Filed under: Current selections | Tags: beautiful, bitter, citrus, clear, delicious, dry, grapefruit, hoppy, long finish, nice, orange, well balanced
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA
Style and Glass: IPA, tulip
ABV, Volume & Calories: 6% in 22 fl oz. estimated at 300C
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $5.09
Aroma: nice citrus aroma is inviting and smells of resin. Pine and grapefruit.
Visuals: Fish motif isn’t my favorite, but they make great beer. A red and amber party in a tulip bulb. Brilliant with a long lasting thin white head. Lacing is remarkable and sticky.
Taste: Very well balanced in sweetness and bitterness. Lots of orange and lime notes. A bit sour, and a nice warm finish. Quiet and delicious. A very nice classic IPA.
Palate: Starts very smooth, quickly dries and puckers, a bit sour, with a terricloth finish that is mostly pine and citrus.
Overall: Delicious, affordable, and all the flavors that an IPA lover expects. No surprises, but no disappointments. I’ll have it again.
6 Comments so far
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BeerCritic 
It is interesting to see the price differences from here in SD (home of Ballast) to where u r up in NJ. These are between $3.39 to $3.99 around here. So the premium for transporting a 22oz brew from west to east coast is a bit over a buck.
I’m curious, how much are the Victory six packs where you are?
Also, the fish motif is not my favorite either.
Comment by Maxwell 01/24/2009 @ 7:34 AMIt also costs a little bit of my soul, since it kills me to think of the carbon footprint on my purchase. 😦 Victory sixes range from $6 to $10, depending on ABV. A bomber is about $8. I’m not a big fan of seafood, fishing, or even boating, so I feel like the brew (which is totally my style and brand) and the labeling (which isn’t) are a mismatch. I do like fish as a part of nature, and maybe that’s the idea that was intended, but all I think about when I look at the bottles is that it’s aimed at fishermen who drool over the bodies of the fish. Ew. 😉
Comment by lemasney 01/24/2009 @ 2:35 PMIt costs a bit of your soul, since it kills to think of the carbon footprint of your purchase? You think the bottle is aimed at fishermen? You, sir, are an idiot. The brewery is based in San Diego, a huge seaport town. I’m pretty sure it’s just pandering to the locals.
Comment by Jerec 02/01/2009 @ 5:16 AM@Jerec, really no need for name calling. I’m not an idiot, and there’s just no need to be rude. I care about the amount of gas it took to get their beer to my door, since I’m in Jersey and it is in San Diego. If you don’t care about that, it helps me to understand how we all got into this environmental mess.
Comment by lemasney 02/02/2009 @ 2:16 AMAlso, if the label is pandering to the locals, and it’s a huge seaport, don’t you think that many of the locals are fishermen?
LOL wow wtf? That was some troll biz.
I agree wholeheartedly about the carbon footprint. I usually go for regional selections for everyday drinking and justify the energy expenditure regarding transportation of brews from the far corners of the world as one of my relatively few indulgences as far as energy efficiency goes.
Yes, the fish motif panders to the locals but I’m still not a big fan even as a local. Beer and seafood goes well together but it is not a motif that I really dig for beer branding. Not a big fan of animal motifs in general. I like motifs that emphasize: mythology, heritage, art and especially maidens. Beer and maidens is a proper combination.
And regarding Victory, ours are about $10-12 for sixers with no bombers available. So I guess there are economic reasons to drink locally as well. However, my journalistic integrity drives me to do due diligence regarding background research 😉
Comment by prfx 02/04/2009 @ 10:49 PMCheers to that, Ciceronito, Beer maidens is something I can get behind (so to speak). Thanks for the backup too. 😉 We’re probably all going to see less and less remote brews as the cost of shipping gets astronomical. Unless they build that wind powered cross country cargo monorail. Can’t even say that with a straight face.
Comment by lemasney 02/05/2009 @ 2:56 AM