Name: Ballast Point Big Eye
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.8%
While Ballast Point Brewing is most well known around here as the brewery behind Sculpin, they actually have other IPAs in their lineup that I feel others seem to miss. Tonight I have their Big Eye IPA, which upon adding to part of my mix-a-six, I noticed that were still a few bottles behind it. One could only why this is the case.
Big Eye IPA pours a mildly hazy orange color with a foamy head that leaves behind some soapy lacing. The amount of visible carbonation is also fairly high.
The aroma starts out with a mild citrus hop & grapefruit smell. Backing that up are notes of toffee, caramel malts and yeasts.
Upon drinking this, I noticed that there is a very strong strong piney hop flavor which I did not pick up on earlier; Almost like a cloak-and-dagger. Once you get passed that, you find yourself with notes of caramel malts, grapefruits, yeasts and an extremely bitter resiny aftertaste. I don't mind some bitterness in my IPAs, but I feel this is pushing it.
The overall palate is pretty light but it packs quite a punch when it comes to the carbonation. I don't really feel it helps the overall flavor either.
Big Eye is an okay IPA but the bitterness, particularly in the aftertaste, is way too much for my liking. If the overall bitterness were taken down a few notches, I would be more likely to recommend this.
Ballast Point Big Eye - 7/10
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