Behind the Bar. Ballast Point Sour Wench

Author: Barmacral Tigana, March 2018

Ballast Point has long been one of the darlings of the California craft beer scene, reaching levels of success to the point of being scooped up by a major beer conglomerate for a cool billion dollars. The beers have a long reach across the world, even being relatively accessible here in Sweden. Today’s Sour Wench blackberry ale is a smaller release here, available for a limited time only.

Pouring a purplish red with a light pink head on it, the head was relatively small and disappeared within a few moments. The aroma on the beer is one of blackberry and tartness, not overpowering but definitely distinct. The mouthfeel is somewhat light and fairly highly carbonated, accentuating a mildly sour blackberry character that carries through to the finish and promptly dries up, leaving no perceptible aftertaste.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 – A solid blackberry sour, it is balanced and exactly what one would expect from the name. Enjoyable but doesn’t stand out.

Beer Facts: Acquisitions

The beer market has been on the decline for a long time now, but the craft beer segment has been constantly growing during that same period of time and the big beer companies of the world are trying to get in on the action. Aside from starting their own craft brands a major aspect of this has been to buy out other already successful brands. Some of these include Ballast Point, Lagunitas, Goose Island, etc.

These acquisitions are massively unpopular every time, and the companies see a huge backlash, plus the buyer often after 6 months to a year start forcing the companies to cut costs, something that generally starts with the flavour of the beer.

I always encourage supporting your small local craft breweries, these are independent and could use your support much more than even the huge craft breweries – especially those with major corporate parents.