As much as we’d like to give every craft brewer a pat on the back, the bottom line is, just because it’s independent, doesn’t mean it’s great. Sometimes things just need a little work, sometimes they need a lot, but we try to keep it critical and straight up, and hopefully, that feedback is appreciated.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Name:  Bluepoint Pumpkin Ale

Place of Origin / Brewer:  New York, USA / Blue Point Brewing Company

Beer style / ABV%:  Pumpkin Ale / 6.0%

Specialty Prep / Individuality:  Brewed with pumpkins “from only the most sincere patches”, this seasonal brew is golden orange,  with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Packaging:

I really like the country  store nature of this burlap label.  It’s got a real folksy craft vibe that gives me small town Americana vibes– like sitting on a porch after a long day, eyes gazed across the golden waves of wheat quivering a the field while John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album plays. – Tim

Yeah, there’s a pumpkin on it, but it’s not jumping off the shelf to me.  The colors are subdued and the overall labeling seems like another Photoshop blunder.  I’m not sure why the “burlap sack” texture has to dominate the entire label, including the logo and ale’s name. – Rick

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Color:  6

Cider clear with a brown sugar tint and just the slightest hint of orange  to remind us that this is in fact a pumpkin beer. – Mike

Crystal clear, golden brown and very active, it looks like a cold glass of cream soda.  It has a solid head and heavy lacing.  – Brittney

M- 4.5 / T- 6.5 / B- 6 / R- 6

 ___________________________________________________________________________________

Aroma:  6

This ale has a great sweet aroma, mostly fulfilled by the nutmeg and cinnamon spices.  There also seems to be a pumpkin based scent as well. – Rick

There is a really earthy spice to it.  Usually, it’s the pumpkin that I describe as earthy but the nutmeg and cinnamon are coming through as really raw with a creamy caramel. – Brittney

M- 6 / T- 5 / B- 6.5 / R- 7

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mouth feel:  4.5

It’s Light-bodied without stepping completely into ‘light beer’ mode but still not very substantial for an ‘ale’. – Tim

Almost watery light, with a drying bitterness that belies that same quality. – Mike

M- 4 / T- 4 / B- 5 / R- 4.5

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Tasting notes:  4.5

Warm and spicy, with a touch of smoky baked pumpkin and a good bit of cinnamon. The nutmeg seems to take on subdued sense, but is certainly prevalent as well. Most notably though, is the fair amount of hop dried texture that makes this ale variable from the rest, particularly given the quite light body. – Mike

Ever have a beer that just sort of tastes like ‘beer’?  That’s Blue Point for me.  Some minor sweetness from the malt, notes of Carmel, some sour vegetal pumpkin flavors pop up here and there. A little more honey on the back-end–but it was better in the bouquet.  Overall it’s a bit watery and far to innocuous and one-dimensional to regard with much rapture. – Tim

Frankly, I’m pretty bored with the taste of this beer.  It’s heavy on spice and dry.  The pumpkin is really hard to place and every other supporting ingredient is lacking character.  – Brittney

This malt beverage is very drinker friendly.  There’s a slight bit of sweet spice to it, but the carbonation really dilutes any flavors from flourishing.  There is however a nice hop finish that’s not too bitter or overwhelming. – Rick

M- 4.5 / T- 4.5 / B- 4.5 / R- 4

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Finish:  4.5

Actually the brew has a nice crisp finish revealing some dryer characteristics that weren’t prevalent in the body, touches of pumpkin on the close and that’s about it–clearing the palate pretty swiftly. – Tim

Dry and forgettable. – Brittney

Right before the hoppy finish, I’m presented with the slightest touch of sweet malts.  It’s a crisp and clean finish with a little bite at the end. – Rick

M- 5.5 / T- 5 / B- 4 / R- 4

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Flavor balance:  4.5

 

-         Pumpkin to Spice balance:

The pumpkin flavor isn’t very prominent, but there are some sweet spices like nutmeg and cinnamon that are there. Somewhere. – Rick

Way more spice, the pumpkin is almost nonexistent. – Brittney

Spice dominates this ale, and while it offers an interesting perspective, the pumpkin is almost completely lost on me. If this was put out as a lighter autumn offering, it would be much more on point. – Mike

M- 4 / T- 5 / B- 4 / R- 2.5

 

-         Sweet / Dry balance:

The caramel malts and the honey notes add a nice bit of sweetness in the glass, and the crisp finish reveal a pretty solid cohesion in the product, it just serves a master that’s not up to the task on the other fronts. – Tim

I noticed that this beer starts sweet with the aroma and malts being dominant at the initial sip, but soon end up finishing dry. – Rick

M- 5 / T- 5.5 / B- 5.5. / R- 4.5

 

-         Multiple Drinkability?

This is easy as heck to drink, but sadly that seems to be more because the texture more closely resembles the near teetotaling American mass produced beers, than something that you’d want to return to for it’s own merit. – Mike

I’d personally pass on another round, but since this sorta falls under what I would consider a ‘light pumpkin beer’ you could probably knock back a sixer of this and not feel any pain or regret.  So take that as you want in terms of a recommendation. – Tim

M- 4 / T- 3.5 / B- 4 / R- 4

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Overall:  5.00

M- 4.83 / T- 4.92 / B- 5.08 / R- 4.83

About these ads