[Hoptical Illusion]

I am now five days settled into hot, sunny Florida. I'm spending two weeks here and every day so far I've been getting up at the crack of dawn to briskly walk around my mother's community. While I'm not walking or swimming I've been perusing the surprisingly large beer selection east Florida has to offer. Maybe it was because of my past naive eyes but I definitely didn't remember the large variety Florida has. I thought Texas was so ahead of the ball game when it came to beer but I was totally wrong.

There is just SO much beer here.

Today I went to my favorite little mom and pop convenience store "Cobb's" to grab a birch beer (non alcoholic people!) because it's the only place in the area to get it. It's easily accessible in New England but absolutely impossible to find in the south. I excitedly opened the door to find a paradise awaiting me.

I didn't ever remember the store boasting so many beer choices. Or beer in general! The store has many soda varieties as well as freshly made sandwiches and candies, but I can confidently say I  don't remember the beer selection. I also haven't been inside the store for three years which may be why I don't recall the selection (I wasn't 21 yet).

This older gentleman who ran the store immediately sprang to help me while I was gazing at the selection. He told me about their mix and match deal where I could grab any beer from a six pack to make my own sample six pack. Needless to say I left with nine beers and three birch beers lol.

Tonight after dinner and swimming I sat down with "Hoptical Illusion" from Blue Point Brewing Company. I am guilty of being one of those people who judges a book by its cover, and because of this I had picked Hoptical Illusion because of its label.

I opened it and sat down and before I took a sip I was hit by the intense aroma of the ale. I am normally not big into IPAs but I'm a very forgiving person when it comes to trying a new beer. The first sip was strangely floral and citrusy. Some beers have a light aftertaste of floral citrus but Illusion hits you head on with its flavor.

Now this isn't a bad thing, but I do recommend drinking this beer ice cold, because I can't imagine this beer tasting great any other way. There is really no other way to describe the beer other than being intensely floral. It had a great bitter aftertaste which made the beer more forgiving to drink and was consumed pretty quickly by yours truly.

Would I recommend this beer? If you're into floral IPAs, this is your beer. I feel that it would be a better transitional beer than being a starter. I've been on a gigantic porter/stout phase, so while I'm currently not crazy in love with the flavor, I can see myself giving it another try in the future.

Rating: C-

Cheers :)