Epic Hopulent IPA

Brewed by Epic Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Salt Lake City, Utah USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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A solid, but soft pour into my New Belgium goblet produces a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a light amber color with copper highlights that shows a lightly hazed, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of candied hops; notes of tangelo, huge lychee, lots of fruity tropical hop character and a fair amount of candied citrus peel aromas. There is actually a fair amount of pale malt character here; supporting notes of un-salted saltine crackers, fresh crushed pale ale malt and sweet grain aromatics that really help to carry the hop character. There seems to be a soft, buttery hint of diacetyl here, I am a bit sensitive to it, and it is still light enough that I could almost be convinced that it is not really here.

Sweet tasting and citrusy as it first hits my tongue, a herbal, sometimes menthol like note comes through strongly in the middle along with a clean bitterness that lingers on into the long finish. A touch of alcohol heat and perhaps even some higher alcohols accentuate a touch of a harsher hop note. Pine like notes join the more dominant herbal hop character and provide a nice accent to the hop character that is mostly fruit focused. The beer has a viscous heft to it that makes it stick to the palate after each sip, it is not heavy though, and while not quite as light and quaffable as I might prefer in my Double IPAs, it is still easily on the drinkable side of the style spectrum. The fruit-hop flavors here contribute notes of lychee, ripe tangelo peel and something a bit like a washed out Meyer lemon tea. The malt is not as noticeable as it is in the nose, it is most definitely a supporting character, but still definitely contributes to the body, as well as supplying hints of pale grain, a touch of cracker grain notes as well as a hint of lightly sweet grain.

This is definitely a tasty beer, it is certainly in the Double IPA range though; the alcohol, the texture, the malt and of course the hops. There is definitely a hint of diacetyl here, but that should be an easy fix for subsequent batches; it is definitely more noticeable in the aroma as the beer warms, but isn’t quite as evident in the flavor. I find that I prefer the Copper Cone Pale Ale to this beer; that was more aggressively hopped and despite this, was more balanced than this beer is. This is far from being bad though, as it is quite enjoyable and is a beer to try for any hophead.

22oz bottle split with Anndiesel, procured on her East Coast jaunt. Unfiltered thick orange-tan, steady off-white head. Resiny, grassy, herbal hop aroma, Hop forward, but a big malt body underlying. Fuggles/EKG..maybe some Cascade if I had to guess, they come off pretty big and resinous. A pretty solid IPA, somewhere between regular and Imperial. Quality offering, well done.

Large white head, massive nose with an evident bitterness. Hazy dark yellow in color. I don’t know if this is as much citrus as it is juniper like, but definitely oppy. Really nice bitterness as well as an equal balanced malt

On tap at Pour House. Pours a cloudy orange color with yellow hues. Medium to large tight bubbles head. Aromas of boozey oranges, piney hops, and honey mead. Taste is pure honey sweetness, oranges, marshmallow. Had a pleasent floral aftertaste. Good ipa.

Pour from a 22oz bomber. Beautiful translucent cloudy dark yellow brew with white head. Aroma of citrus, erbal, juniper, with hints of fresh fruit. Taste is great - moderately sweet malt at the start and nice hops running through the finish. Citrus, floral, herabal, wonderful complexity. A fine DIPA.

Bottle. Nose is bright fruity hops. Citrus, nectarine, strawberry. Cloudy dark orange with a decent white head. Firm bitterness with wet pine and a dry citrus rind finish. Good texture, very full with a nice middle astringency.

Tap. Pours light amber mostly clear with a small head that has good staying power with some lacing. Aroma is of citrus/grapefruit with some floral scents. Taste is slightly sweet, piney and floral. Extremely bitter from start to finish, including a very bitter aftertaste. Overall a little watery in the mouth.

Bottle, Release #37, 8.3% ABV. Hazy orange with a bright, frothy white head. Solid hop aroma (citrus, tangerine, pine) with a bit of caramel, and as it warms, grain. Flavor actually has a bit more upfront malt, but then comes a quick and bracing bitterness, which lingers in the finish. The bitterness loses its potency over the course of the first glass. Caramel, tangerine, and pine come to dominate. Batch 37 is really enjoyable, and I would love to be able to try some of the others with changes to the hop bill.

Pours a dark orange with medium white head, minimal lacing. Aroma of toasted malt, floral and herbal hops, citrus, resin, and slight cereal. Flavor matches well and is really enjoyable. Great beer.

(Pompe nitro au Cloverleaf): Sapiné, fruits exotiques, agrumes avec une structure malté très solide. L’amertume n’est pas un facteur pour une IIPA mais la présence en bouche et les saveurs compensent parfaitement. Très juteux.

Dangerously easy to drink. Toffee and caramel malt married to pinecone hops with citrus bitterness. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone