The Brew SiteBig Eye IPA
The other beer I had from Ballast Point Brewing was their Big Eye IPA, a 6% alcohol ale with an interesting hop profile. It’s not an extreme hop-bomb India pale ale that seems to be all the rage these days, but for that, it’s still a pretty good, drinkable beer. I’d like to try it on tap.
Appearance: Clear and coppery orange. A half inch of fuzzy bone-colored head coated the top; when it went down, some of the bubbles had a sudsy look.
Smell: Florally hoppy and some sort of rich fruit, not quite citrus.
Taste: Malty, that has a softer fruity character, perhaps from the hops. Nice hop body there, it lingers on the palate. It’s a little mild for an IPA, but I’m liking the understated hop profile.
Mouthfeel: It’s lighter than I would like for an IPA… but still has a nice body to it. A little bubbly/effervescent, and a little astringent, but overall satisfying.
On BeerAdvocate: 88 out of 100 with 100% approval. On RateBeer: 3.71 out of 5, in the 92nd percentile. A well-liked beer all around.
This is one hoppy, resiny beer. Now it may be beacuae Im from San diego but this is truely a great IPA. It has a very hoppy taste and malt is nearly untastable, it is follwed by a very resiny after taste that is perfect. Very nice that is available all year long in 22oz and I hear they plan on releasing it in 6 packs by the end of 06′. Definalty try this one if you are a hop head!