Blue Point Hoptical Illusion

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

Aroma of citrus hops, some malt also, golden? tiny cream head, some lace. Taste has a nice hoppy start, malt follows. Well balanced, medium bodied. Decent.

(cask at Gingerman) Partly cloudy copper body with a long lasting white head. Intense oak, pine and orange zest aroma. Body felt tailor made for a cask conditioning, soft, viscous and oily. This oily texture holds together eathy spices and citrus fruits flavours. The malt is there to support the flavours but not add to them. The carbonation was very soft even by cask standards. As far as american IPAs are concerned this one is more refreshing than aggressive. Very good. If you drink six of them, women start to look better than they really are, that’s what I call a Hoptical Illusion.

12-oz. Thanks, FranksnBeans! Pours rubied amber with a thin white film after a bit of suds splash around atop for a second. Modest fruity nose, very subdued. Medium body, soft carb. Restrained flavors throughout--light orange pith and some caramelish business on the mid-palate, and a little resiny finish. Very restrained...in San Diego this would be an APA.

Courtesy of tpd975. I love the name of this beer. Very cool. It pours clear gold with white head. The aroma is sweet with mild grapefruit, tangelo and orange peel. The taste is much the same with a pulse of sweet orange juice mixed with grapefruit juice. The grapefruit builds and bitters as the taste progresses. The bitterness seems to peak at the finish and leaves a tasty sensation behind. Feels a bit on the watery side from time to time.

Blue point hoptical illusion minimal aroma, soft cat box some leafy floral hops sweet malt lime in flavor as well. A little funky hop, citrus and sweet malt. A touch of sour citrus fruit drikns pleasant. Golden with thin head spotty lace. 7 3 7 3 14

Firkin: Aroma of floral hops and black pepper. Poured a cloudy copper/amber with a small white head that diminished quickly. Small lacing. Flavor of hops! Unbalanced toward hops. Notes of grapefruit, resin, and sneakers. Bitter finish. Light to medium body. Soft carbonation.

(12 oz bottles: Obtained in trades with goldtwins and shadey, thanks Larry and Shane!) Best Before February, 2006, so one month to spare. This beer has the unenviable task of following my drinking a bomber of the incredible AleSmith IPA, so I’m gonna take my time with this one. That said, this still is clearly a very fine IPA. Very hoppy and moderately bitter, but it’s also very fruity and sweet, with pale malts, an obvious tea character, some graininess, and a slight chalky flavor. The beer clean, hoppy, herbal nose with what surely seems like a hint of anise. Medium-full bodied, moderate crispness from the hops, solid carbonation, slight dusty and chalky mouthfeel. The body is golden in color and very hazy in appearance, with a tall and fluffy off-white head providing a three-finger-tall crown that shows excellent retention and leaves dense, ringed lacing behind. Pretty solid IPA, I’d rather it be a bit less fruity and more malty, but it’s still quite enjoyable and worthy. And as an aside, I have also opened the older bottle of this beer, and of course, the hops is quite muted, but the fruitiness and the sweet tea character have totally taken over the flavor. Both are quite good in their own way, and I don’t think I have a preference of one over the other.

(Draught at Akkurat, Stockholm, 24 Nov 2007) Pale amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Fruity, hoppy nose with citrussy notes of orange and mandarin. Fruity, aromatic taste with notes of orange peel, spruce needles and floral hops in a finish with brilliantly balanced bitterness. Malt and caramel lingers in the background. Nice balance, hoppy and tasty without being overly aggressive. Very nice beer.