Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA

You'd like to think that all IPA's are sorta the same. An India Pale Ale, as described to me years ago, was developed as a means to preserve beer as it traveled aboard ships from England to India. The added hops allowed it to still be beer when they arrived. And so on. What one expects when pouring the contents of an IPA into their snout is a strong, sometimes bitter, beer that'll "make you chew your face," wondering why you hadn't purchased a Pilsner. And then, you want another... An addiction perhaps? The IPA, though, is not created equal. I've been on a mission these last few years to find one that is delicious, strong and can be consumed more than once, er, thrice. An example: Russian River's ever popular, almost infamous, 'Pliny the Elder.' This is a beer that registers on the schnocker'd scale at around 8%. It goes down all too easy, and after three or four, leaves you feeling like fuck. Another example: HUB's Abominable Winter Ale, which until recently was one of my favorite beers. It, however, tastes like shit as soon as it gets warm and, unless it's cold outside, seems like overkill. Enter Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA. At a hearty 7% ABV, Sculpin is nobody's bitch. But at the same time, she goes down smooth - almost easy - and can be consumed during all four of the seasons. I don't want to get into all the nuances. It's just beer after all. But I can say that of all the IPA's I've been drinking these last few years, it is by far my favorite.