Ballast Point Sculpin IPA or Grapefruit Sculpin?

Habanero all the way haha

 

Both of them were delicious with grapefruit just beating regular by a hair. Might have something to do with grapefruits being one of my favorite fruits.

Definitely need to try habanero now!

-xICooRsYIx

 

If fresh Sculpin was a guarantee each time, I'd likely lean that way ONLY because the grapefruit comes across as a tiny little bit contrived. That's not a complaint or slam, as I flip ass love both, BUT if I had to rate them 1 and 1a, that would be my reasoning. No fresh Sculpin? certainly hit the grapefruit. It was a real treat each time I was lucky enough to score a bottle

 

I definitely like regular Sculpin better.. but Grapefruit Sculpin is good and it's crazy how much it literally smells and tastes like a grapefruit..

 

On occasion, grapefruit sculpin is great when it's on tap. But nothing can beat regular Sculpin. I should have answered this as "what beer makes you at home...?", not only because I live in San Diego, but this is an excellent IPA.

 

Regular please!

 

It's hard to compare the two because they are completely different experiences. And I'll echo the sentiment that part of the appeal of Grapefruit Sculpin is that it stands out more against other grapefruit IPAs than Sculpin does against other IPAs, simply due to the fact that the market is far more saturated with regular IPAs than grapefruit IPAs. Hell, I can only think of three of the latter off the top of my head: Sculpin, Stochasticity Grapefruit Slam and Abita Grapefruit Harvest.

I think my preference would largely depend on my mood. Grapefruit Sculpin is just so juicy and fresh tasting.

Respectfully, there are plenty of issues with craft beer that are far worse than the concept of adding an ingredient to a beer to make a tasty finished product. The fact that beer is a beverage that can accommodate the additions of all sorts of additives is one of the things that makes it such a beautiful drink imho.

If people want to stick a piece of fruit in their beer, that's their choice as far as I'm concerned. The reason I don't do it, while I still enjoy beers that have been infused with fruit (including Grapefruit Sculpin) is because to my taste, there's a difference between infusing an ingredient into a beer and just dropping that ingredient into my beer.

I think if you really get at the heart of the matter, the stigma that comes with the wedge of fruit in your beer is part of the objection. Think about who two of the biggest "add a wedge of fruit!" beer brands are: Corona (lime) and Blue Moon (orange).

Food for thought: lots of people like to randall their beers with ingredients, which ultimately is just a super fancy way of sticking a piece of fruit (or chocolate or vanilla bean or whatever else) in your beer.

 

easy...think of it like this, nothing wrong w/ a good Mai Tai, its the stupid umbrella that makes wrong

 

I get what you're saying - perhaps the stigma comes from the two beers most closely associated with adding fruit. In those two cases, the addition of fruit is largely part of the way those beers are marketed. It's a sham I tell you!

That said, the faux pas still exists.

 

Just had both back to back the other day. Definitely preferred the regular Sculpin.

 

I'm not sure mixed drinks and beer are analogous.
::: pours Ten Fiddy into a coconut :::

 

that....is a great idea

 

Grapefruit Sculpin by a hair.

 

I'll take either! I really liked the grapefruit. I didn't think the grapefruit flavor was artificial as others observed, and I appreciated that the hop flavors of the base Sculpin weren't overshadowed by the grapefruit.

Also it made a great beermosa.

 

I'm halfway through a GF Sculpin sixer right now. I don't really associate the two beers. They finish so differently. I haven't bought regular Sculpin in months, but I went out of my way to find the GF version recently. Not sure which I prefer, but the GF is a real treat. The nose reminds me of a creamsicle, but then that grapefruit zest kicks in and blends perfectly with the hops. I always wondered when breweries would start using actual grapefruit since it has so many hop-like characteristics or maybe it's the other way around. I still consider Green Flash West Coast to be one of the original grapefruit IPAs, even thought there was no grapefruit in it. When I started drinking big hoppy beers, I actually started drinking more grapefruit juice if I was out to breakfast because it was a N/A way to get that bitter fix. True story.

 

I really like plain old Sculpin. But then I actually tried Grapefruit Sculpin and the top of my head about blew off. It is amazing and I prefer it.

Basically, the "win" scenario of adding grapefruit zest to beer. Compare to the relative "fail" of
Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA.

 

I was at a beer event at a local bar where they created a "reverse" randall by hollowing out a watermelon, sticking a spigot into the side of it and filling it with Odell St. Lupulin.

It was actually pretty damn amazing.

 

I think the faux pas is rooted in the hipster search for authenticity:

http://goo.gl/k1oZkw

I'm not calling you a hipster, but mentality currently pervades a significant portion of the consumption culture. It's something very hard to avoid in the craft beer world, which is an industry founded on principles very similar to those of "hipster" culture.

Anyway, I've never tried Grapefruit Sculpin so I can't really answer, but having attempted to knock back my first Habanero (and failing, it was a drain pour) last night, I can only request that Habanero stay very far away from this conversation. Terrible beer.

 

I love grapefruit juice.

But Grapefruit Sculpin just tasted like beer with grapefruit juice in it.

Interesting to try, and I didnt dislike it, but I wouldnt get it again....or I'd at least get the regular Sculpin for sure instead of this.