Ballast Point: Even Keel Session IPA
Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 3:04 pm
I had one of these the other night after grabbing a six pack when I couldn't find Easy Jack. I like Ballast Point so I figured it had to be good, right?
It's "good", but far from "great" IMO.
The site lists a grain bill comprised of 7 different malts + 4 hop varieties but I don't find it to be overly complex at all. Especially compared to a lot of other session IPAs I've had - Easy Jack being my Gold Standard.
Don't get me wrong, it smells really good. Towards the piney/dank end of the spectrum and just the right amount of aroma for this style. What really stands out though is the lack of any malt flavor at all to me and a VERY light mouthfeel. At only 3.8% I'm not surprised I guess, but I've not come across this in others that were just slightly higher.
I know some of you don't like the session IPAs for just this very reason, but this one is WAY light.
That being said, if I were out bowling or shooting pool and felt like having a few beers, this would fit the bill because it's really like drinking a light beer with hop flavor. It's just not very satisfying for a single-beer sitting. Sometimes I want a low ABV beer and Easy Jack has been a great go-to for that. This one just left me feeling like it wasn't quite enough.....but it was tasty. Think of something like Coors Light in terms of body, though.
Oh yeah, those are brauts braising in beer at the back of the pic! Yum.
It's "good", but far from "great" IMO.
The site lists a grain bill comprised of 7 different malts + 4 hop varieties but I don't find it to be overly complex at all. Especially compared to a lot of other session IPAs I've had - Easy Jack being my Gold Standard.
Don't get me wrong, it smells really good. Towards the piney/dank end of the spectrum and just the right amount of aroma for this style. What really stands out though is the lack of any malt flavor at all to me and a VERY light mouthfeel. At only 3.8% I'm not surprised I guess, but I've not come across this in others that were just slightly higher.
I know some of you don't like the session IPAs for just this very reason, but this one is WAY light.
That being said, if I were out bowling or shooting pool and felt like having a few beers, this would fit the bill because it's really like drinking a light beer with hop flavor. It's just not very satisfying for a single-beer sitting. Sometimes I want a low ABV beer and Easy Jack has been a great go-to for that. This one just left me feeling like it wasn't quite enough.....but it was tasty. Think of something like Coors Light in terms of body, though.
Oh yeah, those are brauts braising in beer at the back of the pic! Yum.