Blue Point, Finally! (Hoptical Illusion)

So, just a few days after telling you that I can't find any Blue Point beers at local distributors or 6-pack shops, I walked into GunTown Beer around 10 PM and was close to grabbing a few singles of Saranac's (Matt Brewing Company) Black Forest, a Black Lager, and right in my line of sight were two options from Blue Point Brewing Company in Long Island, NY. Hooray!

The options were: Amber Lager or Hoptical Illusion (an Indian Pale Ale), a brew I had just heard about. I might be generalizing horribly, but I avoided the Amber Lager because I was in no way impressed by Leinenkugel's Classic Amber. I thought it was too earthy, like Dixie Jazz Amber Light, a brew I tried a few years ago in Gallipolis, OH, that was such an antithesis of my style that I brought the remaining 5 beers from the 6-pack home to a friend. He felt completely the same way about its taste.



The alcohol content in Blue Point's Hoptical Illusion is 6.8%, a level not entirely uncommon for IPA's, but higher than some (Sierra Nevada's IPA is 5.6% ABV, but the brewery also puts out a brew called Torpedo Extra Ale that lands at 7.2%, yikes!). Hoptical Illusion starts out expressing the usual Indian Pale Ale qualities, but halts right before your anticipation for aromatic hoppy flavor proceeds into the realm of expectation. The aromatic hoppy flavors that I'm used to, and I'm sure that you are used to as well, are no where to be found.

Hoptical Illusion is drinkable, and in some respects, enjoyable, but it lacks the well-known IPA flavor that is to be expected when up against IPA aficionados. And what's up with the stale, funky, caramel after taste at the end of my first beer? I just finished, seriously, as I'm writing this, and a strange Milky Way flavor from 1973 just showed up in my mouth. The aftertaste is even coupled with that odd and abnormal, almost indescribable taste that I'm prone to experiencing when throwing back a light, domestic, American Lager from one of the Big-3. Come to think of it, it may be a byproduct of fermentation in stainless steel conicals. The taste is like the foot odor of the beer world. Maybe my buds are just off. Hell, I'm going to have a few more. I still like the beer, and I'm happy to see Blue Point found its way into my zip code. It's just missing the element I think most Indian Pale Ale drinkers go to the particular style of beer for, and that's why I'm telling you, in case you're one of those folks. Still, it's worth a try. After all, I remember chatting with a guy at Krogers in Ripley, WV that disliked Harpoon's IPA because it was "flowery," obviously referring to the hops. All issues aside, here's to Blue Point: Let's hope they send out a few of their delicious Rye beers soon.