Has Ballast Point's quality changed post-sellout?

Semantics my friend. This has been discussed plenty of times on BA. It's kinda like the what's "craft" discussion. We know it when we see it, or in this case, taste/smell it. If It was brewed with real mango or mango purée or mango juice it would say so (proudly I would presume). It seems There's a lot of wiggle room under the TTB criteria. What's the process in extracting "natural flavor" and why go through the trouble of doing so if it wasn't cost effective? Why not be transparent about it. My guess would be that using real vanilla beans, mango, cinnamon, grapefruit etc. is costly to brew with, especially at the volume that BP produces so they use "natural flavors" which I assume are less costly than the real thing. I'm not necessarily against natural flavoring but Unfortunately,in BP's case, the "natural flavors" stick out like a sore thumb imo.

 

Never drank a bunch of BP due to distribution and price, however, I went to their brewery a few years back when pineapple sculpin was a one-off small batch. It was excellent, and sooo underwhelming when I was able to procure it in bottles back home. This may be more scale-up production issues vs. takeover. Either way, many more superior beers for the price IMO.

 

Yes.

 

Remember when Sculpin only came in $10 undated bombers and people still went nuts over how great it was? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

 

Honestly, I've found that the quality of BP has decreased since the sale. Some of their beers that I used to enjoy the most seem like shadows of their former selves. I visited their facility in mira mesa somewhat recently and found that while it was a beautiful facility, the beers all had a similar, generic flavor that I just couldn't shake. A seemingly sad time for a once great craft brewery.

 

I saw this today (linked article). Looks like they did do a lot of research. They came up with the same thing you did - looks like the price will be coming down. There will also be new packaging. Didn't say anything in the article about the beer itself - not surprising - everything I ever read from most most marketers (like Sabia) always use the work "liquid" when they should be calling it beer.

http://www.foodandwine.com/news/ballast-point-lower-price-new-label

 

But they will not be lowering the price for Sculpin. They are still targeting a retail price for Sculpin of around 15 bucks. As I commented this will just maintain the aspect in my area of Sculpin being old and dusty on my local beer retailers shelves.

Cheers!

 

Saw lots of Sculpin for sale for $12.99 a six pack this weekend in WA. I haven't found their quality has changed, can't see why it would either.

 

I am on Vacation in Cape May, NJ and I was in a liquor store yesterday and a 6-pack of Sculpin was priced at $14.99.

The only thing I can comment here is that all of the Sculpin beers that are available to me at my local beer retailers are old - those beers will not taste like high quality IPA beer. Somebody might chime in to say that the brewery is not responsible here but I would reply that they are part of the problem with their pricing decision; these beers at around 15 bucks a 6-pack are not selling quickly in my area.

Cheers!

 

Doh! Should have paid closer attention to the 4-6%abv line. Had my hopes up (momentarily, but you crushed it).

 

I agree they are responsible for the freshness, ultimately and clearly they expanded to fast at too high of a price / lost out to NE IPA invasion. Saw Sculpin for $30 Canadian in Alberta too, that's bonkers.

 

Using phrases like "post-sellout" comes off as pretty demeaning, IMO.

I haven't noticed much drop in quality since their acquisition but to be honest I've always considered the Ballast Point brand not worth its higher-than-average price point, so I haven't had their stuff in several months. Last Sculpin I had was tasty but not any better than some other nationally distributed IPAs (Victory DirtWolf for example). If I'm gonna pay ~$15 for a six pack I'll just get some Trillium or something that has (in my opinion) better quality.

 

Good example right there. Why get a $15 sixer of Sculpin from across the country when you could buy some fresh, delicious, locally brewed Cape May IPA or Costal Evacuation DIPA for almost half that ($9-10 a sixer, IIRC)? I'm pretty confident you could use this example and apply it to most regions throughout the United States (swapping out locales/breweries of course)

 

I have not seen it for those prices in the Cape May stores; more like 11+ bucks. If I traveled a few miles inland they may be closer to what you are listing. The prices in the town of Cape May are a bit higher it seems to me. The 'tourist tax' so to speak?

I have been drinking a fair bit of Cape May IPA on draft at the various 'watering holes'. My preferred beer, so far, is Carton 077XX El Dorado at the Mad Batter but I also very much enjoyed drinking a Ludlam Bay Muck Brown Ale as well. Ludlam is from Ocean View, NJ.

Cheers!

Cheers!

 

That doesn't surprise me, unfortunately. I have yet to make it down to Cape May but if it's anything like Cape Cod then everything has a premium on it (gas, food, etc.). Still, I'd rather have a $11 local IPA than a $15 IPA that I can get just about anywhere. That's just me though.

 

You are not alone here. I will be buying a 6-pack of Cape May beer (either the IPA or Coastal Evacuation) over Sculpin. Because they are more economical but also of better value from a freshness perspective. A two-fer!!

Cheers!

 

I didn't realize you were there right now. That's awesome and smart with school now in session (less crowds). I don't know if you've had any of their beers before but I think they're really solid. Their IPA is a true classic (has a yeasty/malt thing going on that most IPAs don't have these days, esp. in a west coast style IPA). I've honestly never had anything bad by them. Great distribution too, I can get them at ShopRite or any little liquor store for that matter up here in the Cherry Hill area. Enjoy your vacation!

 

Last year I visited the brewery and I had a great time. I agree the beers there are solid.

Cheers!