Ballast Point® Introduces Ballast Point Lager

As far as warm weather/beach/lawnmower beers go, It’s going to be hard to pry me away from Firestone’s Lager.

My wife might like it....she’s been enjoying Lagunitas’ DayTime....similar ABV/calories

 

In my view the introduction of any new Lager is a step forward. Of course it's not like I'm biased or anything.

 

Well, the red, white, and blue starred theme of Goose Island's Pils reflects the Chicago city flag... but it's really a pass too.

 

"A clean drinking beer with notes of honeysuckle and light banana."

Um. Sorry, not in any lager I want to drink.

And hopped with Apollo:
"Apollo packs punch. Traditionally a high-alpha bittering variety, Apollo also lends grapefruit citrus and resinous notes when applied as a dry-hop. 'Think West Coast–style IPA’s and you know exactly what this hop delivers.' Try substituting Apollo for Zeus or Nugget in your next brew."

Should'a known -- another APA masquerading as a lager.

 

IPL's are not a big thing here either.

And I feel like Hoponius Union is sort of unique in that it's only a lager because that's all that Jack's Abby makes. It's quite popular here, but my guess is that most people reaching for it just sort of view it as Jack's Abby's version of an IPA, rather than as a conscious choice to seek out a lager vs. an ale. That's how I see it anyway.

 

To be honest, I wonder how popular it is anymore. I would bet House Lager outsells it now.

I like it, but I never really reached for it because if I want a hoppy beer, I'll just take an IPA. I always found an ale yeast to be better suited for IPAs than lagers.

 

Yeah, I wondered about the details as soon as I posted that. I do feel like it's still a mainstay on the shelves at most stores though, at least at the 12 pack level if not the 4 pack talls level. But I'm not exactly checking all the dates...

 

X2

 

In a recent podcast Jack himself stated that House Lager is now their #1 seller, but I think he insinuated Hoponius is still "up there" in their sales rank.

And I agree with what @meefmoff said above that in that most people - including me - treat Hoponius as JA's IPA. I do like it's sharpness, reminds me of what I liked about classic west coast IPAs. And its price a HUGE selling point for me.
But I wonder if Springdale's IPA Good N You eats into HU sales, at least in the JA beer hall where Good N You is almost always available (or some other Springdale IPA) so it's not like the IPLs are the only hoppy option when you walk in JA's doors anymore.

 

Not really. The good ones still exist and hold their own, (e.g., Jack's Abby's) but no, they never became a super popular style and at this point I doubt they will.

 

Having had both, this new Lager is awful. It tastes closer to a Coors Light with an unpleasant and unwelcome hop presence than it does to Longfin (which I actually quite like). It's thin, watery, fairly flavorless (save a moderately high bitterness, graininess, and some damp cardboard), and just really poorly made. You're better off buying Hamm's, PBR, etc. than buying this new lager from BP. This is honestly one of the worst beers that I've had in a while, and I've been trying a lot of different beers lately for my job.

I recommend this to no one, and I hope that it is not intended to supplant Longfin (considering they already retracted California Kolsch/Yellowtail to just California distribution).

 

Ick, corn syrup!

Also, you have the greatest job ever. Tasting beer?

 

It's not as glamorous as it sounds since I'm just a buyer at a store, but the tasting part is interesting if nothing else.

 

Gotcha.

It's probably like any guy who thinks **** is a glamorous job because you get to sleep with beautiful women all day long.

 

Yeah but do they spit or swallow? Beer tasters I mean, of course.

 

I might try it but my favorite from them Is big eye IPA and I no longer see it my area. (Oregon)

 

What is your opinion on the style? I presume you don't enjoy them very much if it's been a few years since you've had one. Hoponious Union is probably my favorite of the style but it's pretty difficult, IMO, to find fresh (especially in PA). However, typically when I'm in a "hoppy lager mood" I just reach for a pilsner.

 

I enjoy a well made IPL; I enjoy the dry finish.

I purchased a couple of 6-packs of Hoponius Union when they first came to PA (three years ago?). When I saw them more recently it was just like you detailed - not fresh. Frankly after picking up a few of these 6-packs and putting them back down since they were 'old' I simply forgot about them and 'moved on'. This is an aspect of the beer market that I think the larger, distributing breweries do not get. If they are unable to maintain freshness of their products we consumers (me in this example) will forget about them and simply buy other 'better' (fresher in this instance) products. Like maybe from a small, local brewery down the street.

I like Pilsners too! SPOILER ALERT: New Beer Sunday post this Sunday (3/31/19).

Cheers!

 

Longfin was 9.99 so I think this will be at the same price point... In my eyes not bad at all.

 

Because Ale Yeast is for Ales and Lager Yeast is for Lagers