Epic Armageddon IPA

Epic Brewing Company
Brewed at Steam Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Auckland, New Zealand

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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(bottle shared by OSLO) Pours hazy orange with a soapy white head that doesn’t stick around. Huge hop aroma of pine and citrus, very resinous, in addition to some earthiness and canned mandarin oranges. The taste was lackluster to me, with some light orange and grapefruit, without any malt appearing to counterbalance the hops. Flavor resembles a watered-down citrus juice blend. Finishes quite bitter with spritzy carbonation and a light mouthfeel. Great aroma, but unfortunately that didn’t carry over into the flavor. Thanks Al!

Bottle. The first thing that hits you is the spicy/tropical hop aroma, lots of it! the mrs kept saying "I can smell it from here" so there must be serious late/dry hopping. Pours a nice amber/orange not much head on this one. Carbonation ok. The flavour is epic. You could hardly ask for more it is just stunning. Definate tropics, grapefruit, seville orange rind, flowery. Spicey clove and hint of star anise?!... a nice toffee/biscuity sweet malt balance, I would like abit more bitter because the flavour is so strong. 6.6 alc about right. This beer is a treat.

Thanks to OSLO. A hazy gold body with a soap lather like head. The taste of the hops reminded me of the soapier varieties as well. an almost crystalline crispness to this one. Earthy and hints of fruit.

Aroma is basically just hops. Very fruity with some toffee malt, sweet caramel with sweet hoppinessssss. Very bitter immediately. Initial flavours are mostly hops with the other flavours (malt, caramel) only getting a brief mention near the finish. The finish is a resiny, oily hop fest. Very nice The unpasteurised, unfiltered is much better than the normal stuff, and is just full of tropical fruit like banana, mango, passionfruit, pineapple. Very very good.

A big hop fix out of New Zealand modelled on the great West Coast IPAs. Like most antipodean IPAs, it lacks the litheness of the Americans but I enjoyed this a great deal. Hazy peach-orange with a thick inch of shaving-cream head. The lovely ripe aroma offers all the fruit you’d expect - passionfruit, lychee, pink grapefruit - with a floral noteand a bit of soap and sherbet to round it out. Medium bodied and slick - really nicely carbonated. It’s fuller in body than the Yanks but it works well here. Solid malt backbone. Little evidence of the devilish 6.66% abv as the heavy hop schedule delivers a rasping bitter finish. Strong orange and pink grapefruit acids. I think these guys are really strong on pale ales - their standard pale, Mayhem and now this have all rung my bell. Really nice work. (500ml courtesy of Yalnikim - thanks buddy)

Bottle, Taphouse Sydney. Bright gold body, bit of haze and a thick, persistant white head. Aroma just smacks me in the face; HOPS! Lots of grapefruit rind and pine, unripe stonefruit and melon. Very resiny and delicious. And it delivers quite the same on the body. Some underlying malt sweetness soaks up a bit of the hop bitterness, but it certainly kicks you in the teeth and lingers for a good amount of time. Body is full without being overbearing like a double IPA, and what alcohol is in there is very hard to notice...you get distracted by hops! Pains me to say it, but yes, this is an EPIC beer, worthy of the name and praise!

Bottle. Pours with a huge off white head over a light orange amber body. Big aroma-floral-citrus and a spicey warming taste with a short moderate bitter finish. Nice.

Tried a bottle at the taphouse st k. A big hoppy beer but thin enough to drink a few or more. Piney hops on the nose, bitterness stands out but with good malt support in the background, don’t notice the alcohol. A big IPA in the american style though not an IIPA.

Bottle. Brilliant sparkling orange with dense white head. Huge hop aromas of citrus and pine. Some grassiness and a little malt sweetness. Flavour starts off a little sweet with some malt showing through and then the hops take over. Initially plenty of citrus and a little plassionfruit. Plenty of hop bitterness on the end plus a slightly off flavour I cant place. Lets it down a little unfortunately. Mouthfeel is spot on. Overall a good beer that would have been great were it not for the odd flavours.

Lovely grassiness prevalent, tangerine and a bit of freshly ground pepper. Pours a rocky white head and heady blossom smell. A massed assault of hops with a creamy citrus malt base. This gives way to grapiness and enduring bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel and good weight of bitterness on the second taste. More astringent hop sting, orange blossom and warmth in the very back of the mouth and tongue. Definitely one to go back for seconds on. I heard people saying this was a winter beer, for me quite the opposite as it had light summerfruit flavours. One for the hot, hot sun.
Earlier Rating: 10/17/2009 Total Score: 2.4
Grassy hoppiness, but not overdone. Characteristic tangerine/mandarin peel. This beer has kept its hops well for something this old, but has become a little oxidised. Tastes sharp and just a little bit lacking. Vegetal and a wee bit tired. Good mouthfeel and bitterness, but not living up to the expectation that I had of this beer given the hype and expectation.