Home > Hoptical Illusion Brewed by Blue Point Brewing - Patchogue, NY
Hoptical Illusion Brewed by Blue Point Brewing - Patchogue, NY
Blue Point Hoptical Illusion Brewed by Blue Point Brewing Company -
Patchogue, New York
Classic, American-style India Pale Ale features a rare hop grown exclusively
on a small farm in Oregon. One taste and you'll understand why BPBC bought
the entire crop. Hoptical Illusion IPA is brewed with a generous amount of
this select hop that's added five different ways for maximum hop flavor. The
delicious, resiny, citrus-burst that you taste is the "Essence of the Hop"
which is balanced by a malty backbone yielding an intense, golden ale. 6.08
ABV.
Beer Review by Beer Advocate
Hoptical Illusion opens with a fruity, hoppy nose that is instantly enticing.
The aromas seem split fairly evenly between oranges, apricots, berries, and
touches of pineapple, and citrusy grapefruits and hints of pine resin from the
hops. A light undercurrent of wheat bread and biscuit lies just beneath,
providing a nice grounding effect. Overall, the nose is nicely sugary and hoppy,
though far less hoppy than I would have expected, given the beer's name.
On the tongue, the beer opens with an immediate hop flavor blast that proves the
name is still relevant. Huge pine and grapefruit rind notes dominate here, along
with a good smattering of earthy, vinous hop oils that bring stem-like qualities
to the hop profile. Bitterness is not excessive--60 IBUs--but the hop flavors
are full, nuanced, and delightful, and better yet, retain much of their strength
through subsequent mouthfuls. The beer does boast other flavors, including a
nice complement of orange and apricot fruit esters, as well as brown sugars and
touches of wheat bread. But the hops take center stage here, as well as largely
dominating the aftertaste, which burns with grapefruit rind and pine, and
lingers for a long time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.
Overall, this is an excellent IPA, bearing not only a good amount of bitterness,
but a balanced and flavorful hop profile that avoids the pitfalls of its
single-flavor competitors by offering a variety of tastes, all the way from
grapefruit to pine to dandelion stem. Better, the beer contains just enough
sugar to support the bitterness, but not enough to overpower it. Good fare.
Blue Point Brewing Company
Since 1998 we've been handcrafting some of the finest microbrews around. Our
traditional 30-barrel English brew house in Patchogue, Long Island produces a
complex portfolio of more than 15 tasty beers that have made us one of the
fastest growing microbreweries in the United States.
Brewing isn’t just our business, it's our passion. We’re beer people. We started
Blue Point Brewing Company because we wanted to make beer we would want to
drink. To quench that desire, we select only top-quality ingredients, use a
direct-fire, brick brew kettle, and brew all-natural, unpasteurized beer. It’s
this approach that put us on the world beer map – from the World Beer Cup to the
Great American Beer Festival and the Australian International Beer Awards –
we’re becoming noticed the world over. But we believe you should be the judge.
Let us know what you think, and we’ll continue brewing great beer as long as you
keep drinking it.
