Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado Review

Name: Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10%
IBUs: 90

A few months ago, I reviewed New Belgium's Heavy Melon, which was easily the worst craft beer I've ever had and went on a rant about how watermelon beers should absolutely not be a thing in craft beer. I even pleaded with craft brewers to stop utilizing watermelon in their beers but I highly doubt that my words will move them.

Naturally, I got some feedback; Some of it supportive and others telling me that either the bottle I got was infected or that I was "just having the wrong watermelon beer." The beer which I got the most suggestions for is Ballast Point's Watermelon Dorado. Now the original Dorado is quite good and I consider it to be one of my favorite offerings from Ballast Point, but adding watermelon to it seems like a dicey choice to me.

Appearance - Hazy orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is quite foamy and the lacing left behind is abundant and sticky

Aroma - Watermelon with some citrus & bitter hoppiness, backed up by a nice caramel malt backbone. This smells....surprisingly unterrible!

Taste - Potent watermelon and citrus hops upfront with some bitter hoppiness and a hefty caramel malt backbone in the middle. In the back I'm getting more watermelon & bitter hop notes, while the aftertaste is a light watermelon sweetness.

I'm not going to lie, I was expecting to absolutely hate this but this one is actually....quite good. The watermelon melds surprisingly well with the overall flavor profile and the watermelon used in this actually tastes like watermelon.

Contrary to my previous statements, Watermelon Dorado proves to beer drinkers that you can make a watermelon beer work under the right circumstances. I still prefer the original mind you, but I certainly wouldn't turn this down if I were to be offered it again.

Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado - 8.5/10