I still bought a pack for the sake of trying it, and I like sculpin enough I'm sure it'll be good.

 

Why do you think unfiltered enjoy by was much better? just wondering? I didn't think so but to each his own.

 

The original release was excellent. I've found subsequent releases to be a letdown. It may not be inherently better, but that particular release was outstanding

 

At $9 a sixer for codename superfan, yeah, ballast point is insanely over priced.

 

I'm not sure that's a fair conclusion to draw from those statistics. Maybe Codename Superfan is simply a good value. Just because some beers that are just as good, or even better, are priced lower does not automatically make a beer overpriced. In my opinion, the only way something can be considered overpriced is if it is priced significantly above all other competitors for no justifiable reason.

All I am trying to point out is that I, and others, will regularly pay $15-20 for a special release (4x16 oz cans = 64 oz) from a brewery. Those are often canned on mobile units, marketing costs are very low, and they don't even have to distribute, since you have to go pick it up. Compare that to BP IPAs, which are very good (assuming you can find them fresh), at $14 (6x12 oz bottles = 72 oz). That's a cost per oz of $0.19 vs $0.23, even using the lower end of the pricing spectrum I offered earlier. In addition, bottles cost more (I know BP cans as well), their marketing costs are certainly higher, plus you get the added benefits of greater shelf stability and the ability to pick it up at Safeway with your groceries instead of making a special trip to the brewery. Sure, you can get good beer for less, but I think you can also pay more for beer.

Bottom line is, I buy the beer I want, regardless of the price. I rarely buy any shelf beer, including BP, because I focus on special releases, so when I do, a few bucks isn't going to break the bank. I may not be the best example, though, as I don't buy as much beer as the average BA, because I homebrew, and no one else in my household drinks beer. If there is a beer you like better for less money, you should definitely buy that one more regularly. I'm certainly not arguing that Ballast Point beers are for everyone at that price point, but until they go out of business or lower their prices, who can argue with their business model?

 

That's a long post, but you lost me at just because a better beer is priced less doesn't mean sculpin is overpriced. I would say thats exactly what sculpin is overpriced means.

 

@Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse I also homebrew. I am also the only beer drinker in the house. I also save my $$$ for special releases and don't buy a lot of "shelf beers", all the more reason to think sculpin is over priced. I apologize for double posting, I lost connection from BA and couldn't get back on to edit my previous reply.

 

I guess the point I was trying to make is that YOU consider other beers better. Someone else may find Sculpin to be a better beer and worth the price. In other words, it can be overpriced for you personally, but that doesn't make it universally true for everyone. I don't buy Apple products because they're too expensive. That doesn't mean that the millions of others in the world who do don't get enough value for the price they paid. We all have different demands as consumers.

I certainly don't mean any disrespect, in case I came off that way. Just trying to have a lively discussion.

 

No disrespect percieved at all! The typewritten word can be fickle in that aspect.
I can agree with that % 100, I have bought bottles that are pricey, some have been worth every red cent, while others have fallen short of expectations. My mind automatically applies a rule of proportions to things like food and, by extension, beer. If I drop $100 at a restaurant I have an expectation that the meal should be better than a meal I would spend $50 on. I feel the same about buying a beer. If a six pack costs % 33 more it should taste a bit better to me. While sculpin is a good to great ipa, melvin ipa is preferable to me, and costs less. So when I go to buy cans, I never get sculpin. If it's on tap somewhere I would probably be more likely to get a pint.

 

I'm with you as far as drinking BP mostly on tap vs packaged, as it tends to cost the same as other beers in that scenario.

I think I read when Constellation bought BP that they did so specifically because their beers cost more than the competition. They wanted to get involved in the "luxury" craft beer market. Interesting.