Ballast Point Indra Kunindra
Brewed with madras curry, caynne pepper, cumin, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime leaf, Indra Kunindra is a 9% ABV stout brewed in collaboration with homebrewer Alex Tweet. It was brewed for Holiday Wine Cellar’s 46th Anniversary Homebrewers Competition. First batch at 9%, others at 7%.
3.6
571 reviews
San Diego, United States
Community reviews
I think this is an idea with promise, but the flavors need to be a bit more balanced. Pours a deep, cola black, with minimal head. Curry is strong in the aroma. Flavors include curry and cayenne pepper--maybe just a bit too much pepper. There’s something about this that’s a bit off, just a bit too extreme and I think it’s the pepper, though it might be the curry. I’d like this a lot more if it was balanced just a bit further.
Pours black with a medium tan head that quickly fades. The aroma is potent and intense. Its very strong in curry and pepper, along with heavy coconut, mild lime, and hints of chocolate. The taste is very dry with is a little sweet. There is an easy, mild burn to this one that doesn’t seem to end. Big curry and pepper still, and I find lots of lime now. Some lesser roasted malts, spices, coconut, ad chocolate. Minimal curry aftertaste. Its medium in body, with a slick texture, and some softer carbonation. Two reasons to try this one. First, its very different. Second, its absolutely delicious.
Dark brown hue with a light ivory cap. Weird combination of aromas that pops with curry and cumin powder with coconut and roasted black malt. Weird flavor as well with dark semisweet malt, coconut milk, cumin, curry powder spiciness, and just...weird, man! It’s freaking cumin and curry powder and gentle spiciness in a dadgum beer. It ain’t right.
Tap at the Hair of the Dog, Phrom Phong Ballast Point tap takeover. 7%. Poured a clear dark brown with a thin off white head. The aroma is super dry and spice with the liqourice notes of the cumin shining through, along with the peppers. The flavour is liqourice bitter with a dry roasty, spicy liqourice bitter palate. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. I didn’t really know what to expect of this beer but I must say I enjoyed it and would buy it again. I think the recipe needs a little work though. The cumin really dominates all the way through and I didn’t get the kaffir lime at all. It needs something else to make it a little more mellow and bring that cumin liqourice back under control.
On a flight at the Ballast Point place in Temecula, California on 9th Feb 2017. Dark brown liquid curry sauce with a malty base. Different, interesting and a 4oz pour is enough.
650ml bottle @ Matt’s. Pours an opaque black colour with a thin tan head. Careful on the nose, it packs a punch. Huge amounts of cumin, pepper, lime, and currey just outright assault the senses. Flavour is crazy. Curry and cumin dance around the palate while pepper is rather dominating finally lending way to a pleasant coconut character. This is just weird, different parts of my mouth are tasting different things simultaneously. Perhaps the pepper needs to be dialed down a touch and this would be better.
Medium brown and hazy. Not much head. Well, getting the curry powder and cumin, assertively, on the nose. On the palate, that’s intense, but the coconut takes centre stage. The cayenne pepper gets to the back of the tongue, the lime leaf has a cameo and there’s still an underpinning of cumin, and turmeric. I honestly cannot believe how balanced those spices are. And there’s a nice cocoa malt character and just the right amount of bitterness, too. I have no idea how they got this so well-balanced.
22 oz. bottle, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma brings out lots of cumin and curry upfront in full force -- not getting anything else. Flavour is along the same lines, with tons of coconut, curry and cumin dominating. Truly bizarre. For something this strange, it works rather well. Cool experiment.
On tap at Ballast Point Little Italy, San Diego. Really dark brown with a tan head. A lot of spices in this one, mainly curry and cayenne. Well, I don’t know what to say. Not really my kind of thing.
22oz bottle. Pours black oil, minimal head. I can smell the curry from a foot away, sweet fruit, cayenne, bit of lime. Strong curry taste, bit of lingering burn. Pretty good, but not something I could handle more than once.
Very dark brown with light brown head. Even though I knew from the label what to expect it was surprising with a beer smelling and tasting like indian food. Lots of curry in both taste and aroma. Not much of the roasted malt to sense in the aroma but I guess it does add some balance to the strong curry in the taste. The cayene (and the other spices) leave a burning in the aftertaste. The kaffir lime (I think it is) is really nice and fresh in the aroma. Full body and oily textute. I could have done with a little less burning in the aftertaste but otherwise definately original and kind of good tasting experiment.
TAP. Pours an oily black with lacing tan head.. Literaly smells like rice & curry, a touch of the lime.. So it taste like bowl of rice with chilli, it works some how, but my rating may not reflect it.. Sourced ballast point - little Italy - SD
Indra Kunindra is a bizarre beer and a remarkable achievement. Foreign Stouts have a history in India. Once upon a time, some clever Brits brewed stronger versions of Stouts (in order to withstand the months at sea) and shipped them to various parts of the world. The resulting new style became especially well-liked in India. Knowing that, I get the concept of incorporating distinctly Indian spices into a Foreign Stout, but from a tasting perspective, it sounds completely insane. It looks like your average Stout but you can see flecks floating around. That’s the first clue as to how heavily-spiced it is. You can taste and smell everything that’s been thrown in: curry, cayenne, cumin, coconut, and kaffir lime leaf. It tastes like some of the best coconut curry you’ve ever had, and it’s a black beer. Any traces of hops or booze have been totally obliterated by all the tasty spice. There’s heat here, but it’s not from booze. That burn is coming from the huge doses of cayenne, cumin, and curry. It’s hard to imagine this being done any better than it is.
Bottle.
A- Cumin, curry, coconut.
A- Black color, dark liquid, beige head.
T- Cumin, curry, coconut, lime, cayenne.
P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, slightly spicy finish.
O- Wow. This was curry in a cup. I have never tasted a beer that tasted like something else quite like this. Hell, this was more curry like than some curry I’ve had. You can see all the spices floating in the glass. Definitely not something I want to drink a lot of, but I can really appreciate it. Unique as hell and does exactly what it means to do. Coconut curry at it’s finest.
Like coconut? Like curry? Bask in the glory of a cumin covered stout that shouldn’t work but somehow does.
Share it with your friends and show them how far beer has come.
650ml bottle. Aroma is nothing but curry, and all a bit much. Taste is so much better. Coconut, curry, spice, a little lime and then a chocolate stout underneath. Insane. And really nice.
Can a beer be a trainwreck, but also kinda good? This was odd, to say the least. I got some traditional chocolatey stout flavors, but the cayenne, curry, and coconut were evident, as well. Didn’t really pick the lime. I doubt I could drink more than one at a sitting, but I liked this...
Dark red color. Thick, bubbley tan head that collapses into a medium collar. Smell fire roasted tomato. Smell cayenne. It smells spicey. Thin body. Tad bit spicey. It taste like Indian food. The aroma is way to overpowering when you take a drink. It affects the taste of the beer. The finish lingers in the mouth. I like this beer but wish the aroma was toned down.
Tallahassee, Fl - on tap at Growler Country. Deep, dark black pour, thick khaki colored head, nice lacing. Aroma of olives, peppers. Flavor has a nice roasted presence to it, nice pepper burn, some olives, a touch of bittersweet baking chocolate. Nice thick, rich mouthfeel.
Draft at Ballast Point. Black pour. Smells like a curry dish, really wird, with some pine and herbs as well, bit like a Tandoori. Taste has lots of spicey curry herbs ass well, with some malt, lots of tandoori and a hotness that starts burning heavier and heavier. Really unique, never had anything like this before. Nice.
Tap at Thrash Zone. Spicy, curry powder, thats about it. Seems wrong but I quite like it. Little burn at the end. Some sweet roastiness, bit of milky caramel. Definitely interesting but might struggle with a pint.
bomber from craftbeertemple. wow, but not sure i’d have it again, curry nose, huge cinnamon, chile heat, harsh, creamy. even a beer non-lover allowed, "definitely one of the best beers i’ve had".
Poured a porter brown with an ok head and decent lacing all the way down. Aromas and flavors of curry, coconut, and Ceyenne. Nice zing on the lips and the lime came out in the flavors as it warmed too. Mouthfeel was warming and moderate in body. Rated for what it tried to be, overall score given based on a blend of the experience and whether I would want another one. A bit too much in the latter category, although an interesting one time experience.
Bottle poured a clear dark brown hue w/ large creamy tan head. Bold cumin and curry aromas. Initial flavor is light sweet w/ a bold heat and light bitter finish. Tastes are toast, madras curry, cayenne pepper, cumin, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime leaf. Medium bodied and heavily spiced, leaves a lasting cayenne burning sensation on the lips and throat.
Bottle. Moderate dark chocolate for the malt, light resin for the hops, dough for the yeast, with maple syrup, and lots of curry with the cumin really standing out. Head is small, frothy, light beige, with a spot or two of lacing and is fully diminishing. Color is dark brown. Flavor starts lightly to moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet and bitter. Palate is on the fuller side of medium, a bit syrupy, with a soft to lively carbonation and about a three star worth of heat. While drinking this Spice Beer you tend to forget it’s a beer and begin to drift off to your favorite Indian restaurant...unless you hate Indian cuisine. Then you recoil in disgust over the sickening presence of all that curry spice.
Draft. Strong curry, chocolate malt, and light hay aroma. Dark brown with moderate head. Mildly sweet chocolate malt, and strong curry/cayenne flavor. Nice body. Delivers on the spices.
Pours black with thick light brown head. A strong curry and Indian spice aroma. A surprising taste of curry and spices with chocolate, malt and coffee. A lingering curry spice aftertaste.
Bomber poured into a pint glass. Aroma is curry with pepper at first. Gets more complex with every sip. Definitely not an all the time beer, but I appreciate the uniqueness.
Taste: bold India curry spices with coconut sweet, herbal tea notes and peppery heat.
Complex herbal lime and curry nose.
Black, opaque, with a thick tan head, some lace. Medium/full body. Like drinking an Indian buffet.
Dark brown, tan head. Aroma is mainly turmeric, but yeah, curry. Taste is the same, and spicy , with hot chili, and some hint of chocolate. Very interesting beer, kudos for making it. Thanks, Dan