# Epic Pale Ale - First Taste



## gracebeey (4/1/10)

Hi all, firstly I wish everyone a happy and successful new year!

Last night I tried a beer so wonderful I thought I'd share with you all. It's a New Zealand beer (it's been mentioned in another NZ brewery thread, which does not specifically discuss this beer) called Epic Pale Ale. It comes in an honest size of 500ml bottle (I really like this size - too bad I couldn't swipe the bottles home I would love to have this for my home brews). 

The bottle claims that the beer has 23 (twenty three!) different hops in it, and you know what, I believe them. The moment you pour it into a glass you can smell the floral/fruity aroma already. It has low bitterness, but very very (x10) tasty. The main flavours that I identified are white grapes, ripe grapefruit/citrus, and a hint of honey and rose water. Sorry if my description is weird, by the way.

This is one of those beers that would be wasted if drunk from the bottle. I would say you definitely need to drink this from a glass (I never drink beer from the bottle anyway), if anything to enjoy the aroma - which is quite strong.

Sorry to go on and on about it, I'm just so impressed with it. And no I'm not on their payroll, although I wish I was. I heard it's a one-man operation, actually. I will be going to Acland Cellars in St Kilda later on today to get more of this thing. 

Has anyone else tried it?

Grace


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## .DJ. (4/1/10)

yeah I had it and is one Pale Ale I dont like..

too much going on I rekon...


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## gracebeey (4/1/10)

.DJ. said:


> yeah I had it and is one Pale Ale I dont like..
> 
> too much going on I rekon...



Really? That's the exact reason why I like it, I actually mentioned last night to my drinking partner that 'it's like there's a party in my mouth!' (I think it's a jingle for a commercial but anyway, it's appropriate).


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## zebba (4/1/10)

Had the epic mayhem the other day. My kind of beer! To match, the wife cooked up some pasta alla matriciana - and she knocked the chilli jar and dumped far too much chilli into it (her words, not mine). Excess chilli + excess hops in the mayhem made the perfect match, and I was sitting in a chilli/hop high heaven for an hour or so after it was all finished 

If you like balance, don't get the mayhem. But if you're looking for something a little different, I recommend it. For whatever that is worth.


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## dpadden (4/1/10)

gracebeey said:


> Hi all, firstly I wish everyone a happy and successful new year!
> 
> Last night I tried a beer so wonderful I thought I'd share with you all. It's a New Zealand beer (it's been mentioned in another NZ brewery thread, which does not specifically discuss this beer) called Epic Pale Ale. It comes in an honest size of 500ml bottle (I really like this size - too bad I couldn't swipe the bottles home I would love to have this for my home brews).
> 
> ...



Yeah what a great pale ale it is. Luke Nicholas, the brewer comes across as a very nice guy and a good marketer as well.

btw, it is brewed using 100% US Cascade


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## Fourstar (4/1/10)

Zebba said:


> Had the epic mayhem the other day. My kind of beer!
> 
> If you like balance, don't get the mayhem. But if you're looking for something a little different, I recommend it. For whatever that is worth.



I had Mayhem on NYE and it was awesome. I dont know if it was the age of the bottle i had but i'd rate it more for balance compared to their AIPA. Awweeesome.

Its quite a deceptive beer. The low IBU bitterness is balanced well with the crystal and malt character and it sure doesnt drink like a 6% beer. When i think of a imperial pale ale i can only ever picture a ramped up IBU:ABV ratio which then turns into an AIPA :lol: . Great to see some skill of bumping just the ABV and couple that with some malt/hop tweaking to create something superb like Mayhem.

Hats off to Epic! :beerbang:


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## eric8 (4/1/10)

I have had both the Epic Pale Ale and the Armageddon, I thought both where great, but the Aramageddon didn't really seem like it had as much going on as the Epic. I have a bottle of the Mayhem as well, so can't wait to try that as well.


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## BrenosBrews (4/1/10)

The 23 hops thing is how many whole hop cones there would be if he actually used whole hop cones. You should look out for Epic Armegeddon IPA if you like hoppy beers!  

If your near Acland Cellars I assume you've been to The Local? Both Feral Hop Hog IPA & Mountain Goat IPA on tap last night, both pretty damn good!


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## thanme (4/1/10)

I LOVE this beer. It's not so easy to find here, and the place I got it from seems to keep putting off when it's getting it back. Epic is easily the best name for it, as it describes it to a T 
Personally, I don't know if I could actually name 23 hops.


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## jbowers (4/1/10)

The Epic Armageddon is one of the best IPA's going round this side of the states. Incredible beer.

Also Mountain Goat on tap? Next to hop hog? Weeee!!!

Was the hop hog heaps better or have mountain goat actually made a decent IPA this time?


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## zebba (4/1/10)

Fourstar said:


> I had Mayhem on NYE and it was awesome. I dont know if it was the age of the bottle i had but i'd rate it more for balance compared to their AIPA. Awweeesome.


Could just be my pallette. I'm still a noob at tasting beer.

I think the best bit of this beer was opening the bottle. It was like opening a bag of hops. Awesome. It's was like some hot chick had walked up to me and slapped me in the face... then winked at me in a tantalising manner. Like she was calling me a bad boy, then inviting me back to her place. The stuff dreams are made of.

The taste was just hops, hops, hops for me. You're right on the bitterness, but the malt for me was just a carrier for the hops - I wouldn't say it had "malt character", as all I got was hops. But I loved it. Wish I had have bought a few more, although I paid $14 for my bottle so had to restrict the quantity to 1!!

It's because I found it so over the top (a good thing, IMO) on the hops that it matched so well with the wifes "oops I spilled all the chilli into the pot" pasta. Chilli goes with everything, IMO, but it goes REALLY well with hops 

I also have the Epic Armageddon IPA waiting to go in the fridge at home. I'm doubly excited by it now due to your comments! I didn't get the Epic Pale, as I already had a couple of pales in the basket (TTLL and Sierra Nevada)


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## Fourstar (4/1/10)

Zebba said:


> I wouldn't say it had "malt character", as all I got was hops. But I loved it.



If you try enough US brewed APA and AIPA you will start to pickup the distinct malt profile they usually have. Sweet caramel (sometimes heavy) but never cloying. Mayhem reminded me of how well balanced yet overly hopped the Lagunitas IPA is and the crystal malt profile was spot on. :icon_drool2:


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## BrenosBrews (4/1/10)

jbowers said:


> The Epic Armageddon is one of the best IPA's going round this side of the states. Incredible beer.
> 
> Also Mountain Goat on tap? Next to hop hog? Weeee!!!
> 
> Was the hop hog heaps better or have mountain goat actually made a decent IPA this time?



The problem with the previous incarnation of Mountain Goat IPA was that it was organic, therefore relient on NZ hops. While still an OK beer it certainly was not a great IPA. I believe they are now using Cascade, Simcoe & Galaxy hops. The Hop Hog is still better but I'd happily drink either all night long.


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## thanme (4/1/10)

Zebba said:


> I think the best bit of this beer was opening the bottle. It was like opening a bag of hops. Awesome. It's was like some hot chick had walked up to me and slapped me in the face... then winked at me in a tantalising manner. Like she was calling me a bad boy, then inviting me back to her place. The stuff dreams are made of.



This may be the greatest description for a beer ever


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## Stove (4/1/10)

This stuff is even better on tap.
I used to go to the Cock and Bull in north Hamilton NZ when I lived there still, and EPIC on tap was a real eye-opener 
Mind you i liked all their beers.


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## jbowers (4/1/10)

BrenosBrews said:


> The problem with the previous incarnation of Mountain Goat IPA was that it was organic, therefore relient on NZ hops. While still an OK beer it certainly was not a great IPA. I believe they are now using Cascade, Simcoe & Galaxy hops. The Hop Hog is still better but I'd happily drink either all night long.



Thats a fantastic lineup of hops. Simcoe and galaxy will taste like pure win I imagine. I'll head down for my first trip to the brewery on wednesday methinks. Anyone know whats on tap at the royston atm? I may as well pop in there too if there is anything good.


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## gracebeey (4/1/10)

BrenosBrews said:


> The 23 hops thing is how many whole hop cones there would be if he actually used whole hop cones. You should look out for Epic Armegeddon IPA if you like hoppy beers!
> 
> If your near Acland Cellars I assume you've been to The Local? Both Feral Hop Hog IPA & Mountain Goat IPA on tap last night, both pretty damn good!



I will look out for Armageddon, everyone seems to think that this thing is sex on legs! 

Yes I'm near Acland Cellars, in fact I just found out about The Local's beers recently. I've passed it many times but never stopped by even though it looked inviting, because I thought it's just another pub  . I will sign up for their Ale Star thing tonight.

I haven't had Feral Hop Hog yet, however Mountain Goat IPA is quite good, though not as hoppy as I would prefer in my humble opinion. May drop by The Local on the way to Acland Cellars tonight, actually, so I'll try it then.

Grace


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## Jye (4/1/10)

YES THIS BEER IS AWESOME... AND I AM MEANING TO SHOUT!

Ran into it at LC Dinning Hall in Melborne and it blew me away. Not only is it now at the top of my pale ale list with Alpha running a second  its the best commercial beer Ive had since... well I can remember when


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## gracebeey (4/1/10)

Terrible news, according to Acland Cellars Epic Armageddon is no more. No more as in, no more in the foreseeable future. It's apparently completely sold out, the importers don't have any more, and there is no batch on the way or in the making  .

So just to be safe I hoarded a few bottles of the Epic Pale Ale that they still have, and a couple Sierra Nevadas. 

If anyone knows where to get the Armageddon IPA in Melbourne please let me know!

Grace


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## jbowers (4/1/10)

gracebeey said:


> Terrible news, according to Acland Cellars Epic Armageddon is no more. No more as in, no more in the foreseeable future. It's apparently completely sold out, the importers don't have any more, and there is no batch on the way or in the making  .
> 
> So just to be safe I hoarded a few bottles of the Epic Pale Ale that they still have, and a couple Sierra Nevadas.
> 
> ...



Try slowbeer, Chris has some left according to the website. I dont think I'll fork out the 12.50 a bottle any more, but the 3 I had last time I was in were heavenly. Please tell me you picked up some Torpedo while you were in haha.


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## hairofthedog (4/1/10)

had a epic pale ale today & thought it was great then a sierra nevada anniversary ale straight after which took the cake what a awesome brew


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## gracebeey (5/1/10)

jbowers said:


> Try slowbeer, Chris has some left according to the website. I dont think I'll fork out the 12.50 a bottle any more, but the 3 I had last time I was in were heavenly. Please tell me you picked up some Torpedo while you were in haha.



I'll try slowbeer today. And yes, in fact I did pick up a Torpedo


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## KolonelKlink (5/1/10)

gracebeey said:


> If anyone knows where to get the Armageddon IPA in Melbourne please let me know!
> 
> Grace



I work at Prince Wine & Spirits in South Melbourne and we have plenty of the Epic Lager, Pale Ale, Mayhem and Armageddon 

Come see us on Clarendon St.

Ps I just work there, I'm not an owner. 

Cheers,

KK


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## glennheinzel (5/1/10)

KolonelKlink said:


> I work at Prince Wine & Spirits in South Melbourne and we have plenty of the Epic Lager, Pale Ale, Mayhem and Armageddon
> 
> Come see us on Clarendon St.
> 
> ...




And all your beers are nicely refridgerated! I was visiting Melbourne around the time that Luke was doing the instore tasting (a few months ago), however I couldn't hang around. :angry:

Still, I made out like a bandit with some Schneider Hopfen Weisse, Rogue juniper beer, various IPA's etc.


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## gracebeey (5/1/10)

KolonelKlink said:


> I work at Prince Wine & Spirits in South Melbourne and we have plenty of the Epic Lager, Pale Ale, Mayhem and Armageddon



Ha! Do you by any chance go to St Ali for coffee? My partner (who manages the place) always recommend going to Prince's for wine, and I've gone there for a few ESBs before. I'll drop by later on this week, or send the better half on the way home tonight. Cheers for the tip

Grace


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## zebba (10/1/10)

Had the Epic Armageddon IPA yesterday while bottling my latest brew. Fantastic drop. The hops seemed a little more focussed than the Mayhem - far stronger in the citrus, rather than the resin and pine that I got from the Mayhem. Both great beers, although if I had to pick I'd probably go with the Mayhem.


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## eric8 (10/1/10)

Zebba said:


> Had the Epic Armageddon IPA yesterday while bottling my latest brew. Fantastic drop. The hops seemed a little more focussed than the Mayhem - far stronger in the citrus, rather than the resin and pine that I got from the Mayhem. Both great beers, although if I had to pick I'd probably go with the Mayhem.


Yeah i would definitely agree with everything you have said there.


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## razz (28/11/11)

Half way through my first bottle of Epic pale ale ( I don't get out much) Wow! nicest ale I've had for a long time. Smells like hops straight into the kettle.


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## jacknohe (28/11/11)

razz said:


> Half way through my first bottle of Epic pale ale ( I don't get out much) Wow! nicest ale I've had for a long time. Smells like hops straight into the kettle.




Well they used a lot of US Cascade so I'd expect so... :icon_drool2:


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## psytramp (28/11/11)

i've never tried this beer, you guys are making me thirsty....

is there a good AG clone of any of these ales?


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## rehab (28/11/11)

Oh yes, this is a great beer. The first step into hoppy craftbeer wonderment for me! I then had Tuatara APA and Armageddon which were magnificent examples. The Zombie and Barrel Aged Armageddon are also top drops (especially if you can ever find them on tap!). 
Epic beer was really the first step in bringing me to homebrewing. I wish I could make great hoppy ales like this and one day I will! 

Cheers

Chris :icon_drool2:


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## Lecterfan (28/11/11)

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/668 :icon_cheers:


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## jacknohe (29/11/11)

psytramp said:


> i've never tried this beer, you guys are making me thirsty....
> 
> is there a good AG clone of any of these ales?




Check out this thread too. The clone recipe I used based on the Brewing Network podcast and modified for no chill was the money. All this talk about Epic Pale Ale has motivated me to make another one in the new year. It requires a fair amount of US Cascade hops, but its worth it!!! :icon_drool2:


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