Ballast Point: Even Keel Session IPA

[Kealia]

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.

[Beer-lord]

I've liked every Ballast Point I've had but I've had very few. I think they were Sculpin and Big Eye (are they both IPA's?) that I've tried and enjoyed.

[Kealia]

Yep, and their Grunion pale ale is pretty tasty, too. If you thought Stone GoTo and Easy Jack were too thin for you, you'd hate this.

[Beer-lord]

So far, the best session I've tasted is Lagunitas or was it Founders? Crap, now I have to get some of each and see what I like.
I have a session beer planned either the next or the one after that so I will have summer beerage.

[Kealia]

I know that Lagunitas Day Time is phenomenal but I can't speak for the the Founders - never had it.

[mashani]

Great Lakes "Truth Justice" one is good, but not easy to get a lot of.

I like the New Belgium Slow Ride one a good bit more then GoTo.

[Kealia]

I'll have to check out Slow Ride. I just recently tried their Ranger IPA and was impressed with it.

[Kealia]

I had another of these last night and it was actually better this time because I knew what to expect. We were going out and I didn't want to drink anything heavy or high ABV before driving so I had one of these and it did hit the spot. Just based on the hops used, I still don't like it as much as Easy Jack or Daytime, but it's solid (for what it is) in its own right.