Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

Brewed by: Ballast Point Brewing Company

Brewery Location: San Diego, CA

Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.00%

I’ll be completely honest here: I had never even heard a whisper of the Ballast Point Brewing Company when I first noticed this beer on the shelf at my local distributor. And I spent this past summer just outside of San Diego…shame on me. After picking up a six-pack on a relative whim, I must say that I am pretty disappointed…that I didn’t get to try this beer over the summer. Big Eye, you are one hell of a good American IPA.

Upon pouring, a very rich, copper color was revealed. There was a fairly large head, and some seriously sticky lacing that hung around until my glass was empty.

Upon first smelling the Big Eye, I was immediately greeted by piney hops, and a smell of bitterness. While these smells served as the overtones for this beer, there were some serious citrus flavors going on in the background: pineapple, orange, and lemon…? There was also a bit of malt that was able to shine through as well, leaving me pretty excited to taste what I imagined to be a pretty well balanced brew.

The taste followed suit with the smell beautifully, immediately punching through with that to-be-expected hoppy bitterness. After the initial shock of the hops, the citrus makes an appearance as the main contender, complemented by an almost floral sweetness. The sweetness was almost a bit too much for me, but after a few more tastes, I concluded that the hoppy bitterness and sweetness balanced each other out very well.

Let’s be straight here: I need to stop purchasing beer from random brewing companies. I end up with a beer like the Big Eye, which I thoroughly enjoy, and then make it a personal mission to try as many of their different styles as possible. Oh wait, that’s not a bad thing? Well in that case, give the Ballast Point Big Eye a try!

Victory Golden Monkey

Brewed by: Victory Brewing Company

Brewery Location: Downingtown, PA

Style: Belgian Tripel

ABV: 9.50%

As I do with the majority of beers that I try, I happened to stumble across a few bottles of Golden Monkey whilst perusing through my local beer distributor. I had heard of it through several friends, but had never been presented with the opportunity to try it. As it happened, the price was right, and a 6-pack found its way home with me. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but overall, I was very content with my purchase.

Upon pouring, it was immediately understandable why this beer was named Golden Monkey. A clear, amber-golden color presented itself, with very apparent carbonation bubbles. It had a medium sized, frothy head, which hung around for a decent majority of the beer.

The first smell that I picked up on was that oh-so distinctive Belgian tripel smell. There were hints of spices, and definitely some serious citrus overtones. It was a bit difficult to really pick up on the exact fruit, but it almost smelled like a curious case of lemon meets orange. It was also fairly easy to tell that this was going to be one hell of a boozey beer, as the smell of alcohol was very apparent.

As expected, on first taste the spice and alcohol really punch through, leaving the citrus in the background. It is slightly bitter, but almost…neutral tasting? With other tripels I have tried, taste on opposite ends of the spectrum complement each other, creating an enjoyable and interesting beer. There are a lot of clashing and over the top flavors going on here, which didn’t leave me particularly impressed.

I’m not necessarily saying this is a bad beer by any means. I happily finished by 6-pack, very glad that I was finally able to try it. If someone offered me one, I’d gladly enjoy it, but I foresee myself settling on other Belgians.