Blue Point Hoptical Illusion

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

Pours to a lovely, inviting hue of mandarin orange. Brightly hazed, like the sun through fog; a thin film of milk foam. Aroma is dried out green spices, grassy minerals, cotton candy, graham cracker and cookie dough. Balanced and quite understated. Flavor is a barren but soft bitterness of dried grass and pinecone hops; hints of jasmine tea, rosewater, and sesame seeds. Vague buttery sweetness riding on burnt corn kernels. Plenty of raw, bitter grapefruit and tangerine zest, but no real fruit qualities. Some wetter sweetness of malt leaks in on the mid palate with toffee and honey. Palate is creamy and dry; light to medium in body, and brisk. Finishes with a pleasant floral hop perfume; putting aside the dying whimpers of diacetyl and the hop presence that could stand a little more freshness, this is a refreshing, careful and delicate example. Thanks Larry!

Bonus from NYbeer, pours golden copper with a three finger frothy egg shell colored head. The nose is IIPA hoppy with pieapple, floral hop and caramel sweet malt. The flavor is a bit more subdued and dry, but very well balanced. Earthy, dry and bitterness in the finish.

Brewtopia 11-12-05. Poured hazy yellow with good size head. Nose was big hops, and citrus. This was a fine IPA, good mouth feel and sweet/hop after taste.

Draught: This one pours a clear, lighter amber color. There was a bit of a white head on it that leaves some lacing. Decent enough aroma. Grapefruit nose with a hint of pine. The taste is decently bitter, with some grapefruit and pine notes. Pretty well balanced with a decent malt body. A very good example of an IPA.

Would quite possibly have rated higher had this been chilled ever so much more. I blame it on the freak of a woman that ran the B&B I was in and her incessant rambling, thus keeping me from throwing it back in fridge for just a bit. That and the heat wave making all of Long Island muggy. That said, this had plenty of piney, floral character and nice bittering with the malt. Other than the usual elements found in a decent IPA and wishing that for once I might have been drinking the dreaded "ice cold beer" all was okay and not a lot more. Perhaps I’ll luck into a tap or another bottle and rethink the matter.

Light apricot color with a thick white head that falls quickly. Big hops and a little bit of citrus and yeast. Thin body with more bitterness. Finish has a hint of metal reminiscent of zinc tablets to go with even more hops.

Lightish Orange body, pretty quickly fading head. Great, strongly hoppy aroma - as expected with a good IPA. The flavor is also true to the style: A hint of sweetness, a good sharp bite. This is a nice bitter one for sure! The hops do linger, and they are definetly the highlight of the beer. Some grapefruit, some...green apple also. A nice new IPA without the sticky sweetness of many of the West Coast IPA’s.
Earlier Rating: 7/25/2004 Total Score: 3.8
A decent IPA, but without a strong kick like I expect from the best IPA’s. I agree with Notalush about BP’s ESB - that is, their ESB is smoother and just as well-hopped, as well as cheaper. A nice beer that I would happily drink again.

Bottle. Citrus / grapefruity / grassy hops and a little bit of malt in the aroma. The malt flavor in this one is a little bready followed by the grassy citrus hop aftertaste. Good but not quite there.