Epic Brewing - Hopulent IPA

Tonight I'll be drinking a big bottle of Hopulent IPA from Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I was first introduced to this brewery back in July with their Brainless Belgian-Style Golden Ale, which was pretty delicious.  This is another brew in the Elevated Series, which is basically a free innovation-card for the Head Brewer to go create unique takes on traditional styles of beer.  Hopulent IPA is released in batches, and each batch is done a little differently, ending up with slight changes in the final flavor profile.  This bottle is from Batch #24, which was brewed on July 5 2011.  The label states this brew is 8.7% alcohol, and it includes a contrast picture of a hop bine.


This is one of the most beautiful beers I've ever seen - hazy but very bright golden orange color with a full three inches of foam and loads of white lacing behind it.  Perfection.  The aroma is absolutely packed with tropical fruits - citrus, passion fruit, fresh oranges, peaches, and some lime zest.  Alcohol is also present in the nose, and a hint of pine.  The taste starts off with a firm bitter tongue-punch, thick, resinous hops with some pine and grassy lemongrass coming through first.  The bitterness continues all the way through to the end.  There are some gritty grainy malts that do little to add any flavor, mainly just adds some grittyness to the texture of the beer.  I can't find any of the tropical fruits that I smelled earlier....it's all pine and dank herbal bitterness.  Also some alcohol heat is present, mainly in the background.

Overall Rating:  After smelling the beer, I was expecting a tropical, fruity, sweet IPA.  Instead I got a piney, resinous, bitter hop-slammer.  Despite the strange disconnect there, I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, but be warned, it's not for the faint of heart....if you pick up this beer, be prepared for a palate-slam.  B