Constellation Brands Releases Two New Ballast Point Beers

Ballast Point Brewing Co. in San Diego, California has announced the release of two new IPAs.

The first is Passing Haze IPA, a tropical, hazy brew, and the second is Brut IPA, a bone dry Brut IPA with a light body and a champagne-like finish.

The full release from the brewery is below.

SAN DIEGO — Ballast Point, a pioneer of the West Coast-style IPA with its flagship Sculpin IPA, continues to showcase its innovation with two new IPAs – one juicy, the other bone dry. The Southern California brewery, known for its high-quality, award-winning and innovative beer, has released Passing Haze IPA and Brut IPA nationwide, available now for a limited time.

Passing Haze is a delicious, incredibly sessionable spin on the popular hazy IPA style. Ballast Point loaded the hop cannons and fired a late-addition blast, bursting this IPA with tropical, juicy citrus hops. Massively hopped with Centennial, Mosaic and Citra hops, the beer boasts huge aromas of lemon, mint, ripe guava and wonderful tropical fruit. With an approachable 4.2 percent ABV, pleasant soft bitterness and delightful mouthfeel, Passing Haze is perfect for any occasion.

As the first R&D beer developed by the passionate brewers at Ballast Point’s Chicago brewery & tasting room, Passing Haze is a prime example of the brewery’s culture of innovation. Last year, Ballast Point created 136 unique beers at its Little Italy R&D facility, further underscoring its adventurous spirit. Thirty-eight of those came out of Ballast Point’s “Roots to Boots” R&D program, which empowers employees who are not brewers to create experimental beers.

“Passing Haze was an instant hit when we introduced it as an R&D beer at our Chicago brewpub – it sold out in the first week it appeared on tap,” said James Murray, vice president of brewing at Ballast Point. “We’re constantly creating new recipes, but when our guests enjoy a new brew as much as we do, we know it’s time to share with drinkers across the country.”

Passing Haze is rolling out now through May, available in six-pack cans and on draft. It joins popular Fathom IPA and Mango Even Keel as part of Ballast Point’s Discovery series of approachable, flavorful beers.

Bone-Dry Brut IPA 

In stark contrast to cloudy, juicy beers, Ballast Point introduces the very dry and refreshing Brut IPA for the more adventurous beer drinker or dry-loving palate. The 7 percent-ABV Brut IPA features a light body matched only by its light bitterness. But Brut IPA is anything but light on flavor. The beer explodes with citrusy hops and notes of grapefruit, lime and tropical fruits thanks to Citra hops added late in the brewing process.

Ballast Point’s new beer is one of the latest entrants in the new Brut IPA style, an emerging trend within the India Pale Ale category named after the dry Champagne style. Known for their light body and dry finish, Brut IPAs have been described as the opposite of juicy, hazy IPAs. To create the crisp finish, brewers, such as Ballast Point, brew the beer with the enzyme amyloglucosidase, or AMG, which enables the yeast to consume nearly all the sugars present.

Available now in limited release in six-pack bottles, Brut IPA accompanies award-winning Sour Wench as part of Ballast Point’s Explorer series of bold flavors and styles.