Ballast Point Brewing Company Red Velvet

Red Velvet

 

Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, California, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - White / Blond Rotating
Score
6.49
ABV: 5.5% IBU: 33 Ticks: 51
Impossibly reddish in color (due to the beets) with nitro cascade fading into a pink cap of stable foam, great clarity. Seeing the beer in the glass shows the obvious resemblance to a slice of red velvet cake (red cake on the bottom topped with a layer of creamy white frosting). But the similarities don’t end there. The aroma is dominated by chocolate with earthy notes of beets and subtle wafts of roast coco. The flavor is similar to the aroma but with faint roast and hop bitterness coming in at the end balance it out, not cloying or overly sweet. The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is luxuriously smooth. It’s dessert served in a pint glass!
 

Sign up to add a tick or review

Join Us


     Show


5.1/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 5 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
As others here have mentioned, this is a very strange beer. Pours a bright, fruit-juicy red, with minimal head. Chocolate and roasted grain in the aroma. Flavor is very smooth mixture of chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, and some hop touches in the finish. It feels very smooth as you drink it. Not what you’d expect from a stout. **Update: 2/1/2017** Having had a couple more, I’ve got to lower my original rating. This stuff is pretty awful. Reminds me a bit of Berliner Weisse with too much red syrup added. Should never have been bottled.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Jan 2017 at 16:33

7.3/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Draft. Clear reddish pink color, thick pink head with good retention and lacing. Strong vanilla and chocolate aroma. Taste is sweet vanilla and chocolate. Weird.
Tried from Draft on 07 Jan 2017 at 18:43

5.1/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 8 Flavor 3 Texture 8 Overall 3.5
Draft: Vanilla and buttercream aroma. Ruby red, medium pink head. Chemicals, artificial vanilla, buttercream. Medium body, soft carbonation, somewhat creamy, very dry. Did not like this at all.
Tried from Draft on 17 Dec 2016 at 21:16

7.4/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Giving the appearance a 5 for novelty; the red color and white-pink head are downright hypnotic coming from a nitro tap. Not so sure about the "stout" part, though--call me a smug traditionalist, but a golden ale brewed with chocolate and oatmeal to give it stout characteristics is still a golden ale. Nitpicking aside, RVC has an easygoing soul, slightly grainy until the chocolate kicks in, with a modest, slightest-bit-of-citrus hop finish to round things out. Unique, and it thankfully doesn’t forego drinkability for the sake of staying on-theme.
Tried from Draft on 08 Dec 2016 at 12:11

5.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 5.5
Draught at Elizabeth Station, Bellingham, WA
Bright red, weird in a beer, with creamy off-white/pink head. Very light beer character here, there is light fruit; some artificial vanilla seems to be the main component, no beet; and eventually the nitro kills most of the beer flavor.
Mah.
Tried on 05 Dec 2016 at 04:09

6.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
On tap. Pours a clear red pink with moderate head. Aromas of cake and icing with light red berries. Flavors follow same with lots of sugary icing and a bit of earthy dusty malts. Kind of odd...
Tried from Draft on 04 Dec 2016 at 18:00

6.3/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Draft - Sweet earth almost Berry notes. Deep red with nice white head. Roast and Berry like earthy sweetness. Beets don’t shine and add an earthy Berry notes.
Tried from Draft on 04 Dec 2016 at 16:54

6.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Draft. Wow, what the hell style is this?? Aroma is chocolate, vanilla beans, cake batter. The color is a see through red with thick foamy, lasting head. The mouthfeel is thick and stout like with a creamy texture. This is really bizarre. Hard to really demonstrate if I even like this
Tried from Draft on 03 Dec 2016 at 19:14

7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 8
On tap at Cottonwood. Pours a clear ruby with medium frothy pinkish head that lasts. The aroma is strong vanilla, cream, cereal. Medium body, pure sugar, vanilla cream, light finish, very good.
Tried from Draft on 01 Dec 2016 at 23:32

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
Sample at GABF 10/08/2016, thanks to my sis for assistance with note-taking. Clear ruby-pink color with a medium thick pinkish-white head that burns away steadily. Stringy lacing. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla and malt. Light-bodied with a sweet red velvet cake character with chocolate in the background. The finish is sweet with a milk chocolate and vanilla aftertaste. Pretty good overall.
Tried on 29 Nov 2016 at 20:18