Epic Pale Ale

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

All about the hops. Smells fantastic and tastes great.. Huge long lasting head,

Pours golden amber with a large persistent head. Aroma shows lots of fruit, grassy, and resiny hops. Grapefruit, orange blossom, nectarines. Behind this is a fair bit of sweet malt and caramel. Very hoppy taste, but with less sweet fruits. There’s still some grapefruit, grassy notes and peaches, followed by some sweet clean malt. Then a strong bitterness rolls through, growing bigger and bigger. However it is exceptionally well-balanced by the afore-mentioned malt. Good medium body with a light, but refreshing, carbonation.

Bottle at Tom’s Tasting, April 2009. Gold with nice condition. Strong herbal aroma. Less hoppy on the palate but still quite crisp. Firm mouthfeel. Very tasty stuff. Seemed to have a stronger aroma than the cask version.

The best beer I found in New Zealand. Pretty similar to a beer like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale...aka, solid ...

Bottle. Big off white head over a clear amber body. Big hop aroma-passionfuit-resin-citrus-pine. Tastes of same also some ginger and tea notes. Medium bodied and mouth warming. Finishes with a slight bitterness. Great aromas-but the taste doesn’t back them up as much as it should.

Draft at Brew on Quay in downtown Auckland. Looking to improve upon his Speights Pale Ale, my buddy then ordered the Epic and wasn’t disappointed. Pours an attractive amber with a medium eggshell white head. Huge piney hop aroma, with notes of caramel, orange citrus, and malt. The flavor follows suit, but doesn’t pack as much punch. That’s just fine, as it’s well-balanced- simple, crisp, bitter, and satisfying. An excellent APA.

Coppery in colour from what I could ascertain in the light. Fresh to smell with orange zest and orange blossom. To taste, spicy and then again with the orange blossom with a touch of amber malt. Thinner than I expected and subtler bitterness - it sneaks up on you and lingers faintly after everything else. This beer is brewed with English malt and American Cascade hops. I suppose it is a balancing act, but one that works with good mouthfeel. Supreme award winner at BrewNZ.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a nice creamy off-white head. Aroma is certainly hoppy and has notes of lemon, grapefruit, lavender, musk and caramel. Flavour is not as strong as the aroma suggests but isn’t exactly mild either. There is still loads of hops as well as flavours of malt, citrus and caramel standing out and a touch of peppery spiciness. Quite dry in the mouth with a nice amount of bitterness and a medium long finish. Not quite as big (epic?) as the Armageddon but a great beer in its own right.