Golden light brown colour. Deep piney hops with light but chewy malts. Somewhat thin body, though. Flavour continues with the aromatic themes of chewy crystal malt and piney hops. As the glass goes on, I get increasingly bored.

HI starts off with a large head of sticky froth that covers a rather clear gold body. Bready light malt in the aroma along with a good grapefruit hop presence. More bitter in the flavor than sweet, the balance is nice and doesn’t fall off short. I didn’t try this in Montreal, but I ’m glad I brought a six back to Tennessee. Not too shabby really.

RBSG Medium yellow body that produces an average sized white head. Light toasted grain aroma that is funky and definitely off in some way. Light and thin in the body. Drinkable but not great.

2005 bottle consumed 6/23/2005. Clear and filtered, but perhaps not tremendously so, as there is a moderate amount of lacing, and a medium-sized head with average retention (head is white). Light peach and tangerine colored body, some faint copper tinges and a bit of straw yellow peaking through on the edges. Aroma is fruity, honey-sweet and has floral hops, lightly sweaty and mild. Nectarines, peaches, hay, flowers and some light spiciness (oranges, lemons). Seems to have enough malt character in the nose, and actually the hops are very restrained. Flavor begins sweet and simple, lightly creamy honeyish doughy malt, light creaminess and with some sweet fruity notes. Fuzzy, leafy hops are fresh and quite flavorful, with low bitterness. Mainly floral in nature, with light citrus notes, easygoing carbonation and a medium body, no thinning. Very simple, yet made well-enough. A touch of hops bite on the end, but still, the sweet malt comes through quite strong over top of the hops. Smooth, malty mouthfeel. Finishes with some sweaty hay, yellow fruits and lemon sorbet.

2005 bottle consumed 6/22/2005. Copper to light-beige, with light peach influences. Clear and filtered. Bubbly off-white head is small and not well retained, with no lacing. Smells of roasted almonds, minerals, crisp lager yeast and coconut shrimp (!!!). Tastes of crisp yeast, light barley and coconut creaminess/sweetness. Vienna malt huskiness (caravienne in this case, I guess) with some buttered cinnamon toast. Quick finish, bit of chewy grains. Simple, fair, light body. Unobtrusive carbonation. Slight watery consistency.

[draught at brewery] Dark, but not as black as you would expect an Imperial to be - very roasty aroma, almost smokey - a nice balance of mild sweetness and bitterness, giving a dark chocolate flavor - I swear I taste peat-smoked malt in this, interesting for the style - a little too hot, especially since it’s not that high in alcohol (for the style, that is) - still pretty good.

[cask] - surprisingly light for the style, coming across as more of a stronger-flavored hefe than a strong ale - light lemon rind and orange peel with some clove, banana and coriander - thin bodied, with a somewhat tart and watery finish - drinkable but quite easy to forget.

Just picked this up at the brewery today - haven’t seen it in stores yet, but it is bottled, so should be out soon - the is much lighter in color than their other IPA (nearly clear golden, with a slight copper tint), and the aroma is much hoppier - the smell is loaded with fresh hops, but tempered with sweet, somewhat fruity malts - medium bodied - not a knockout in the hop department, but they are certainly there, and they melt quite well into the mild berry and citrus flavor to the beer, as well as the moderate malt profile - not the kick in the mouth that some other IPAs are, but this sucker is fairly refined, very well-balanced, and tasty - the finish is a nice mixture of lingering hops, a touch of caramel, and a bready/grainy taste - my new favorite Blue Point beer, right next to the ESB.
Earlier Rating: 7/24/2004 Total Score: 3.8
This is but one of the (far too many) Blue Point beers that are only available at the brewery - that being said, there is almost nothing that distinguishes this beer from their ESB - not that this is a bad thing, because their ESB is excellent - they both have similar color, hop and malt profiles, etc. - this beer is a bit thicker, perhaps just a tad heavier on the malt - the closest comparison would be to Hop Devil, which is pretty good company, actually.

[growler] This is quite a sweet amber ale, but balanced just enough to keep it from being too much so - slick mouthfeel with lots of caramel malt, nut and chocolate flavors - this is pretty damn good for a gimmick beer.