Blue Point Hoptical Illusion

Brewed by Blue Point Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Patchogue, New York USA

Bottle courtesy of eaglefan538. Aroma was more malted and floral. Golden body with decent head. Flavor had more of the malty chewy sweetness and less of the citrus thus just an ordinary IPA. Malty sweet aftertaste on palate. Good refreshment as any IPA is for me.

Nice copper/orange coloured body with a small white head. Aroma of fresh hops, good malt, apricots and oranges. Medium-bodied; Strong hoppy flavour that lasts for quite a while with a good spicey finish and a malty taste throughout. Aftertaste shows hops and a good malt backbone. Overall, more of a stronger APA, but a decent beer overall. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased at Oliver’s Beverages in Albany, New York at the Eastern Shore of Virginia on 04-February-2006.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev & jerc - courtesy of HogTownHarry. Clear amber-gold with a small, quick head. Big aroma of leafy hops and sour pine. Typical body and flavour for the style. Not bad, but no real character or uniqueness to get excited about. Meh.

12oz bottle via trade as a bonus with Notalush - Thanks Brandon! - Pours amber with a short white creamy head that stays well and laces the glass. Aromas of apricot, and light grapefruit over light caramel malts. Flavor is lots of apricot, some definite grapefruit at times. Good malt background with some sweet caramel and some grainy notes as well. Fairly bitter on the finish. Palate is light and well carbonated. Pretty clean feeling IPA overall. Very well balanced and quite drinkable

Bottle, drank Dec 05, best before Mar 06: Light orange with a flowery grassy hops aroma, medium bodied with a bitter start and finish, light carbonation with small bubbles.

12 oz bottle, via rudolf. Pours a bright copper body under a fluffy white head. No sediment in bottle. Citric and piney hop aroma, with some toasted and light toffee maltiness. Aggressively hopped flavor, but rather one dimensional in the hop profile. Fairly light in the malt leading to an unbalanced flavor. Light to medium bodied with prickly and fizzy carbonation. Overall a run of the mill IPA, a little unbalanced, heavily filtered, with fizzy carbonation.

Best Before Date March 2006, Sampled January 2006
Pours with a frothy light tan colored head that sits atop a bright, full copper colored beer. The aroma is sharp, with fruity notes of grapefruit, orange peel, lemon zest, and some light pine notes. There is a bit of sharp acidity to it as well as a hint of toasty malt notes. The taste is quite a bit more slanted towards the herbal/ pine hop notes. The citrus is definitely here, but not as much as was in the nose. I think this is mainly because the beer does not have a lot of sweetness; the touch of sweetness that it does have accentuates some notes of grapefruit and tangerine. A solid bitterness runs throughout this beer, yet the finish is not as lingeringly bitter as I would expect / hope.

The beer is actually quite light on the palate, it makes for easy quaffing, but I think that it in some ways hinders the hops in this beer. In the end this beer is enjoyable, but seems to be lacking in some respects.

Bottle from Goldtwins. Thanks, Larry!
Pours average amber with a nice white head and lacing. Aroma is strong candied grapefruit; very sweet. Flavor is a mix of grapefruit, hops, and Sweet-N-Low. Average mouthfeel. Good but not great. A very approachable IPA; I’d have this one at BBQs.