Blue Point Hoptical Illusion

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

(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.

12oz Bottle: Honeyish deep golden pour with an off-white one-finger head. Very aromatic. Lemon citrus, orangey, sweet tangerine and only a hint of pale malt. The flavor is a lot more bitter than the aroma suggests. Seems harsh and bitter, more grapefruity. Lacks malt bite in my opinion. Loads of bittering hops, with nothing to hold up the body. Long, piney, bitter rind-like finish. Not so balanced.

(On tap at The Old Toad, Rochester) Brilliant, rich hop aroma was up there with the best of them. Unfortunately, the flavor wasn’t so strong, with mild hopping and a very thin, disappointing palate. Still, quite quaffable and a decent. brew.

Bottle: Translucent golden, moderate foamy white head, fairly attractive lacing, light carbonation.   Wet hop aroma, fairly subtle, with very minor sweaty sock.   Soft hop tea up front, hops linger yet the bitterness is actually quite mild.   This is a very gentle IPA.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel, for as passive as this is.   A lighter sessionable IPA, tasty!   Thanks Dan!

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 05/05/2009. Very clear amber body with a medium frothy off-white head. Sweet floral and citrus hop aroma with some faint suguary caramel in the background. Sweet citrus and piney hop flavor with some caramel, somewhat cloying. Medium body with moderate carbonation. This would have been much better if the lovely hop aroma had followed into the flavor.

My goodness, you stick some hops in a beer and gets you ranked in the 80’s. Anyway, this bottle, courtesy of Hogtown Harry, poured a dark yellow and had some sharp sweet hops in the aroma. Taste was surprisingly mild though - I actually found it way too sweet and lacking in bitterness (keeping in mind I had this directly after Big A IPA). I found this pretty bland which was too bad, I love the name.

Bottle via axilla. Best by mar, 06. The brew pours to a golden amber body with a gold hue to it. There is a dense and creamy/rocky white head. Excellent lacing. The aroma is hoppy with pine and peaches. Decent malt to it. The flavor is malty and bitter with pine and citrus hops. Light grapefruit and peaches. The palate is creamy, medium bodied with a light lasting bitterness and good feel. I could drink a bunch of this. Very malty for an IPA.

Bottled. Mild aroma. Fruity with hoppy undertone, but rather dull and stale for an IPA. A bit of sour milk, too. Dull golden-amber clear, with thin off-white lacing head. Medium watery body with medium to light carbonation. Starts with some caramel malt, light brown sugar and some neutral fruity sweetness. A bit of astringent graininess and followed by mild dull hop bitterness. Medium sweet tang at the end that goes well with the bitterness, but it just a bit heavy to suit the palate. Unbalanced. After is medium dry bitterness with semi sweet brown sugar.