Ballast Point Even Keel Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

355 ml can, from a trade with Cunningham. ABV is 3.8%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of pine, dust and grapefruit. Dry flavour, with distinct piney and grapefruity hops throughout. Bitter finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Comes out of the tap a beautiful golden Amber - not much head, but that is an artifact of the pour. Aroma is SERIOUSLY hoppy - like getting a good whiff of fresh-cut pine, evergreem and woody, plus fruity hints. Bold flavor makes you feel as though you’re drinking a liquid pine tree. This is a brewski for serious hop fans! Fruity and malty hints come through as well. Texture is firm and very lively and sassy, leaving a woody evergreen finish. Get on an even keel if hops are your bag!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Another awesome offering from Ballast Point. This was their session IPA - it was easy to drink and modestly hopped. Body was lighter in weight than a standard IPA - golden in color.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

"Session" pale ale (SD session beer is what they call it). Solid aromatics, abounding in citrus. Big nose, semi sweet adequately bitter flavor. Pretty easy going.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Sampled 1702, Tucson AZ; August 2009
This beer arrives from the tap a darker color than I was expecting; it is an amber, lightly hazy hue that is topped by a thin, pale tan colored head that is typical for a tap pour. There is a nice, clean hop citrus aroma to this that has notes of orange zest, some bright tangerine character, grapefruit, and a solid lychee note. There is a hint of crystal malt character here in the nose that adds light notes of toasted grain and caramel.

This has a nice biting bitterness to it as it first hits my tongue. It is quite dry which mutes the citrus hop flavors, but not completely as notes of grapefruit, tangerine, spicy citrus oil, a touch of lychee and a lingering apricot note in the finish are all noticeable. This is nice and light feeling on the palate, the hops actually provide some astringent mouthfeel that makes this beer seem a bit fuller than it actually is. Some pine and menthol flavors are also here and help to add to the hop complexity. There is just a hint of malt backbone here with notes of toasted grain and a touch of caramel.

This is very nice, I could drink a lot of this if the alcohol is anywhere near 4%, unfortunately there seems to be quite a bit of conflicting information on the actual alcohol content of this beer. This is perhaps not complext enough, but the mix of dominant hop character and light malt backbone in a low-alcohol form makes for a very nice beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Tasted on tap at brewery during the RBSG 2008. This pale ale pours a medium amber color from the tap. Small sized white foamy head. The aroma is grapefruity and floral. A medium to lighter bodied Pale Ale. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are grapefruity and citrusy. A touch of peach as well. Light and refreshing. Good flavors, at 3.5% alcohol this would be a great session ale. I could see drinking this on the porch on a warm summer afternoon. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

I had this on tap at Ballast Point's 10th Anniversary Party. It pours a clear golden color witha mild hoppy flavor. They listed it as a session ale and it certainly is. It's a very nice middle of the road brew