Hoptical Illusion - Blue Point Brewing Company

ThePorterSorter

New York

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Cask IPAs... thank you jryans.

The beer pours a hazy, dark amber with a head that fades quickly and leaves rich white lacing down the sides. The beer is slightly warm to the touch which helps bring out bursting fruitiness reminiscent of pineapple rock candy and other various citrus fruits mellowed by the beer's intense sweetness. Tasting the beer lends a delicious blend of citrusy hops, slightly biting alcohol and tremendous sweetness. This is a highly drinkable cask ale with almost no bitterness in the aftertaste and minimal carbonation. Definitely slightly syrupy, but not gross. Tasty beer worth trying on cask!

Serving type: cask

05-14-2012 20:36:09 | More by ThePorterSorter

david18

New York

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was my review of the bottle a while back:

Everything about this beer is great except for the stated style. I would definitely call this a pale ale; not an India Pale ale. As a pale ale it's excellent. Great color, good pale ale flavor, great hop aroma and very good balance. Almost too much balance to be an IPA. Very good, however.

---

The cask version was similar and also very enjoyable.

Serving type: cask

03-22-2012 19:09:42 | More by david18

mrbeery

New York

4.93/5  rDev +30.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I just poured this out of a cask and it looks like crap. It looks flat...BUT IT'S NOT! It's cold out of the cask and it's delish. maybe I am bias cause I am a Long Island guy but this could be one of the greatest moments of my life. I am going to be at the Blue Point cask festival this month, can't tell you how hoppy I am.

Serving type: cask

03-05-2011 00:48:51 | More by mrbeery

acurtis

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bluepoint Hoptical Illusion - 6.8%
Had at Lititz cask ale festival 10/29/10
Golden color with off white head. Super fresh hoppy aroma, also notes of citrus and pine. Sweet citrus hoppy flavors with a little carmel and earthiness. Very flavorful and balanced. Crisp mouthfeel, but not as drinkable as your average fresh ipa.

Serving type: cask

11-01-2010 18:33:43 | More by acurtis

TheBCrew

New York

4.6/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hand pulled pint at Pizza Plant. Listed as "Blue Point IPA" so I assume that this is the one. Poured a hazy golden orange with a thick, creamy head. Lots of lacing. Grapefruit hop aroma. Taste starts off sweet with fruity hop bitterness taking over for a balanced finish. As is often the case with cask beer, the mouthfeel is very smooth and the beer is very drinkable due to lower carbonation levels and somewhat higher serving temperature.

Serving type: cask

05-18-2009 13:43:44 | More by TheBCrew

Lexluthor33

New York

4.3/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a mug at Blind Tiger. The color was cloudy orange with a creamy looking,frothy head. Excellent lacing.

The aroma was of hops and fruits.
The taste is slightly sweet,mild hops with fruit tones and malts in the background.The feel is so smooth and creamy. The body was medium with a mild bitterness that was hardly felt.

Notes: This was so much better from cask, so good and so worth it. This was the first time I ever had anything in cask and till this day it stays my favorite cask beer.

Serving type: cask

03-21-2009 15:13:38 | More by Lexluthor33

pandashaver

New York

4.25/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cask at Mahar's (Albany, NY)

A - Beautiful hand-pumped pour that resulted in a foamy, but also somewhat fizzy, 2 finger white head. Yellow-orange hazy body. Head retention was impressive.

S - Citrus and floral notes dominate. Oranges and maybe a little lemon, but not harsh on the fruit. Hop presence lives up to the name, at least on the the nose. Smells like flowers, as a friend agreed.

T - Very well balanced vs. typical IPAs. Not too bitter, though the hops were on both the initial taste and the lingering aftertaste. Sweetness, probably from the citrus.

M - Medium-bodied IPA. Smooth and only mildly sticky.

D - Did not destroy my palate and demand that I drink nothing else on the night. As it was my first beer and an IPA, this was good. However, it was an expensive brew that could have been a bit less watery and more complex. Overall, I would have it again (cask or bottle or 6-pack).

Serving type: cask

02-01-2009 13:33:31 | More by pandashaver

scootny

New York

4.38/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cask at the Gingerman

Beautifully clear amber. Thinly structured and fluffy head. Light retention and respectable lacing all the way don the glass as I drink. No visible carbonation.

Smell is seductive. Hoppy pine and complex florals. Significant citrus notes. A toasty malt and roasted sugars give depth and balance.

Taste is hoppy and smooth. A powerful combinatioon of grapefruit and pine that is at the same time subdued and multifaceted. Hop bomb hits first and is followed by broad maltiness. Hops while prominent, are mellow in their assertiveness as if to say " we have run of the place so no need to be pushy." Toasted malt base is firm and deep. I taste rye toast, sourdough, brewers yeast like maltiness and twang. Fruitiness from yeast esters os multilayered and difficult to pin down.

A crisp and smooth feel. Medium weight and a spot on effervescence lend cleanness and distinction to the finish.

Drinkability is superb. If I did not have a plan to sample many beers I would have stopped right here.

From tasting notes 10/4/2008

Serving type: cask

01-10-2009 04:52:54 | More by scootny

Pleepleus

New York

4.38/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this from cask at East Village Tavern in NYC. Was a cloudy apricot color with a minimal white foam head that quickly turned to a light sheen. Had a hoppy and sweet smell. Tasted of smooth hops with almost no bitterness and a sweet lasting flavor. No carbonation to speak of and this went down smooth and easy with great flavor. Awesome!

Serving type: cask

09-27-2008 20:34:55 | More by Pleepleus

SUjunkie

Rhode Island

4.43/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had 2 pints of this from a Cask at Doherty's East Ave. Irish Pub.

A hazy/cloudy orange colored beer. Frothy and thick head.

Hoppy smell with a smattering of fruit. Citrus smelling fruit.

The beer of course was at room temperature being that it was pumped from a cask. I enjoy this in a bottle and on tap, but the cask is so much better. Very smooth with a medium hop taste.

I really enjoy this beer. This is a great IPA from a cask. I could of drank many firkins of this Hoptical Illusion.

Serving type: cask

07-10-2008 22:28:50 | More by SUjunkie

Avryle

New York

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Stong earthy/floral hops.

S- Dominated by storng earthy/organig/floral hops.

T- Slightly roasted malts with strong flavors of earthy hops in the body an the finish. Definate cask-y element as well... don't know how to explain it

M- Light cask-y carbonation. Bittersweet hop finish.

D- Excellent dinkability. If it weren't fot the lack of food in by belly and that I have a hard time sleeping after drinking cask, I'd have another.

Serving type: cask

05-03-2008 00:19:06 | More by Avryle

Hoppington

New York

3/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Blue Point seems to refined the art of making smooth drinking brews, but smoothness is not something I am looking for in a hoppy beer. A great looking label, but taste wise, I am ambivalent about this beer. I think the best choice for this beer is from the cask as the temperature brings out the flavor more. But out of the bottle I was underwhelmed. Not bad but not great. The hops seem muted by the malt and other ingredients. This makes for a smooth, somewhat watery mouthfeel.

I think beers should live up to their names more. When I think Hoptical Illusion, I think a beer so complex and hoppy that it distorts reality. Didn't happen for me.

Serving type: cask

01-03-2008 16:20:38 | More by Hoppington

jeffjfindley

California

3.05/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

My first cask review, at my new favorite beer joint in the world, the Blind Tiger in Greenwich Villiage, NY.

Looks coppery and hazy, head is non-existent, more like soap bubbles. It may be the result of aftershock from the 90-minute IPA I had before this, but it really has no appreciable aroma to speak of. Flavor is nice, caramel with a nice citrus hop presence. Mouthfeel is thin and a little sticky, odd to put those two characteristics together.

This isn't bad, but some beers are much better off with carbonation. I graded some of the attributes on a curve because of the cask, but even after correcting for these things I wouldn't track this one down again.

Serving type: cask

07-17-2007 17:24:29 | More by jeffjfindley

drseamus

New York

4.18/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had this on cask at Mahar's.

A: Initially it poured very cloudy, but clears up slightly after it settles. The body falls somewhere between a straw and amber color with a think white head.

S: This beer smells like someone took, all the grapefruit from Florida and jammed it into my glass. In a word...awesome.

T: The flavor is all grapefruit as well, but with a malty background that balances it. There is a flavor or a feeling that seems to mute the citrus slightly, but I can't place it exactly.

M: This beer has an great medium body that suits the beer nicely.

D: This beer has excellent drinkability for an IPA. Ordinarily I find that I wouldn't be able to drink a bunch of IPA's, but I could handle a lot of these.

Serving type: cask

04-27-2007 23:18:31 | More by drseamus

HerrFaust

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

20 oz imperial pint off cask at Mug's

A - 1in. head, held its own. Good lacing

S - My nose is kind of shot. Regular hoppy smell...

T - Consistency has been a problem on this brew (unusual, since I've never had a a bad Toasted Lager, a more tempermental beer), but this time the malt balance was fantastic. Reminded me of Bell's Two Hearted.

M - Nailed it. smooth, smooth, smooth. Kudos to Mug's for the cellering. Alex Hall would be proud.

D - If this was of Bitter strength, I could drink it all night long. Anyone who came to good beer through American IPAs should use this as an intro to casks.

Strong Island, baby. Strong Island.

Serving type: cask

02-21-2007 03:48:56 | More by HerrFaust

Kendo

New York

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Got it on cask at StoutNYC this afternoon. The second cask beer I've gotten there and once again I think it was a tad bit too cold. . . .

A: Poured a light, golden honey color with a lightly off-white head that left a ring of lacing after the first sip and sheets of lacing thereafter. Some floaties.

S: At first, only a very mild scent of hops but also some bready malt. As it warmed I could get a better sense of the beer's smell, and it was the fruity hops that were up front.

T: A sweet fruity taste at first blush, but then your mouth is assaulted by hops -- florally, fruity and even piney enamel-rotting hops. As an admitted hophead, I like it. But it could stand to gain from a tad bit more balance.

M: Nice and creamy, medium-bodied. No real feel of carbonation makes it very smooth (I do like the cask).

D: Good flavors and a nice body, but I think a tad bit overboard on the hops, so a few of these would probably make you feel like you'd lost all the enamel on your teeth.

All in all I enjoyed this beer and thought it was a nice example of an American IPA -- i.e., focused on the hops rather than the malt. I'd seek it out in bottles to see if they taste as good as the cask.

Serving type: cask

10-26-2006 01:50:02 | More by Kendo

BBM

New York

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I was fortunate to find this beer on cask. The beer pours a very light orange. It's cloudy in appearance with a think, foamy white head. Good lacing. The aroma was that of fruits, namely what seemed like pears and bananas. There was also a citrusy hop smell.

This is an incredibly smooth beer. The taste is again fruity, with the hops coming out in the end. There is almost what can be described as a leafy taste to the ale, which in no way detracts from it. The mouthfeel is full and clean, and it goes down very smoothly.

This is one of Blue Point's signature beers, and with good reason. It's highly drinkable and packs a punch to it without becoming overwhelming. Would definitely go back for more.

Serving type: cask

10-18-2006 14:02:52 | More by BBM

HimerMan

New Jersey

3.83/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On Cask (6/19/06) at Stout in NYC.

I always go for the cask beers, especially when I am at Stout, before I head to the tap list. Though, I am not a big IPA drinker I like to try them more as of recent.

Pour - medium copper with a light small head, went away rather quickly when it got to me - though, when it was poured it was rather ample.

Smell - Very nice, I am a bit surprised how much you could smell the hops - light floral scent. Really rather interesting here.

Taste - Come off big off the top, but settles to be rather weak in the after-taste. I am used to stouts, where the hop kick is at the end of the sip, so this may greatly sway my view of this beer. However, a very easy beer to drink that was refreshing and quite smooth.

Overall - Drinkability would be high on this based off the ease of drinking, low amount of remaining flavor after the beer, and very low alcohol presense in the taste.

I will have this again, I'd have it in a bottle - but would look for it on cask again.

Cheers.

Serving type: cask

06-20-2006 01:12:50 | More by HimerMan

kpwill07

New York

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A dark, deep orange beer, in a pint glass. Smallish, but nice frothy head.

Smells pleasant, but subtle. Hoppy aroma witha touch of fruit. Citrus, maybe grapefruit?

Medium hop bitterness leads into a smooth cirtus flavor. The beer wasn't cold by any means, as I had the pleasure of having it straight from the cask. The flavor really came out this way. Much better than having it from a bottle it seemed.

I really enjoy this beer. A nice standard IPA.

Serving type: cask

05-25-2006 17:20:26 | More by kpwill07

plaid75

New York

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I was lucky enough to find a cask-condition offering of this beer at the brewery. This is a perfect beer to have in cask. The flavors and aromas, which are complex to begin with, are just amplified ten times over.

However, like my other experiences with cask conditioned ales, the drinkability factor goes down. But that's not the point.

Serving type: cask

04-11-2006 16:07:18 | More by plaid75

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On cask at Pizza Plant Transit it was a unique IPA, and long bitterness gave depth and character to taste. Much more drinkable than bottle review below:

Bottle: An average IPA. Astringent bitter on palate, found it hard to finish bottle which is not true for 95% of IPAs I have had. Some acidic orange flavour but mouth puckered too much, needs more malt. Mouthcleansing and lingering dry taste like a listerene, will not seek out again.

My rating is based on the cask.

Serving type: cask

10-16-2005 03:19:02 | More by northyorksammy

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Nice beer to put in a cask. Poured pale copper with some sidement in the glass. Aroma was of piney hops. Flavor was nicely balanced with lots of bittering hops. I have a hunch the hops were actually mellowed a bit by the cask. The wood come out very potent. Also picked up tones of dried apples. Full body to this beer. However, I have a hunch that this beer my be boring to drink after a while and I would want to move onto a more complex beer.

Serving type: cask

08-08-2005 01:43:50 | More by MuddyFeet

Biggness

New York

4.43/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I tried this Cask at Long Islands FIrst Real Ale Festival

This cask was so full of lovely flavors that I had to keep trying it and trying it and trying it. I think this beer is probably better as a cask, not to take away anything from the bottle or tap. Hoptical illusion is how a beer should taste and look.

BY FAR the best beer at the festival!

Serving type: cask

01-23-2005 12:26:52 | More by Biggness

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cask conditioned fm the Cask Head Fest @ Brazen Head

This arrived as a cloudy, deep amber colored beer. There is a heady aroma of hops on the nose. It has an attention-getting bitterness on the tongue, reminding me that it is definitely an IPA. The finish is very, very dry, causing me to lift the glas to my lips again. It serves to remind me of why I love cask-conditioned beer.

Serving type: cask

12-30-2004 14:07:33 | More by woodychandler

hackmann

Michigan

3.38/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: nice clear golden-amber body with a thin white head that was gone in a second; lacing on the glass with each sip but nothing clinging to the glass

Aroma: faint overall, some fruit, biscuit, touch of sea grass

Flavors and Mouthfeel: crisp, light crisp citrus bitterness, faint stone fruit, light toasted grains, malty backbone, firm carbonation, moderate citrusy aftertaste, prickly feel on the back and aftertaste, refreshing feel for an IPA

To the Point: a nice tasting IPA or PA; not big or bold; just easy to drink;

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2013 02:41:32 | More by hackmann