Blue Point Winter Ale

Blue Point Brewing Company out on the eastern part of the island in Patchogue, NY is an under appreciated brewery in my opinion. I always tend to see their six packs of Toasted Lager or Blueberry Ale on the shelves at craft beer stores (both of which have great drinkability and refreshing taste) around the tri-state area. They also tend to have frequent drafts at bars throughout the New York area, especially out in Long Island (had their GABF silver award winning Rastafar Rye Ale on tap at Legends on my way out to the north fork a number of times) and NYC (amazingly fresh 10th Anniversary IPA off cask and draft at Blind Tiger awhile back) . And lets not forget my favorite HOPTICAL ILLUSION, which tastes like west coast hop angels when it is fresh and on draft.

So how come I do not get Blue Point more often if I like all of the beers that I have had by them??? Wish I could answer that one but am not too sure. Perhaps because they are readily available in my area or just because my blood thrives on high octane hop explosions from the west coast? Does anyone else experience this perplexing dilemma like my troubled self?

Anyways, lets get onto the review (haven't done one of these in a while so please object to any point!...this goes with anything we ever say in our blog in general). Bought a six pack of this Blue Point Winter Ale for $10.39 at BevMax in Stamford, CT:

Appearance: Pours an autumnal brown with 2 fingers of head narrows down to a dense looking half after a couple of minutes. Clear pour but the color seems to be a deep stained mahogany with shades of sunset red. Carbonation bubbles are a-blazing up from my Dogfish laser etching.

Smell: Wooden campfire sweet malts. Smells as if it has been aged in a barrel and also detecting some faint chocolate nibbles. Hops do not stand out at 30 IBUs but I do detect that they are a bit spicy, as well as a clean yeast aroma.

Taste: Bottle? - I poured it into a glass but my first sip tastes as if I am drinking straight out of the bottle. Sweet malt presence still there, but now with a nutty interaction with some kind of spice I can't detect...nutmeg?

Mouthfeel: Biting bitter finish that fades to a mellow smooth malt cleansing of the palette.

Drinkability: Not a big beer at all coming in at 5.5% abv, so it goes down easily. The past couple of winter seasonals that I have had (Anchor, Sam, and now this) seem to have that bready "spice" to it. Intriguing beer and I am glad to have tried it, but my taste buds would only want one in a night. Nonetheless, solid creation and ingenuity. 7/10

PS - The artwork on the label really gravitated me towards this purchase. I like the winteresque setting and backdrop with the green lighthouse bottle cap