SAN DIEGO – For the past six years on the Sunday before Christmas, Ballast Point has “made a date with darkness” in reverence to its flagship Imperial Porter, Victory at Sea. The popular one-day celebration of dark beers always features rare riffs on the brewery-favorite Victory at Sea with guests strongly encouraged to play it up in pirate patch cosplay in all Ballast Point taprooms. In following guidance from the California Department of Public Health in relation to COVID-19, Ballast Point decided to postpone its 7th annual “Victory at Sea Day” in December 2020, and is giving the “darkest day of the year” a slight makeover this month. Instead of one day, Ballast Point is extending the celebration of dark beers over an entire week. “Victory at Sea Days” will feature the seasonal original porter along with eight+ extremely rare variants, as voted on by the employees, at all of its Southern California taprooms February 28 – March 7, 2021.
Featured beers on draft during “Victory at Sea Days” (while supplies last) will include:
Victory at Sea: ABV 10.0% – A big porter crafted to weather any storm, the well-loved original Victory at Sea Imperial Porter with coffee and vanilla is a bold, smooth brew with just the right amount of sweetness. Ballast Point infused this robust porter with whole vanilla beans and San Diego’s own Caffe Calabria coffee beans. The subtle roasted notes and minimal acidity of the cold-brewed coffee, balances perfectly with the sweet caramel undertones of the malt, creating a winning combination. Although the winters in San Diego aren’t very wintery, the brewers at Ballast Point wanted a warmer, winter ale that brings comfort on those days when you can see your breath. This Imperial Porter clocks in at 10% ABV and gets most of its roasted flavor from coffee beans.
Victory at Sea Mexican Hot Chocolate: ABV 10.0% – Voted as the #1 favorite among Ballast Point employees. Brewed with the addition of real cane sugar, cayenne pepper, lactose, and cocoa.
Victory at Cereal: ABV 10.0% – This is one of the original batches served at the inaugural Victory at Sea Day years ago, and it’s back by popular demand! The recipe is simple: add 16 boxes of Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch® cereal to a few kegs of Victory at Sea. The beer is finished with lactose sugar to create the mouthfeel you get from the bottom of a bowl of cereal.
Oreo Victory at Sea: ABV 12.0% – Back by popular demand, this version of Victory at Sea was soaked on crumbled Oreos for two days. The cookies enhance the cocoa, vanilla, and sweetness already in regular Victory at Sea. It’s truly a dessert-lovers dream.
Double Shot Victory At Sea – ABV 12.0% – Sometimes you just need more coffee – and Victory at Sea is no exception. Standard Victory at Sea is hammered with an additional four lbs/bbl of light-roasted coffee for an intense, in-your-face coffee blast.
Reaper-cussive Victory at Sea: ABV 12.0% – Don’t fear the Reaper! Ballast Point is bringing the heat with Carolina Reaper chilis. High West Victory at Sea is loaded with the hottest chili pepper on Earth, the Carolina Reaper, which registers at 2,200,000 Scoville units (compared to 8,000 for the jalapeno). This beer is only for those with a pretty advanced spice tolerance and even then it might melt your face a little bit.
Extra Limited Premium Select Reserve Victory at Sea: ABV 8.5% – A small-batch Victory at Sea designed to be richer/fuller. The recipe calls for a pound of bourbon-soaked vanilla beans, and it showcases some of the brewing team’s favorite malts they’ve discovered at Ballast Point’s R&D brewery in Little Italy. This year, the brewers have decided to brew a small R&D batch of the classic Victory of Sea recipe by swapping in some of their favorite, slightly more obscure base and specialty malts, dark Belgian candi syrup, and a different yeast strain (Dry English) for this extremely limited brew. Whole vanilla beans were soaked on bourbon for over a month, which were then added to the beer. The resulting elixir is powerfully malty with an intense mocha character and a satisfyingly rich finish.
Vegan Strawberry Smoothie Victory at Sea: ABV 12.0% – This is the newest addition to the Victory at Sea Day family! Ballast Point used coconut water instead of lactose sugar to produce a full mouthfeel and subtle sweetness. In addition, this batch was soaked on copious amounts of strawberries for over a week. This added a delicious berry flavor with a subtle fruity tartness.
Barrel Aged Victory at Sea – Four barrel-aged versions of Victory at Sea, including Victory at Sea aged in rum and red wine barrels, as well as Devil’s Share Bourbon Barrel Aged Victory at Sea and Heaven Hills Rye Barrel Aged Victory at Sea will also be available in limited quantities at each location.
Tickets to the “Victory at Sea Days” outdoor celebration February 28 – March 7, at Ballast Point Southern California taprooms (Miramar, Home Brew Mart, Little Italy, Anaheim, Long Beach) are $30- $45/each and are available for purchase online February 18 – 27. Walk-in tickets can be purchased as well, but interested guests are encouraged to act quickly as these specialty Victory at Sea beers are in limited supply. For further details, including how to purchase tickets, please visit Ballast Point’s website.
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About Ballast Point Brewing Co.
What started in 1996 as a small group of homebrewers who simply wanted to make great beer evolved into the team of adventurers known today as Ballast Point. A pioneering brewery born within the hallowed, hopped walls of San Diego’s Home Brew Mart, the complete art of the craft swims in the DNA of Ballast Point and informs both what’s inside and on the can. On March 2, 2020, Ballast Point officially returned to its iconic independent roots under the new ownership of San Diego-headquartered, Kings & Convicts Brewing Co., and continues to be an internationally recognized leader in the industry with 6 taproom locations in California and Chicago. From bringing a hoppy twist to a porter or adding four types of malt to its amber ale, to creating the breakthrough gold-medal winning Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point is known for adding its touch and asking if there’s a better way. With an emphasis on R&D and innovation, Ballast Point brews over 50 styles of beer and is distributed in select markets across the US and internationally. For more information, visit www.ballastpoint.com and follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook.