image c/o consumerist.com
The craft-beer competition in Ohio just got a little more interesting as Long Island’s Blue Point Brewing Company announced that they are now distributing to the Buckeye State. Blue Point has been the heart of the Long Island craft beer scene for years, and has a loyal and dedicated local following — and for good reason! They are proud Long Islanders, and unapologetically brew beers for their locals. Beers that are highly flavorful and easy to drink, but also that pair well with the Seafood that Long Islanders are so fond of.
The people at Blue Point reached out to Ron and I in order to come to their Cleveland launch party, try some of their beers, and talk to some of the employees (we’ll have interviews in the coming weeks!) After the media Q&A, Head Brewer Jim Richards showed us what really makes Blue Point special; he tapped a cask of Rastafa Rye. If you’ve never had cask beer before, you need to. In short, instead of putting beer through a filtration and carbonation process before being transferred to a traditional keg, brewers opt to put the beer in a cask where it is unfiltered, and goes through a small secondary fermentation allowing CO2 to be absorbed naturally by the beer. If you’ve had bottle conditioned beer, it’s similar, but not quite the same. This beer is stored and served at cellar conditions, usually around 55 degrees.
When done right, cask beers are magical, and Blue Point specializes in this wizardry. You won’t be able to buy casks in stores, or at every bar, but they are hoping to have more and more events to tap casks throughout Ohio. They aren’t the only people in the world making cask ales, but it is a passion of theirs and it is something that many breweries ignore completely.
The Beers:
Right away, Ohio isn’t getting the full Blue Point Lineup, but we will be able to buy the following beers:
Tasted Lager: Toasted Lager is their flagship beer made with toasted malts to give it a deep malt-forward breadiness. It is a fantastic beer if you’re looking for something highly drinkable but still highly flavorful.
Blueberry Ale: This was my personal favorite of the night. Blueberry Ale is the perfect blend of fruit and beer. It doesn’t taste like fruit juice, but the blueberries are present throughout, almost like a blueberry pancake. In fact, this might end up being the best blueberry beer available in Ohio.
Summer Ale: With hints of lemon zest, herbal spiciness, and slight citric flavors, Summer Ale is a great beer to help you beat the heat. It’s another beer that has a great balance between drinkability and flavor.
These aren’t the only beers that will ever be available in Ohio, but as of now this is the lineup for this rollout. They allowed us to try to Oatmeal Stout which is coming soon to Ohio. This beer has the great coffee and chocolate notes that you want in a stout, but without the cloying sweetness that plagues many dark beers. It also pairs well as a “half and half” with the Blueberry Ale! They will also have Hoptical Illusion, an IPA that is quickly becoming one of their best sellers.
Make sure to give Blue Point a try as you pass their bottles on the shelves in Buckeye Country, and stay tuned for updates and interviews with the Blue Point team. We’re excited to let them call Ohio home!
– Cheers.
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