Epic Brewing - Imperial Stout

Tonight I'll be drinking a bottle of Imperial Stout from Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City, UT.  This is part of their Exponential Series - back in September I enjoyed the Imperial IPA, an Exponential sibling to this big stout.  Epic Brewing has a cool way of tracking their brews - they actually reference each individual batch of beer and explain the subtle changes they make to the grain bill, and the effects on the beer.  It's an interesting way to track the life of a beer, from the first batch all the way to the currently available batch - other breweries should take note!

The label on the bottle states this beer is from Batch# 3, brewed on January 27, 2011.  For this batch, they threw a decent amount of Cascade hops, and raised the bar to 9.1% alcohol.  The color is deep black, with two full inches of dark tan, creamy foam.  Great looking beer, lots of lace left behind.  The aroma is loaded with roastiness.  Seriously, loads of roasted malts paired with semi-sweet dark chocolate and coffee beans.  There is also a bitter twang in the nose, seems to be a combination of hops and alcohol.  The flavor starts off extremely rich, with sweet molasses, dark chocolate, and a burnt, sugary caramel.  Not much coffee is present here, but there is plenty of charcoal...burnt, earthy, woody flavors.  Bitterness breaks through in the middle, certainly some Cascade in there.  The mouthfeel is incredibly rich and gritty - each sip is a mouth full.

Overall Rating:  This is a solid Imperial Stout.  I'll be honest, I just came back from Surly Darkness Day, where I drank multiple pints of their Darkness RIS.  That is a tough beer to follow, and while Epic has a nice stout here, it doesn't even compare to Darkness.  I know that's not really fair to Epic, but hey, that's what beer reviewing is all about!  B

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

Epic Brewing - Brainless Belgian-Style Golden Ale

Today I'll be drinking the Brainless Belgian-Style Golden Ale from Epic Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, UT.  I'm new to this brewery, just ran across it for the first time today at the brew-shop.  It was founded in 2008 after the state of Utah changed their brewing laws, allowing David Cole and Peter Erickson to open a "strong beer" microbrewery.  This brew is part of their Elevated Series, which is a showcase in variability within different beer-styles.  The bottle states this is part of their Release #17, with 8.5% alcohol.  According to the website, this batch was brewed on June 8, 2011.

The beer is crystal-clear straw-golden color with about 1 inch of white foam.  The aroma brings candi sugars, cloves & spice, and some of that classic belgian funk.  The taste starts off extremely sweet, candied apples and sweet peaches.  Once the carbonation catches up, it brings with it some of those spices and cinnamon cloves from the nose.  Hints of booziness there, teetering on too boozy, but doesn't quite go over the edge, just keeps things warm.  The belgian yeast comes along for the ride, but it's a side-thought behind the sweetness.  The finish has some sugaryness that continues to linger.

Overall Rating:  This was a very drinkable Belgian Golden Ale.  A little on the sweet side for my taste, too one-sided, not enough other things there to break up the monotone sweetness.  Not my favorite belgian brew, but worth trying for yourself, especially if you like the style.  B