Game Day Beer Review: Ballast Point Brewing Sculpin American IPA

(7.00% ABV) Sculpin was poured from the bottle while relaxing at the farlieonfootie world headquarters on a recent evening. The beer was drunk from a new Spieglau glass which has been specially designed to accentuate the flavors and scents of India Pale Ales.

The beer appeared a deep gold color with a luscious, pillowy head of pure white foam.  Scuplpin smelled both hoppy and fruity. Upon bringing the glass to our nose, we got the distinct impression of freshly cut pineapple.

This was a delicious beer, full of both hops and tropical fruits. The hops stay with you on the bitter finish, but are not overly aggressive. This is a great example of the west coast style of brewing IPAs and is very highly recommended. A+

Further Thoughts from the Great American Beer Festival

Correspondent Ed likes to drink while barefoot
photo by Kingfox	via PhotoRee

We've been inundated by our readers with requests for a list of the best beers we had the pleasure of drinking while out at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last week, and we've decided to respond. Today's entry will offer you some brief thoughts on which beers struck a particular chord with our educated tasting panel.  Although the beers below may not appear on the list of Medal winners at the event, in our opinions they were the best of the small and somewhat random sample we tasted, and well worth seeking out:

Stone Brewing Suitable for Cave Aging American Porter: Another monster beer from one of the craft beer industry's biggest names. Brewed in memory of Danny Williams, and a beer of which Stone can be justifiably proud.

Great Northern Brewing Wild Huckleberry Wheat: Montana's best known craft brewery produces an extremely drinkable wheat ale flavored with native huckleberries. It's a unique spin on a lighter beer, and almost as cool as the retro Airstream camper the brewery brought along as a prop for photo opportunities.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery B.O.R.I.S the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout. Big, boozy and chocolate. Boris lives up to its name.

Game Day Beer Review: Ballast Point Brewing Company's Sea Monster Imperial Stout

On draft (10.0 % ABV). Sea Monster pours a hearty black, like the depths of the ocean, with a thick head that leaves behind generous lacing. I get mellow fruits on the nose, and maybe a little subtle hoppiness.  It's boozy, full of dark fruits and chocolate, with just a little touch of Belgian candy sweetness. Sea Monster has a much thinner mouthfeel than Old Rasputin. It's better than good, but not great: B+.