Brew Review: Blue Point Spring Fling

I hate to admit it, but that punk groundhog Punxatawney Phil was right. Winter is still here. But as I endure my first snowicane, I’ll take this second chance at reviewing a spring seasonal in hopes of beckoning the season to come early—if just a little early at this point.

Blue Point Spring Fling Ale

Long Island’s Blue Point Brewing Company has released its Spring Fling Ale, a beer in the neighborhood of Magic Hat’s spring seasonal called Vinyl Lager that I told you about a couple of weeks back. Unlike the weirdos up in Burlington, the folks at Blue Point have chosen to make it obvious that this is indeed a copper ale you will be drinking by labeling it as such.

Spring might mean budding flowers and warming temperatures elsewhere, but the seasonal beers brewed here in the Northeast make it seem like we can only take a half-step away from the fireplace. This beer, like the Vinyl Lager, is much heartier than typical spring ales. The Spring Fling is very bitter. I mean that as a full compliment since normally copper ales have an off-putting amber sweetness. Though the Spring Fling doesn’t quite match Blue Point’s Toasted Lager when it comes to long-term drinkability and originality, that shouldn’t be construed as put down. The Toasted Lager, after all, is one of  BNY’s top five New York brews.

—RT

Beer New York Top 5 New York Beers

As a self-certified beer expert, I’m often asked to name my favorite brews. I’m never quite sure what to say in response. I usually  mention a few beers that I like depending on my mood and situation. (Best beer after a romp in the hay? Why, that would be Shafteberry Easy Honey Pale Ale), and try to change the subject.

Ross, BNY’s chief beer reviewer, doesn’t even bother trying to answer the question. He just steers the conversation to John Wall, and Kentucky basketball.

The point, of course, is that picking a favorite beer is difficult.  But we wouldn’t have made it this far in life–blogging in our underwear about beer for free–if we were afraid to voice strong opinions. Today we introduce a top five beer list that we will update, once a month, as conditions and tastes warrant. One important caveat: we’re limiting this to that which we know best: New York brews.

Five: Blue Point Toasted Lager

This is the flagship beer from the folks out on Long Island. It feels like more of an amber than a lager, it goes down smooth, a little sweet, and, as per the title, with a delicious toasted malt finish. This is a good gateway beer, accessible, not too sophisticated.

Four: Captain Lawrence Pale Ale

Golden, with a creamy head, and a righteous flavor that makes me want to curl up with it and call it pet names all night.

Three: Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA

Number three with a bullet.  Ross and I tried this for the first, but not last time at the (ye olde) Burger Shoppe, the bar in lower Manhattan, just last Friday. Where has this beer been all my life? The sweet citrus and pine aroma filled my nose with goodness. A double IPA, this baby is loaded with hops, but is amazingly not too bitter. Want a sign of a good beer? I woke up the next morning wanting another.

Two: Six Point Sweet Action

This classic all the way from Red Hook was my choice for number one, but it didn’t make Ross’s top five. (Not even his favorite Six Point beer, he prefers the Apollo Wheat). For me, though, this is the perfectly balanced beer. Fruity aroma, hoppy, but not overly so, perfectly balanced in color and taste. Also, it is the official beer of my bocce team, on special for $4 a pint every Saturday and Sunday afternoon during league play at Union Hall in Park Slope. This is a beer you take home to your mother.

One: Brooklyn Lager

A beer for all occasions. My fridge can be stocked to the hilt with delicious brews, but if I can’t see the green, Milton Glaser-designed label peeking out from behind the salad dressing, I feel anxious, uneasy, sad. It is an old friend, perfect on a summer evening on the front stoop, in front of the television after a long week, or, best of all, on tap at one of the many bars in New York that serve Brooklyn’s finest.