Epic Mayhem

Brewed by Epic Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Auckland, New Zealand

Copper coloured with smallish white head. Smells fruity and very hoppy. Flavour is like a bitter American hop fruit-salad. Surprisingly easy to drink despite it’s bitterness.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a foamy off-white head that lasts a little while and leaves a bit of lace. Heaps of resiny hops on the nose with notes of grapefruit, orange, pine, caramel and lime. Flavour not as big as the nose suggests, but compared to most Australian/Kiwi beers, it’s still a heavyweight. The caramelly malt is a little stronger in the flavour and is balanced very well with the hops, plus a hint of spice. Smooth mouthfeel, with medium carbonation and a lovely, lingering bitter finish that incorporates a little sweetness. Overall this is a great beer, hopefully it will become a permanent addition to the Epic stable.

Pours amber with a tinge of orange & huge rocky snow white head. Big crystal malt on the nose backed up by a big old whack of citrus & pine (cascade?). Very American & calling it a strong pale ale is very apt, tending to an ipa but not quite. Carb is quite lively. Again the caramel/toffee from malt is dominant, integrated with medium/high pine & citrus hops. A big change of pace from the great Armageddon but this is very good in it’s own right!

Crystal malt aroma, tangerine and candied peel. A lick of grassiness and even a whiff of German yeast? There are phenols on the nose also, but that is mainly to do with the beer having beer brewed 8-9 months before the tasting. To taste: orange juice and mellow malt characters. Not the brutally heavy impact of flavour I was expecting. It would have been interesting to have tasted a younger version (due out soon) as this one wasn’t mayhem at all. Just a bit tired this one.

A special beer for my 2500th rating. Bottle. Pours a bright orange amber with a densely foamy orange-tinted head that leaves behind plenty of lace. Very fragrant fruity hop aroma, lots of citrus pithiness, passionfruit, mango skins, and a slightly sharp note that reminds me of fresh kelp. All of this glorious hop character rests on a plaform of sweet toffee malts. Boldly flavourful with a very bitter finish. This would be made better with a few shovelfuls more malt in my opinion, to create a bigger body in relation to the hops, but it is a terrific beer regardless.

Draught. Pours amber with a medium off-white head. Huge hop aroma...grapefruit, passionfruit, lychee, grass and caramel malt. The flavour is caramel malt, grapefruit, berries, lychee. The malt bill is well balanced with the hops. Medium bodied and has a sticky mouthfeel but can’t help wanting another one. Great beer.

500mL bottle from Eureka in Dunedin. Hop explosion once the bottle is uncapped. Hops present as grapefruit, passionfruit and orange peel. Love the extreme bitterness... Amazing zesty orange flavours with a toffee malt base that can barely tolerate all the hops.. Awesome. MOAR!

Bottle. Pours a reddish amber with a large foamy off white head. Nose is flooded with fresh fruity hops, cut grass, and a hint of malt in the background. Not nearly the frontal assult of hops on the palate, a lot more cleverly melded with a malt that is caramalish at first, and then more chocolately in the finish. The finish is peppery and slightly puckering dryness. Like a suped up version of the Pale Ale.