San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Sculpin

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sculpin ipa

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Ballast Point Brewing Co.’s Sculpin IPA is a beer that I assume most people reading this blog know fairly well. At 7% ABV it’s right on the IPA/DIPA brink. It’s 70 IBU with a pretty light body and low malt profile which makes the hops really stand out.

Sculpin took the gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup in the IPA category, and it’s not hard to understand why. The hops jump out at you in both the smell and taste. It’s hugely fruity and juicy with smells and flavors reminiscent of all sorts of fruits: mango, peach, and apricot. I don’t get a ton of citrus flavors from it, but some people do. It’s not overly bitter, there’s plenty of hops but they showcase flavor over bitterness.

This is a beer that folks all over the country (and world) seek out, but we’re lucky enough to be able to get it year round with ease. Get a growler filled at the source (Ballast Point has two brewery locations with tasting bars/growler fills in San Diego) for the freshest possible taste. 22oz bombers typically cost between $7-8 while six packs of 12oz bottles go for around $15. I picked this 12oz bottle up at Bottlecraft for $2.50 (broken down from a six pack).

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Ballast Point Seafood Pairing Dinner at Sea Rocket Bistro | Sept 8th, 2011

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chad white, colby chandler, Even Keel Session Ale, sculpin ipa, Sour Wench Blackberry Ale, Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale, Wahoo Wheat

Taking a look at Ballast Point’s beer names and label’s it’s obvious that the folks at Ballast Point are into fishing. So it surprised me a bit when I read on Sea Rocket Bistro’s website that their upcoming Ballast Point dinner happening tonight, Thursday, Sept 8th was the first to pair Ballast Point’s beers exclusively with seafood.

I’ll admit, I don’t know a thing about seafood, but I met and drank beers with Sea Rocket’s chef Chad White last week, discussing flavors and pairing ideas for a vegan beer dinner we’re planning for San Diego Beer Week with LoveLikeBeer and the guy knows his stuff.

But more on that later. The five course, $60 Ballast Point seafood dinner is happening tonight at Sea Rocket Bistro with Ballast Point Specialty Brewer Colby Chandler on hand. Reservations are recommended (619-255-7049, sorry for not posting about this sooner) but walk-ins are welcome as well.

The Ballast Point beers for the dinner will be Wahoo Wheat, Even Keel Session Ale, Sour Wench Blackberry Ale, Sculpin IPA (on cask) and Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale. Click the image above or click through here to see the food paired with each beer.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. 14th Anniversary Festival

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7 grain saison, cocao nib black marlin porter, fathom india pale lager, Fathom IPL, habanero sculpin ipa, pariah ipa, san salvador saison, schooner wet hop ale, sculpin ipa, Sour Wench, travis smith, velvet merlin

San Salvador Saison in the Ballast Point 14th Anniversary Taster Glass

The Ballast Point Brewing Company 14th Anniversary party this past Saturday was a big hit. Held at Liberty Station in Point Loma and only $20 for 10 tasters it was quite the deal. Ballast Point had at least 40 beers on tap and there were plenty of guest breweries on hand as well. The festival was pretty full but not overly crowded and the only real complaint I heard all day was the lack of water. There were no water stations as far as I could tell and not even any drinking fountains inside the festival. (Sure, some people were complaining about the lines for the bathrooms, but it’s a beer festival, a bathroom line should be expected).

Below are some notes on the beers we tasted as well as a few pictures from the event.

• Ballast Point San Salvador Saison – Brewed using local ingredients (including pine nuts, agave, elder flower, white sage, manzanita berries, curacao and local sage honey) and described by Ballast Point as tasting like the San Diego countryside, this was the beer I was most looking forward to. It smelled and tasted of sage but wasn’t over powering. It was fairly malty and it was obvious there were more exotic ingredients than just the sage but I couldn’t identify anything else. Not much of this beer was made, but I’m hoping it will show up either at one of the Ballast Point tasting rooms or a bar or restaurant again before it’s gone.
• Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin IPA – Ballast Point’s extremely popular Sculpin IPA with a bit of a habanero kick. This was another one I was looking forward to. I was at the Ballast Point tasting room about five years ago and tried a sample of what they were simply calling “Habanero beer” at the time. I don’t remember all the details, but it certainly wasn’t Sculpin with Habanero. Habanero Sculpin was hoppy, with hardly any habanero flavor coming through over all those hops, but it had a nice spicy aftertaste. Not too much heat came through, just enough to let you know it’s there. I probably wouldn’t take a pint of this over a pint of regular Sculpin, but it’s a nice little variation.
• Ballast Point Sour Wench 2010 – I had never had this before so I decided to go with the 2010 instead of the 2009 which they also had on tap so I could see how it was fresh. It smelled a bit like Parmesan cheese but tasted like blackberries, sweet and tart.
• Ballast Point Cocao Nib Black Marlin Porter – It’s been a while since I’ve had Black Marlin Porter, so I  can’t compare this to the regular version but this one both smelled and tasted strongly of chocolate. The four ounce taster was good, but I’m not sure I could drink a full pint of it.
• The Bruery 7 Grain Saison – A fairly straight forward saison. Good earthy yeast smell and maybe even some cereal malts. A good representation of the style.
  

  La Jolla Brewhouse's new brewer Travis Smith

• Ballast Point Fathom India Pale Lager on cask – Hoppy but not over the top. It’s enjoyable but I wouldn’t see myself drinking this over Sculpin if both were available.
• Ballast Point Schooner Wet Hop Ale – I was a bit disappointed in this one. Maybe it’s because I tried it right after Fathom, but it seemed far less hoppy than I expected and I didn’t get many of the fresh hop flavors that typically stand out in wet hopped beers. I’m hoping to try this one again soon with a clean palate.
• La Jolla Brewhouse Pariah IPA – A good standard IPA. It’s not over the top with the hops, but has plenty of flavor. This is one of the new beers from La Jolla Brewhouse’s new Brew Master Travis Smith. I’m looking forward to try more of this and his other beers soon.
• Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin on cask – This beer is partially aged in bourbon barrels, but I didn’t get much of that in the small taster I had (I’ll be sampling more soon though!). It was rich and creamy, oatmeal and chocolate stood out.

Mike and Ryan from West Coaster were on hand volunteering, click on their names to read each of their takes on the festival, pouring two of the most popular casks there.

Hamilton’s Second Saturday and Toronado 23rd Anniversary, Saturday August 14th, 2010

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'twerp, Abandon Ship, Bad Boy, Barmy Ale, Barrel Aged Black Marlin, Barrel Aged Piper Down, Barrel Aged Sea Monster (nitro), Barrel Aged Three Sheets, Big Daddy IPA, Big Eye, Black Marlin, Brother Levonian Saison, cable car 2010, Calico, Cocoa nib Black Marlin, devotion, Duet, Exponential Hoppiness, Fathom IPL, Gift of the Magi, Great American Brown, hamilton's second saturday, hop 15, lost abbey cable car, Mongo IPA, Night Rider Imperial Stout, Oktoberfest, port brewing co. 547 haight, Road to Helles, russian river toronado 20th anniversary, san salvador saison, sculpin cask, sculpin ipa, Sea Monster Stout, Sour Wench, speakeasy ales and lagers, Three Sheets Barley wine, toronado 20th anniversary, toronado 23rd anniversary, Tuatara, Tuatara Session, Victory at Sea, wahoo, White Knuckle IPA, Yellowtail

There are plenty of great beer events going on this weekend (click on over to our events calendar to see them all) but two of them look to be extra special so we thought we should highlight them.

Tomorrow being the second Saturday of the month means it’s Second Saturday time at Hamilton’s Tavern. This month they’re featuring San Diego’s own Ballast Point Brewing Co. They’ll have Sculpin IPA and Brother Levonian Saison on cask, as well as the following Ballast Point beers on draft: Victory at Sea, Barrel Aged Sea Monster (nitro), Barrel Aged Black Marlin, Cocoa nib Black Marlin, Sea Monster Stout, Abandon Ship, Fathom IPL, Sculpin IPA, Barrel Aged Piper Down, Sour Wench, Brother Levonian Saison, San Salvador Saison, Barmy Ale, Oktoberfest, Three Sheets Barley wine, Barrel Aged Three Sheets, Yellowtail, Calico, Big Eye, Black Marlin and Wahoo.

As with most (all?) Second Saturday’s there will also be food: San Diego Back County Buffalo Burgers (gardenburger for veggies), housemade sour wench brined pickle chips, Sea Monster BBQ Sauce and Sculpin Beer Mustard, Black Marlin Porter Texas Beans with Chorizo Hop Sausage, Yellowtail Potato Grautin, Housemade Salt –n-Vinegar Chips, and Summer Fruit Cups.

We’re looking forward to trying San Salvador Saison, the San Diego inspired Saison, Ballast Point recently brewered with the help of The Linkery.

Tomorrow also happens to be Toronado’s (the original in San Francisco) 23rd anniversary. They’re having a big party up in San Francisco, but lucky for us Toronado SD is also celebrating. Starting at 11:30 am they’ll have Lost Abbey 2010 Cable Car and Port Brewing Co.’s 547 Haight on draft. They’ll have plenty of other great beers including: Night Rider Imperial Stout, Great American Brown, and ‘Twerp from Pizza Port Carlsbad. Mongo IPA, Devotion, Gift of the Magi, Road to Helles, and  Hop 15 from Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey. As well as Alpine Exponential Hoppiness, Duet, Bad Boy, and Tuatara Session and more White Knuckle IPA from Marin Brewing and Speakeasy’s Big Daddy IPA.

If all that wasn’t enough, they’ll have some bottles of Russian River’s Toronado 20th Anniversary in the cooler.

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA Coming to Six Packs

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per ounce prices, per ounce pricing, sculpin 12 oz, sculpin 6 packs, sculpin india pale ale, sculpin ipa, sculpin six packs

Yesterday, Ballast Point Brewing Co. posted a nearly final design of the new six pack holder for their wildly popular Sculpin India Pale Ale on their Facebook Page. Sculpin is a 7% ABV IPA with a big hop kick, Ballast Point has been brewing it off and on for a few years with it becoming more generally available and packaged in 22oz bombers within the last couple of years.

Judging by the comments on their Facebook page,  many people are excited for Sculpin in six packs, but others are worried about the cost. Ballast Point says the six packs of 12oz bottles should retail for $14.99 in most markets, which is a bit pricey for a six pack, but a great deal compared to buying 22oz bottles which retail for about $7.99. If Ballast Point sticks with that price point a six pack of Sculpin will be about 21 cents per ounce, compared to about 36 cents per ounce for a 22oz bomber. But I’m not so sure that will matter much to many consumers, there’s something psychological about the higher price of the six pack that might scare away many beer purchasers.

Personally I’m excited (as I think many others are) for the 12oz six packs of Sculpin, no word on when they’ll hit the shelves, but we hope it will be soon.