Blue Point Brewing Co.
Patchogue, NY
Available: NY, NJ, MD, PA, IL, MA, RI
The “toasted” part of the name refers to the brewery’s direct-fire brew kettle’s hot flames that impart a toasted flavor to this dark lager.
Alcohol (vol): 5.5
Alcohol (wt): 4.4
Color: 22
Bitterness: 28
Original gravity: 1054
There’s a distinctive textural component to the beer that I like (mouthcoating for such a light beer — sort of oat-like, with a polished oak dryness towards the finish). Clear amber in color, with pleasing notes of caramel, honey, toasted grain and fresh dinner rolls. A good “crossover” beer to be enjoyed by both mainstream and seasoned craft beer drinkers.
I’m not entirely sure what the designation “toasted” is supposed to mean to a lager, but this certainly has a toasty appearance, like perfectly grilled, deep golden white bread without the grill lines. On the nose, there’s caramel, but dryly so, and light hints of nuttiness and, yes, toasted grain. One sip brings it all together with soft caramel sweetness up front, drier toffee and faintly roasty notes in the middle and a crisp, off-dry finish. A satisfying lager that stylistically sits between Bohemian pilsner and Vienna lager, and does so most elegantly.
John Hansell is an equal-opportunity drinker. He writes about beer, wine and spirits. He is the creator, publisher & editor of Malt Advocate, a magazine for the whisky enthusiast.
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn’t looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he’s not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.
