They Brew it, I sell it, You Drink it... and so do I..

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Last Orders

At Beer Ritz we usually get a shipment of special and unusual American beers every few months. It's a great thing, it keeps all the local Leeds beer geeks happy, and we all fill our boots while they're around. The bad point of this is that with some of the breweries beers, once they're gone, they're gone - and unless we all take a trip out to the states, or the beers come back around, it'll probably be the last time we drink some of them. :(

The beer I drink tonight is the last of my collection from this brewery. And as stated, will probably be the last time I drink it. So, as with all beers which I may not drink again, I shall send it off with a slap-bang-kick-ass review!

Ballast Point Big Eye IPA is a deeply copper coloured 6% Indian Pale Ale. It has the massive resinous hoppy aroma that so many of our hop-head regulars are looking for. (and crave!) Hints of peach, apricot, some citrus and a little pine resin all abound - it's a fruity smelling brew.

This is such a juicy beer, it starts quite sweet but ends with a really refreshing drying bitterness. The white lacing of the foam hugs the glass - longing to stay around, and I can't blame it - I wish this wasn't my last bottle. It's a rich IPA, flavours of caramel, toffee and some pine needles - if it was about 3% stronger you could mistake it for a Barley Wine, but this is so hoppy it would fit anyones IPA category! There's loads of fruit to this beer - a massive flavour of mangos amongst some orange peel zesty bitterness - it's really good.

That's it really. I'm going to sit back now and fully appreciate this beer to its fullest - my last order from the brewery..... for now anyway - shall we meet again, it won't be a bad thing  ;)

There is one positive point to take away from this though. When we run out of new beers at the shop - they quickly get replaced by more new beers! And I'm sure you can all agree - New 'good' beer is NEVER a bad thing!!
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6 comments:

  1. Chris25 May 2011 at 15:27

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  2. Chris25 May 2011 at 15:27

    This is a great beer that I've been lucky enough to drink quite regularly recently.

    Have you had any of the Calico? Really dig that too. Imagine my surprise when I found it on cask at a Wetherspoon's in Gatwick Airport...

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  3. Ghost Drinker25 May 2011 at 15:35

    I've not had the pleasure of the Calico but, Ballast Point beers on cask in Gatwick Airport!!! I clearly don't get out enough! - and in a Wetherspoons of all places! :s

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  4. Mark Dredge25 May 2011 at 22:25

    Yeah, good beer. I've had a few Ballast Point beers are their big hoppy ones are excellent. Calico was part of the latest 'Spoons fest and it was fantastic!

    I also love your last paragraph - I raise my mug of tea to that (it would be beer but it's before 6.30am!)

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  5. Unknown26 May 2011 at 04:28

    Good review. I'm very partial to American IPAs (they seem to have gotten better that the style than us recently) but I've never tried any of Ballast Point's.

    That feeling of knowing it's the only or last time you drink something is a killer though, isn't it? Especially when it's an awesome beer.

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  6. Ghost Drinker26 May 2011 at 05:59

    Cheers Mark. (you were up before 6.30?? I didn't know that time existed) ;)

    It is a lame feeling Chris, but there's always the slim chance of seeing it again, and when I do I'll be grabbing some more! I think knowing it could be your last beer makes you appreciate it even more.

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