Accurately described as a ‘quasi pale ale,’ robust ESB-like dry body maintains approachable medium-bodied drinkability. Reedy molasses rye breading sops up peat-dried pumpernickel nuttiness and light Vienna-styled Munich malting. Clean eight-grain bread finish picks up tertiary sunflower seed, poppy, and whey illusions.

Uncomplicated moderate-bodied rye ale brings sesame-seeded pumpernickel spicing to sweet honeyed molasses sugaring, fading too quickly by mild tea-like finish. Peppery rye-hopped influence lingers at the midst, picking up resinous citric twist. Never overdone, but possibly too frivolous.

Hardened hop-heads will delight in sharp citric-spiced bittering and resinous hop pining as lemony orange-peeled grapefruit prickle stays firm. But caramelized rye profile and sugary caraway-seeded Vienna malting lack resolve and get washed out. Tertiary pineapple, tangerine and citron illusions undone by minor metal astringency. 2012 version retained dry-spiced citric hop perfuming and fresher piney spruce crispness.

Dusky medium-bodied rye-malted winter ale connects murky barley-roasted dried fruiting and earthen wood twigging to pepper-hopped bittering. Advertised juniper berries lack resilience and vegetal fungi molding attacks diminished honey nut sweetness and placated plum-prune piquancy. Since wintry seasonal spicing takes a backseat, perhaps rye ale tag suffices.

Astringent one-dimensional medium body needs deeper honey sweetness to counteract dour white-peppered grape-stemmed lemon-peeled bittering penetrating sour pumpernickel-breaded rye-dried affluence. Dirty earthen fungi nuance plummets to nasty veggie tail.

Caliginous auburn-hued fluffy-headed limited edition dark ale brings dry nuttiness and resin-hopped burnt coffee bittering to gooey maple-malted black chocolate-y schwarzbier-like mocha porter template. Rye-grained caraway-seeded dewy peat bottom and sharp cola-hazelnut sear deepen impact.

Snazzy Jamaican Rastafarian motif, label, and theme saddle ‘deep copper ale.’ Sweet rye-malted caramel toasting and almond-pasted cherry-orange tang juxtapose bright floral-spiced orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering. Biscuit-y mineral-grained peat-smoked cornmeal backdrop seeps into wheat base. Minus the fruity kick, Blue Point’s original version of Toasted Lager benefited from the same wheat-cracked almond-marzipan roast.

On tap, heady vermouth-bourbon radiance and sweet whiskey warmth bring about boozy Manhattan cocktail theme that goes way beyond understated rye ale categorization. Lustrous raisin-cherry pureed richness, sweet orange-bruised banana-clove fruiting, and pumpkin-pied cinnamon-nutmeg spicing intensify syrupy medicinal cough-drop finish. Spiced rum, brandy, and sherry illusions run amuck. Simply fantastic ’09 offering.

Congenial coppery medium body secures weighty rye influence atop dry caramelized chocolate malts and peppery juniper hop bittering. Backdrop merges raw cocoa with scanty cinnamon-clove spicing.

Sinewy honeyed amber hue nearly as thick as syrupy sugar malt creaminess. Hop-spiced butterscotch-enriched almond-marzipan sweetness (reminiscent of Blue Point Toasted Lager’s original version) absorbs latent floral-tingled pineapple-grapefruit dash to rye-induced breadcrumb bottom.

Cane-sugared mango-pineapple-nectarine tropicalia and ripe apple-pear-tangerine tang put velvety melon-fruited rye wheat treat over the top. Alcohol-burned piney hop bittering underscores impending rye bread souring as well as less obvious vanilla bean fleece and cedar-maple tease.

Captivating maple sweetness convincingly counters orange rind bitterness and serenading spiced hop slip. So-called “turbo charged alcohol burnin’ monster ale”” may scare pilsner fans, but that’d be a crime since this medium-to-full-bodied “”Hop Rod”” goes down smooth and retains customary organic grain punctuation. Strangely, hints of spruce, beechwood, and macadamia arrive, but not the advertised rye.