Ballast Point Brewing Company San Diego California

San Diego Roundup

Ballast Point Brewing Company

by Rich Link

The American craft-beer renaissance owes much of its success to homebrewers. Unhappy with the poor selection of "pilsners" at the local liquor store, homebrewers sought to create beers and ales with something that the mass-produced beers did not have: flavor. The folks at Ballast Point Brewing Company took their love for fresh homebrew to the next level, creating a very successful microbrewery in America's Finest City.

In 1992, Jack White opened Home Brew Mart, a homebrew supply shop, with the intention of earning enough money to eventually open his own brewery. Four years later, Jack's dream came true, and Ballast Point opened.

At first, two beers were brewed: an extra special bitter and a porter. Both were served via nitrogen, giving them a creamy head similar to Draught Guinness. Logistically, selling a beer that required special nitrogen-dispensing equipment did not work out well. Eventually, the ESB switched to CO2 dispense, while the porter remains a nitro beer.

Today, Ballast Point has five full-time beers plus many "small-batch" brews. Head Brewer Yuseff Cherney and Assistant Brewers Colby Chandler and Ryan Glenn tinker with recipes and develop new brews as time and space allow. The mainstay brews are named after saltwater game fish, each with a beautiful label created by local artist Paul Elder.

Yellowtail Pale Ale is by far the best-selling beer in the portfolio. Although it's called a pale ale, it is actually brewed in the traditional kölsch style of Cologne, Germany. It is light and malty, weighing in at 4.5% abv. Hallertau, Tettnang and Northern Brewerhops are used, as well as White Labs German Ale yeast. The beer undergoes two to three weeks of cold conditioning after it is kegged or bottled.

The number-two seller is Calico Amber Ale. Calico refers to the calico bass, a favorite target of Southern California inshore anglers. This beer has undergone many changes over the years. It was originally the aforementioned nitro ESB. It is now available both in bottles and CO2 kegs. The English hops have been traded for American Cascades, resulting in an ale more suited to the Southern California palate. In fact, at the 2001 Great American beer festival, Calico Amber won a gold medal in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale category.

Black Marlin Porter is still available on draught via nitrogen dispense. It also should be available in fully carbonated bottles this summer.

Wahoo Wheat Beer is brewed in the white, or witbier, style of Belgium. It is a crisp beer with a citrus tang -- very thirst-quenching. At 4.3% abv, this is the "lawnmower beer" for beer enthusiasts. Wahoo is available on tap and should be in bottles this summer.

One of my favorite Ballast Point products is Big Eye India Pale Ale. This IPA is exactly what an American IPA should be. At 6.5% abv, it has the body necessary to balance the intense hop aroma and flavor.

Another IPA, Crystal Pier IPA, is actually a "double IPA," a style born out of California's thirst for bigger and bitterer ales. This beer took first place at the Double IPA Festival at The Bistro in Hayward, Calif., this past February.

I recently sampled two special brews at Ballast Point. The pils was light and refreshing and had a pleasant hoppy aroma. Saaz hops were used for dry-hopping, a rare practice for this style. The bock was about 7.5% abv. This true lager had been aged for five months when I tasted it. It was very smooth, with flavors of caramel and malt -- a great example of the style. Don't be surprised if this is a GABF winner this fall.

Ballast Point continues to show amazing growth. Approximately 300 barrels were brewed in 1996. In 2002, some 3,600 barrels will be produced. Sales have increased by at least 20% annually over the past four years. Business has been so good that the brewery recently ordered two new 60-bbl. fermenters. Ballast Point already has three that size, plus others of 30, 60 and 90 barrels.

The biggest chore is filling those fermenters. The brewhouse is only 15 barrels, so the micro must brew four cycles to fill one of the 60-bbl. fermenters. Yuseff is working on ways to increase efficiency in order to fill those fermenters in a single day of brewing. He better get to work, because Jack is looking to get still more fermenters.

Currently, Ballast Point's beers are available in bottles and on tap at scores of restaurants and pubs in San Diego County. They have recently become available in Los Angeles and Orange Counties as well.

Ballast Point is located at the back of Home Brew Mart. Visitors can sample many of the beers in the tasting room.

Ballast Point Brewing Co.
5401 Linda Vista Rd., #406
San Diego, CA 92110
619-298-2337
www.ballastpoint.com
www.homebrewRich Link is an associate editor of the Celebrator Beer News. He lives in Santee, Calif., and has been brewing beer at home since 1980. He can be reached via e-mail at linkbrew2@cs.com.
art.com