Historically on the Sunday before Christmas, Ballast Point has “made a date with darkness” in reverence to its flagship seasonal 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.
Bypassing celebrations altogether in 2020, Ballast Point decided to postpone its 7th annual “Victory at Sea Day” last December and gave the “darkest day of the year” a slight makeover in February of this year. Instead of one day, Ballast Point extended the celebration of dark beers over several days. The tradition continues this December, makeover in tow, and the beloved annual celebration of all things Victory at Sea returns for its 8th year.
The ticketed “Victory at Sea Days” will feature the seasonal original porter along with nine extremely rare variations, as voted on by employees, at all Ballast Point Southern California taprooms the weekend of December 17th – 19th, with VIP launches planned for the Friday evening kick-off.
Tickets for “Victory at Sea Days” are available at various price points and, depending on the level, include:
● Four, 4 oz. tasters of Victory at Sea and variations
● A branded Victory at Sea collectable pint glass
● Victory at Sea sticker, eyepatch, and coin
● Victory at Sea koozie
● One 4-pack of specialty release Chai Victory at Sea 16 oz. cans
Ballast Point’s Long Beach, Miramar HQ, and Little Italy tasting rooms, as well as Home Brew Mart will host ticketed VIP “Victory at Sea Days” kick-off parties on Friday, December 17th from 5-9PM. VIP (victory is present!) access tickets include Victory at Sea tasters, a pint of choice, branded merch, and Victory at Sea Chai 4-pack, as well as appetizers and a 750 ml bottle of Barrel Aged Victory at Sea.
Featured Victory at Sea variations on draft during December’s “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. The original Victory at Sea is also currently available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans at all Ballast Point tasting room locations.
S’mores Victory at Sea 10% – Everyone’s favorite childhood treat, now in adult beer form! Victory at Sea infused with flavors of graham cracker, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow, which will fill you with warmth with or without the campfire.
Chai Victory at Sea 10% – Victory At Sea infused with the warm, rich flavors of masala chai, with aromatic notes of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black pepper.
Salted Caramel Victory at Sea 10% – This dessert-like spin on the original Imperial Porter is the perfect marriage of sweet and savory, bursting with caramel flavor and a touch of sea salt.
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.
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.
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 and various quantities at each location.
Buy tickets now!
Tickets to the “Victory at Sea Days” celebration December 17th-19th, at Ballast Point Southern California tasting rooms (Miramar, Home Brew Mart, Little Italy, Anaheim, Long Beach) are $30/$45/$60/$80 each and are available for purchase online here. 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 here.
See you there, San Diego!
