In the previous post I mentioned that the new-to-me wave of citrus-flavored IPAs, which I’d looked on askance on the assumption that they were novelty brews, actually includes some great offerings.
After that appeared, I received a slew of recommendations that I try the one shown above: Grapefruit Sculpin IPA, from Ballast Point in San Diego. I had known and liked BP’s famed regular, non-grapefruit Sculpin, but I found the pink-striped grapefruit version in a local Kwik-E-Mart and checked it out, as you see above.
This is worth trying too; I like it. I can see that formulating beers like this must be tricky, because if they were any heavier on the citrus flavor they might drift into Orangina territory. In its own setting Orangina is just right, but it’s not what I’m looking for in a beer. Fortunately Grapefruit Sculpin (and the others) stay on the right side of the line.
Update Jeff Alworth, author of The Beer Bible, puts these IPA trends into perspective in a good item at AllAboutBeer. He also boldly predicts what the Next Big Thing will be: Trump IPA! No, not really, but he has an interesting other candidate.