Ballast Point Thai Chili Wahoo
Our Thai Chili Wahoo is a favorite in our tasting rooms for its complex balance of heat and spice. Orange and coriander have long been a part of our trademark Wahoo White. In this edition, we added a dose of Thai chilis, even more heat from ginger, and a counterpunch of lime. The flavors in this beer need to be experienced first-hand, so grab one and try it for yourself.
3.4
166 reviews
San Diego, United States
Community reviews
22oz bomber pours with a clear pale gold body that supports a weak white head. The aroma offers up ‘beer’ notes followed by chili pepper, floral hops, lavender, lime and then a modest shard of ginger spice. The taste delivers an initial blend of smooth soft sweet malts, some sweetened lime citrus and a building chili pepper meat sensation. The chili pepper note quickly ramps up into chili pepper hot burn all across the palate and reaching a non negligible level. Into the finish, noticeable below the chili pepper burn, is a murmur of flowery ginger spice. Interesting beer but if the chili burn was turned down a notch the improved balance would provide a better drinking experience.
Waho-ho-holy shit. I’ve drank white ale to help curb spiciness before. This beer would be a really poor choice for that. This Wahoo variant has a hell of a lot of Thai chili bite and gives this beer an equally pungent nose. While it’s balanced well with the wheat and other spices, it will kick your ass if you drink too greedily. You get some juicy citrus notes from the lime and lemongrass and a fair amount of savory coriander. The oils from the lemongrass and chili linger at the finish. Guess which one you notice more... This is artfully done, but still rather intense. Certainly not something for everyone.
Bottle.
A- Chilies, limes, lemongras, ginger.
A- Yellow color, hazy liquid, white head.
T-Very spicy, lime, chilies.
P- Light body, average texture, average carbonation, spicy finish.
O- This smelled fantastic. Like a bowl of Pho at a Vietnamese joint. Unbelieveable. The flavor was about the same except with a shit ton of chilies in it. Way to spicy and couldn’t even finish half a bottle. Too bad it’s not more mild.
BO date of March 11. Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a tulip glass. Lively carbonation and light body negate any head on this one. Cloudy deep yellow, almost orange color. I’m getting chili foremost in the aroma with a hint of ginger. In tasting the basic white style with sweet and mild wheat. Maybe a hint of lime and ginger. The chili kicks in and lingers for a long time. Refreshing and not too spicy.
Really gingery spicy aroma. Smells like Thai food. Pours a soft of hazy yellow color with a head that vanishes immediately. Really really lively on the tongue. Super sharp. They’ve nailed the Thai side of it. Super dry. Light body. The flavor is really intense. Overly. It’s out of balance.
Draft. Herbal lemongrass, thai chilis, and biscuit malt aroma. Straw with small head. Moderately sweet thai chili, lemongrass, biscuit malt, and straw flavor. Nice body. Pretty good.
Pours a murky golden with nearly no head at all. Spicy chili on the nose. Soft mouthfeel with ample chili heat on the rear of the palate. Big grilled chili flavor.
Pours hazy light lemon with a disappearing white head. Aromas of coriander, floral detergent, chili, thai basilika, lime, ginger, citrus. Taste is floral and herbal with massive chili notes. Also some spices. Mouthfeel is thin with low carbonation.
What’s good: manages to accomplish what it sets out to do, being weird.
What could be better: some more body and better balance.
Pours cloudy golden with fast disappearing head
Aromas intense of red chilies, thai basil, hints of citrus
Taste has intense heat of red chili, hints of spices
Sampled at CBC in Clayton. It poured a hazy yellow color with an off-white head. The aroma was of Thai chili, ginger and lime. The taste was similar to the aroma with more Thai chili, a little heat, citrus, herbs and lime. It had a medium body with nice carbonation. Good stuff.
This is an excellent beer. It's got a little kick to it but it doesn't take away from the taste and flavor of the wahoo base. I love this brew!!
Tap@Bishops Arms (Savoy), Malmö (09/07/2016) - yellow pour with white head. Aroma and taste is fruity with a citrus edge of lime and lemon, some herbal spices, ginger, then some overt chilli comes in and overrides everything else, didnt get on with this
Taste: bold hot spice, ginger, lime, smokey, chili. Herbal delicate nose. Pale gold, mostly clear, average head, medium body. would pair well with spicy dishes.
Bottle from Safeway in Redwood City, CA. Had low expectations since I didn’t enjoy the Habanero Sculpin. Much better than expected! Aroma is ginger, galanga, Tom Yum Soup. Taste is spicy but dissipates quickly. Could have used a touch more lime / lemongrass. An excellent Thai Soup of a beer.
Keg @ Örebro Ölcafe. Hazy straw golden, short lasting head, disappearing quickly and completely. Thai food aroma, coriander, chili, ginger and even glass nudes. Living up to its name. A big chili punch in the face, really hot with chili, lime and coriander. The liquid is soft and smooth but the taste really burns. Cooking with it yes, drinking more of it, not for me.
Looks exactly like apple juice. Exactly. Same color, juicy appearance, no head.
Aroma is a mild wheaty base,quickly followed by a very strong habanero component that wafts up into the upper nostril. Like the back of the nasal cavity. Some grass clippings. Strong but very interesting.
Flavor is the strong burn of jalapenos and habanero. There is just a touch of some lemony witbier business at the end to cushion the blow. Still, it’s no joke.
The feel is very buttery and oily. There is a very strong burn that sticks on the palate. Like most of its ilk, it is good for a small sample one-off. Anything more would be tongue-punishment.
Pours hazy golden yellow with almost no fizz. Smells of citrus and spice. Taste is sweet, citrus, spice. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture and soft mouth-carbonation, Ballast Point Thai Chili Wahoo finishes with a lingering spiciness.
Pours a hazy yellow with almost no head. Aroma is heavy chili with notes of ginger and lime. Definitely a hot chili beer.
Aroma of chili assaults the nose. Difficult to smell anything else, although on subsequent sniffs I believe I can detect a hint of lime. Pours a hazy lemon yellow. Very spicy. It is burning the back of my mouth. No doubting this is a chili beer. Not very complex. Cannot taste either the lime or the ginger. The body is light. Carbonation is average. Overall, not a bad beer for a hot day.
651 ml. bottle. Pours a thin, poorly retained, off white head, with no lacing, over a hazy yellow (SRM 3) body.........nose is moderate Thai chili, light lemon, stronger lime, minimal malts and hops, balance to the adjuncts.......taste is slightly sweet with light wheat, mild lemon/lime, and heavy Thai chili, light ginger, mild malts and hops, with very heavy long lingering chili heat......mouth feel, light body, no alcohol, high carbonation. The base beer is very light and utterly dominated by the chili, with the ginger and lime making lighter contributions. The base beer could use a rework. BJCP 6/2/12/4/6
Overall: Ehhm, hot.
Note: On-tap at De Klomp. Reviewed 2016-06-18.
On tap at Örebro Ölcafé. Spicy smell with chili. It really smells thai, like a thai curry. Similar taste. Very spicy and hot with a strong afterburn. Nice in small amounts, a bit too hot for me though.
[8167-20160429] 650mL bottle. Fragrant lime zest fruity floral cleaning products aroma. Slightly hazy, light yellow orange body with a quick foamy white head. Wahoo yes it’s a GD hot chili lemon beer, now get it the fxck outta my mouth. Ugh. Very little patience on this one, but I’m aware I’m not the target customer either. (6/3/1/1/1) 1.2
(c/o blankboy, w/ him, HogTownHarry, jercraigs)
Glass at the ballast point brewery. Pours a light yellow. Tai chili gives it a nice heat, but it's not too much. Ok.
Pours yellow with a greenish tint and a rapidly dissolving head. Yeast, cardamon, coriander, lime, chili and ginger aroma. Yeast, coriander, lime and ginger flavors with a chili finish. Light body and lively carbonation. Better than expected but expectations were low.
2016-04-29. Lightly hazy pale yellow body, nice foamy white head. 3++ Aroma of lime and ginger up front, hints at lemongrass, chili, grassy wheat. 7+ Flavour is lovely for about two seconds, lime and wheat, then a large amount of hot chili. Burns at the back of the throat. Average bodied palate, good carbonation. Pleasantly reminds me a bit of a spicy lemongrass soup. Way too much chili for me unfortunately. 7/3/6-7/3/13-14 Bottle shared by Blankboy.
Bottle. Pale golden beer with a whitish head. Spicy chili aroma with light wheat. Spicy chili flavor with light citrus. Medium bodied. Spicy chili lingers with light citrus and light wheat.
draft at holy grail. aroma of peppers, citrus, nice med palate; some heat, nice wheat and light citrus. well balanced with heat, wheat, hops. good brew.
Draught at The flying dog, Stockholm
Hazy yellow with a white head.
Rather light, spicy aroma.
Overwhelming chili in the flavour. Not My cup of tea!
Bomber from Whole Foods PM and Capone’s. Pours hazy golden with white, fizzy head. Nose was pale malty, hops, peppers. Tastes pale malty with heavy chili pepper flavor and significant Scoville heat. Not overwhelming heat like the ghost beers, but intense. Late hops, but the peppers take center stage in this, and it works for me.