This is another that Hilgar sent me. It is the Habanero Sculpin from Ballast point out of San Diego California. If Portland is beer Mecca then San Diego is beer Jerusalem. It is a pepper IPA with the pepper being the venerable Habanero and the IPA being their flagship Sculpin. I'm going to say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of pepper beers. I find them unpleasant, unsessionable, and something made more for cooking than for drinking it outright. That being said, I'm going to try to be as objective as possible and avoid being negative. I'm surprised I haven't done Ballast point before, so here is a little run down about the brewery. Our story starts in 1992, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and Disco was king. A man by the name of Jack White (not the lead member of the White Stripes, I'm sad to say) started a home brewing supply store in San Diego after he and other beer hobbyists in the area found it difficult to find quality ingredients for their craft. A few years went by and Jack started a brewing operation in the back room of his business with employee Yuseff Cherney, and in 1996 that became Ballast Point Brewing. In 2004 they moved the operation to Scripps Ranch for the sake of expansion. By 2013 they had maxed out the capabilities of the Scripps Ranch location and started a second brewery in Miamar in 2014.
I received this beer in a standard 12oz long neck bottle with crimpcap. The cap and neck label feature the brewery's famous sextant seal. The main label art features a painting of a sculpin (which is a whole family of fish, specifically it's a scorpionfish depicted) along with the title "Ballast Point Brewing Company" "Habanero Sculpin india pale ale with habanero peppers added" and in small print the disclaimer "heat may vary". 7% ABV. I will be using my session glass for this one.
Nose from the bottle is a resin hoppyness with a little bit of spice. Pours golden orange, does not maintain a head for more than a few seconds. Nose from the glass is the same as the bottle, but with a floral citrus quality to it. On first sip, WOW! You get a flash of bitter hop and then you get punched in the face by pepper juice, and it just keeps burning until the end when the hops wave at you and snicker at your pain. As you drink it the hops come out more, but the pepper is ever present and keeps you from tasting any nuance. I kind of wish they had gone with Jalapeno or some other more mild pepper, this is so overpowering you can't even enjoy the other flavors Sculpin boasts. It has a strange mix of interesting and boring all at the same time. Definitely something you want to sip.
Listening to the Black Keys, haven't listened to them in a while. I can't believe they haven't released anything since 2014, but then I suppose they have been releasing albums since 2001 so a couple of years to just tour is understandable. Man, 2001. They have been releasing full studio albums since I was 13 years old. I can't even think of something I've been doing consistently for that long. I suppose collect coins, but I don't really actively do that so much any more. Speaking of not doing something anymore, this beer is giving me heartburn. I hate to say it, but the sink is going to have to drink this one.
Final thoughts. I gave it a fair shot and it just confirmed why I don't like pepper beers. I'm sure they are good for cooking, maybe making chicken with, but I wouldn't drink them outright.
https://www.ballastpoint.com/how-it-began/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_Point_Brewing_Company
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