Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The milk stout route

Mind, heart, and soul went into Ballast Point’s Oompa Lupus

Oompa Lupus, what do you see? A stout made with orange, chocolate, and chilies to fight a terrible malady.
Oompa Lupus, what do you see? A stout made with orange, chocolate, and chilies to fight a terrible malady.

I felt like I’d unwrapped a foil-sheathed candy bar to reveal a golden ticket and been ushered to the site where some of my favorite things are made — specifically, the exotic specialty beers of the Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits empire.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Most of those beers come courtesy of company VP Colby Chandler, who spends most of his production time at the pilot brewery housed at BP’s Little Italy bar and restaurant. That was where I found myself one day, eyes lit up like Charlie taking in Wonka’s lair. But unlike him, I wasn’t just watching beer get made, I was making it happen. It all happened under Chandler’s watchful eye as he helped me brew up the latest beer in my lupus research and awareness campaign, Beer to the Rescue.

When I initially contacted Chandler, he jokingly suggested we make a beer called Oompa Lupus, following that comment with, “too soon?” I told him it was just what I wanted — something that clearly referred to the topic I was trying to educate the public about, but in a way that’s the opposite of depressing.

Working off that clever name (which refers to Wonka’s orange-skinned confectionary legionnaires known as Oompa-Loompas), I suggested an imperial stout brewed with chocolate and orange. Chandler liked it and opted to go the milk stout route, adding lactose to up the beer’s viscosity and bring in added sweetness. I only had one more request. Given Chandler is arguably better than any other brewer in the world at infusing peppers into beer, I asked that we do that with this beer. Low-heat, rattler-like cascabel chilies is what we ended up going with.

I’ve had the good fortune of participating in several brews, but I’ve never been allowed to play as big a role in the process as with Oompa Lupus. I emptied every grain sack into the mill, pushed the buttons, opened and shut the valves, tested the wort, made entries on the brewer’s log, grained out, ground the cacao nibs, stemmed and chopped the chilies, washed down the brewhouse, and even polished some stainless. (I’m certain that old mill never glistened so brilliantly.)

The result is a beer I’m proud of — mainly due to how tasty it is. Coming in at 8.7% alcohol-by-volume, it drinks nice and smooth, bringing in a semisweet, velveteen chocolatiness that’s uplifted by the citrusy oil from pounds of hand-zested navel oranges. Each sip is like taking a bite out of break-apart chocolate-orange candy. A hint of anise-like flavor lingers in the finish, perhaps from those raisiny chilies.

As this is a one-off brew, it’s something I’ll be sad to see go, but I will relish it for as long as they can keep it on tap. Given the beer tapped on Thursday, April 2, its end will come sooner than later, so make like Charlie and run straight to Ballast Point. Run straight to Ballast Point and don’t stop until you get there.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Holiday Guide – like none other

Candle-making, tree lighting, pajama jam
Oompa Lupus, what do you see? A stout made with orange, chocolate, and chilies to fight a terrible malady.
Oompa Lupus, what do you see? A stout made with orange, chocolate, and chilies to fight a terrible malady.

I felt like I’d unwrapped a foil-sheathed candy bar to reveal a golden ticket and been ushered to the site where some of my favorite things are made — specifically, the exotic specialty beers of the Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits empire.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Most of those beers come courtesy of company VP Colby Chandler, who spends most of his production time at the pilot brewery housed at BP’s Little Italy bar and restaurant. That was where I found myself one day, eyes lit up like Charlie taking in Wonka’s lair. But unlike him, I wasn’t just watching beer get made, I was making it happen. It all happened under Chandler’s watchful eye as he helped me brew up the latest beer in my lupus research and awareness campaign, Beer to the Rescue.

When I initially contacted Chandler, he jokingly suggested we make a beer called Oompa Lupus, following that comment with, “too soon?” I told him it was just what I wanted — something that clearly referred to the topic I was trying to educate the public about, but in a way that’s the opposite of depressing.

Working off that clever name (which refers to Wonka’s orange-skinned confectionary legionnaires known as Oompa-Loompas), I suggested an imperial stout brewed with chocolate and orange. Chandler liked it and opted to go the milk stout route, adding lactose to up the beer’s viscosity and bring in added sweetness. I only had one more request. Given Chandler is arguably better than any other brewer in the world at infusing peppers into beer, I asked that we do that with this beer. Low-heat, rattler-like cascabel chilies is what we ended up going with.

I’ve had the good fortune of participating in several brews, but I’ve never been allowed to play as big a role in the process as with Oompa Lupus. I emptied every grain sack into the mill, pushed the buttons, opened and shut the valves, tested the wort, made entries on the brewer’s log, grained out, ground the cacao nibs, stemmed and chopped the chilies, washed down the brewhouse, and even polished some stainless. (I’m certain that old mill never glistened so brilliantly.)

The result is a beer I’m proud of — mainly due to how tasty it is. Coming in at 8.7% alcohol-by-volume, it drinks nice and smooth, bringing in a semisweet, velveteen chocolatiness that’s uplifted by the citrusy oil from pounds of hand-zested navel oranges. Each sip is like taking a bite out of break-apart chocolate-orange candy. A hint of anise-like flavor lingers in the finish, perhaps from those raisiny chilies.

As this is a one-off brew, it’s something I’ll be sad to see go, but I will relish it for as long as they can keep it on tap. Given the beer tapped on Thursday, April 2, its end will come sooner than later, so make like Charlie and run straight to Ballast Point. Run straight to Ballast Point and don’t stop until you get there.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader