Ballast Point Tongue Buckler

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours a clear mahogany with a fairly thick and fine-bubbled tan head that sticks around for a while. Malty aroma has a woody hop overtone and hints of cloves and hay. Bold flavor is quite hoppy and woody, rather like a good IPA, but scarcely bitter, malty and spice undertones provide support, and a hint of horehound rears its head. Texture is firm, and very lively and sassy. One, two, buckle your tongue!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

22 oz bottle. Pours red amber with a big creamy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet caramel malt blended with green resiny hops.

The flavor is some sweet nutty caramel malts and lots of fruit with tons of piney resiny hops. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation.

Overall, a nice big hoppy red. The alcohol is well hidden.

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

A bright reddish amber colored beer with a big frothy textured off white head rising above. There's some hang time on the head. A thick ringlet is what's left. There's a strange fruit nose with the hooped pine. That same pine is more intense in the tasting. U getting grapefruit and that fruit's rind in the tasting. The rind is probably what was on the nose. A malt base adds to the total profile. Medium bodied and a creaminess oin the tongue

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Big pine, and grapefruit aromas kinda surprising but the malts don't come through as much as i thought they would. Rich,amber body, good thick chewy head, that left some decent lace. The malts come through in the flavor to compliment the big hop presence. Thick, almost syrupy mouthfeel, overall a nice Imp. red.

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

the version i had,still called Tongue Buckler, was at 10%! and came across as a strong ale/hoppy bw/or sweet double ipa. generoua=sly hopped but candi malty sweet. very good. you could tell the abv was high, but no heat. big body, lasting malty finish with a bittersweet aftertaste.

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

I had this on tap at Ballast Point's 10th Anniversary party. This is a nicely done, well balanced, brew. Nice tones of both hops and malt are in the flavor profile, but neither dominates.

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

Tasted on tap at the 2005 Pizza Port Strong Ale Fest. Orange gold colored “amber ale”. Medium sized head. Aroma is malty and fruity. A medium bodied ‘barley wine style ‘amber ale.’ This version was listed as being 8.5%. Malts are fruity and sweet. Lots of orange peel and citrus. Lots of floral and citrusy hops. Is this really an amber ale? Lots of hop bitterness balanced with a lots of malt sweetness. Stick to the back of the tongue bitterness. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is bitter.

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

Along with the ever-stealthy Crystal Pier (now known as Dorado IPA), this hybrid Amber/IPA always seems a bit "below the radar". Neither draught-only offering is even mentioned on the official website, it seems. In fact, the only official confirmation of this beer's existince (besides seeing on draught, that is!) was when I noticed a guy had a Tongue Buckler t-shirt at the latest San Diego Real Ale `Fest. Regardless..., I think something this good really should get more exposure!

This is something of a "thinking (er, brewing?) out of the box"-type beer (a trait that makes many San Diego brewery's so damn distinctive, IMHO). Is it a big-ass Amber Ale? Or an Imperial Amber? Or just a bigger-than-average American Pale Ale with extra Crystal malt and Centennial hops tossed in? No matter. However you classify this, it's damn tasty.

Nice big malt, slightly sweet, but not cloying (thank god!). And an even more assertive amount of hops (Centennial, me'thinks), that makes this edge toward the much-beloved IPA realm of things.

See this once and a while on draught at San Diego Brewing Company and The Liar's Club, but it's one of two beers from Ballast Point that I wish were available in bottle, too (the aforementioned Crystal Pier, that is). But until that time, I will always relish the day when I see this being offered, since I know I'm in for a treat..., that's for sure.
//TB

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

This brew pours with a deep amber-red body topped by a medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma and flavor remind me of lemon iced tea, Arizona Lemon iced tea to be exact. The finish does have a little piney bitterness in it. Meidum to full bodied, slightly warming and smooth.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Poured nice amber color. Nose of fruit, flowers and HOPS. Totally jacked up on hops. Loved it.