Sculpin IPA is an Award Winning Beast!

There is truly a lot of awesome beer being brewed in the US these days! Today’s American Craft brewers are unquestionably setting a global precedent for innovation of styles and brewing techniques.  One brewery clearly leading the charge is Ballast Point Brewing out of sunny San Diego, CA, recently winning “Small Brewery of the Year 2010” at the 2010 World Beer Cup and then back to back medals for their Sculpin IPA at the 2010 & 2011 European Beer Star Awards.  Starting out 19 years ago as Home Brew Mart, Yuseff (the master brewer) and his brewing staff have had some time to do a lot of experimentation.  They currently brew 40+ unique beers and continually have the industry buzzing about what wild brew they are working on next.

Regardless of Ballast Point’s constant expansion to increase beer production, the demand for their beer has continued to far outpace supply.  This week the LA Weekly put out an article, “The Top 5 IPAs in the World”… where Sculpin IPA again takes reviewers choice!

“Sculpin IPA is a slippery sea monster with its 70 IBU hop sting!  He comes and goes from the FL marketplace several times a year like a bolt of lightning.  The 22oz bottles are more often seen on store shelves, but Sculpin IPA on draft is a rather rare and prized indulgence. Keep your finger on the line and stay alert!”

Some other award-winning Ballast Point Brewing beers to wet your whistle in the meantime… Calico Amber Ale / Pale Ale / Big Eye IPA / Wahoo Wheat / Black Marlin Porter / Tongue Buckler Imperial Red / Sextant Oatmeal Stout NITRO

Ballast Point Release Date!

The long-awaited release of the Ballast Point family of beers is nearly upon us.  The details are as follows, some of the details anyway cause we want you to keep reading our blog.

The release date will be Wednesday, Oct 13^th.  It will initially be available in only 11 On Premise accounts on this first day.  The accounts that have been asking and asking are the lucky 11.  We will follow-up with the list shortly.  We can tell you that the accounts are all over the JJ Taylor foot print.  It will be available in the Ft Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, Brandon, St Pete, Vero and Port St Lucie areas.  The first available day to purchase package will be on Thursday, Oct 14^th, so start asking your favorite craft stores to place their orders!

JJ Taylor and the lucky 11 will all have the following lineup on the release day, Yellow Tail Pale Ale, Calico Amber, Wahoo Wheat, Big Eye IPA and Sculpin IPA.  The package available will be 6 packs of Calico Amber, Big Eye IPA and Sculpin IPA.  We will also have 22 oz bombers of Sculpin IPA.  More to details to follow.  Cheers!!

Ballast Point NOW SHIPPING!

The time has finally come, the initial order of Ballast Point products is in the truck and en route to the Tampa facility.  Yellow Tail Pale Ale, Calico Amber, Wahoo Wheat, Big Eye IPA and Sculpin IPA will all be available in draft format while Yellow Tail Pale Ale, Calico Amber, Big Eye IPA and Sculpin IPA will be available in package.  This is the first time Ballast Point will be available in Florida so keep an eye out for this brand to start hitting the market soon!

2010 World Beer Cup Winners at J.J. Taylor

The World Beer Cup is held every 2 years and has the most diverse assortment of professional beer judges from around the world.  Below are the 2010 World Beer Cup winners that are represented by J.J. Taylor. (some winning Brewery brands may not be found in FL)

Champion Brewery and Brewer Awards

Small Brewing Company Category
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA – Coming Soon
Ballast Point Brewers

Individual Beer Awards

Category 1: American-Style Cream Ale or Lager, 17 entries
Gold: Red Dog, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Old Style, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Bronze: Lone Star, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL

Category 3: American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast, 24 entries
Silver: UFO Hefeweizen, Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA

Category 12: Experimental Beer, 51 entries

Gold: 100% Brett Autumn Maple, The Bruery, Placentia, CA
Bronze: Red & White, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

Category 13: Out of Category – Traditionally Brewed Beer, 47 entries
Gold: Fathom IPL, Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 16: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer, 32 entries
Gold: Bourbon Barrel Aged Piper Down, Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 18: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, 39 entries
Silver: Rodenbach Vintage, Palm Breweries, Steenhuffel, Belgium – Coming Soon

Category 19: Aged Beer, 20 entries
Silver: Gonzo Imperial Porter Vintage 2007, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

Category 21: Smoked Beer, 35 entries
Silver: Smoke Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR

Category 23: German-Style Pilsener, 69 entries
Gold: Pilsner, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA

Category 27: Vienna-Style Lager, 28 entries
Bronze: Heavy Seas Marzen, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD

Category 34: American-Style Lager, 75 entries
Gold: Olympia, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Silver: National Bohemian, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Bronze: Coors Light, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO

Category 35: American-Style Specialty Lager, 19 entries
Silver: Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Colt 45, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL

Category 38: Australasian, Latin American Light Lager, 19 entries
Silver: Quilmes Cristal, Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes, Quilmes, Argentina

Category 44: Belgian-Style Sour Ale, 23 entries
Gold: Geuze Mariage Parfait, Brouwerij BOON, Lembeek, Belgium – Coming Soon
Silver: Oude Geuze Boon, Brouwerij BOON, Lembeek, Belgium – Coming Soon

Category 45: Belgian-Style Flanders/Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale, 20 entries
Gold: Oude Tart, The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Category 47: Belgian-Style Tripel, 53 entries
Silver: Samuel Adams New World Triple, Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA

Category 49: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale, 46 entries
Gold: Witte Noire Imperial Amber Wheat Ale, De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium
Bronze: Brooklyn Local 2, The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY

Category 52: Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 29 entries
Gold: Summit Extra Pale Ale, Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, MN
Bronze: Heavy Seas Pale Ale, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD

Category 76: Irish-Style Red Ale, 26 entries
Silver: Samuel Adams Irish Red, Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA

Category 79: Golden or Blonde Ale, 50 entries
Gold: Heavy Seas Gold Ale, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD

Category 83: Imperial India Pale Ale, 69 entries
Gold: Hardcore IPA, BrewDog, Fraserburgh, United Kingdom

Category 89: American-Style Imperial Stout, 37 entries
Gold: Seven Imperial Stout Niepoort Barrel, Nørrebro Bryghus, Copenhagen N., Denmark

Category 90: International Pale Ale, 28 entries
Gold: Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA – Coming Soon

http://www.worldbeercup.org