Imperial IPA - Epic Brewing Co.

pixieskid

France

4.48/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Batch 13, ABV listed at 9.6%

Brought this bomber back from my recent visit to AZ. So far, I've been pretty impressed with EPIC. I've had the Sour Apple Saison, Brainless on Peaches, and now their Imperial IPA.

Upon cracking the bottle, an "epic" aroma of graprefruit permeates throughout my kitchen.
Pours a very hazy, deep orange, with a solid 3 finger head...lingers for some time.
Aroma; big citrus and floral notes.
Taste; strong citrus (candied orange and grapefruit) with a nice caramel back. Undertones of zesty herbal hops, finishing with a little alcohol burn and strong abrasive grapefruit bitterness.

Overall; raw, aggressive, tons of hops...just what I needed!

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 02:16:20 | More by pixieskid

rwrk42

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pour: a dark golden copper with a nice head that sticks to the glass all the way down,
Smell: Hops, hops and more hops along with a faint citrus, malty smell
Taste: A nice malty, pine and hops taste. Smooth with a bitter hop finish. Citrus undertones
A great IPA which I highly recommend. The 9.3% ABV can be deceiving as the alcohol taste is minimal.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2012 03:19:25 | More by rwrk42

Avast

4.38/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

My favorite IPA from Epic. Beautiful yellow hue color. Beautiful Cenntenial hop smell and taste; SO fruity and floral. Complex, yet simple grain bill adds a smooth elegance to the bitterness of the hop profile. If I had the money I would by cases of it.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 22:18:05 | More by Avast

schoolboy

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Yup, it's a double alright. I usually over rate these of my favorite style and this is no exception. But it is really good. It has the appropriate hoppy aroma, taste and aftertaste. All good with no errors. Not much in the way of superflous flavors, just hops and malt, and it works.

This is my second Epic and both have been top of the line brews and top of the line drinking experiences.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 21:31:12 | More by schoolboy

maximum12

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Picked up in a local shop as I continue my quest to work my way through the Epic lineup. I'm going to keep buying them as long as they stay this good. Batch #4 @ 9.9% ABV, per the website brewed in late April. Split in two & shared with my working wife.

Pour is an unfiltered orange, I can barely see my forefinger on the other side of the glass. Smell came at me with a crowbar immediately upon the pour with a bitter vengeance. No need to ask the style once you sniff this beer's butt.

This IIPA defines the style & takes off from there. Oily & resinous doesn't quite do it, it's more like pine sap with tar added. The hops ooze into the system with style & grace: bitter grapefruit, pine, more bitterness. A light touch with the malts is perfect, just enough sweet to complement the sap but not enough to take anything away from this bitter character.

Excellent beer. This is not only a Polaroid of a lovely IIPA, it sets the mouthfeel on fire with thickness that doesn't cloy or detract from center stage. Another superbly crafted beer. This is one damn fine brewery!

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2011 01:53:29 | More by maximum12

gford217

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle. Batch 14.

Pours a hazy orange amber with a big sticky beige head that leaves good lacing.

Aroma is mainly grapefruit and lemongrass. There is some sugary sweet malts in the background and some subtle resinous pine.

Taste is hoppy and full of juicy citrus up front. A nice grapefruit bitterness especially but with a sweet malty backbone. The finish is bitter but with lots of alcohol burn.

The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and really sticky on the palate with hop resin lingering with the boozy burn.

I'm impressed with this beer. A big juicy citrus-filled DIPA that remains fairly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 02:00:40 | More by gford217

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from Joe Canal's in Rio Grande...
Appears a hazy shade of orange toned amber with a small white head that slowly fades into a mild cap. Scattered streaks of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of massive amounts of freshly baked bread, biscuits, caramel, honey, citrus, pine needles, and yeast.
Taste echoes the aromas with a plethora of biscuity malt balancing out the bitter hop acids.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, chewy, and well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 00:44:34 | More by weeare138

plfahey

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle poured into a wine glass.

Appearance-Amber in color with a touch of haze. Moderately tall white cap of foam with solid retention.

Aroma-Sticky piney and resiny hops over a full, toasty caramel malt backbone. Undertones of tropical fruit-dried pineapple and mango-with tangerine rinds. Not overly aromatic, but delicious and long-lasting.

Flavor-Caramel and raisins up front with piney resinous hop flavor. Some tropical fruits in the middle-juicy mango and apricot. Moderately high bitterness is incredibly smooth. Finish is a blend of raisiny caramel, pine, and juicy fruit.

Mouthfeel-Medium full body with moderately high carbonation. Some warming from the high booze.

Delicious and exceptionally drinkable for something this boozy and this hoppy. Wonderfully balanced and awesome. Get this, you won't be disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 08:32:08 | More by plfahey

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Epic Brewing Imperial IPA, Exponential Series, Release #2, 10.1% a.b.v.
"You are holding something special--one of only 1800 bottles released and numbered. Intriqued? Visit www.epicbrewing,com to explore this limited brew's precise details. Brewed and bottled by EPIC Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah."

Let's crack the crown and drink it down!

Beautiful peachy color, clouded, opaque…long-lasting ivory head. Looking lovely.

Aroma: ah, there it is, everything you want in an imperial IPA. Grapefruit, mango, orange and lemon confer with some piney permutations to give this wondrous hoppy bouquet. Potent and piquant, loud and looming, big and beautiful. Just is.

Taste: Bam! There is is, again! Everything enjoyed in the aroma comes back in the taste. Fat flavor, blistering bitterness, very lively, alert and alive. I just plain like it.

Bitter fruity flavor lasts and lasts. A constant barrage of juicy, bitter hoppy flavor. Slightly astringent, but sweet fruity flavor keeps it going . Wow, the hoppiness keeps on coming. Wow. Here's an excellent entry in the ranks of imperial IPAs. The flavor doesn't quit. Yum meets yum, and it keeps on coming.

Can't help loving this IPA. Mmmmm.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2011 05:06:23 | More by feloniousmonk

FickleBeast

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the George St alehouse in New Brunswick, NJ.

Arrives in a pint glass with a finger of off white foam. Beautiful lacing as the beer recedes. Aroma is very hoppy with a bit of caramel sweetness. Grapefruit and citrus hops dominate the nose.

Aroma is backed up by a huge hop flavor. Completely imba hoppy, but in a good way. This is what I crave in an IIPA. I taste influences from many different hops... maybe simcoe, amarillo, cascade? There is a nice malty backbone to the beer, that is only detected in the substantial body and for a brief instant between the rush of hop flavor and the rush of hop bitterness.

All in all, this is a nice IIPA. Never would have guessed it came from Utah.

Serving type: on-tap

07-12-2011 23:12:49 | More by FickleBeast

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This particular bottle is from batch #5 with a 9.9% ABV. Since it's listed as 9.5% here on BA, I'm guessing the ABV changes with each batch.

A - Pours a hazy, medium orange color with a very thick two fingered head. Creamy, billowing white foam with lacing sticking to the sides of the glass like glue. The beer looks thick as it's poured.

S - Oranges and spicy grapefruit rind dominate the nose. All these aromas mix together, but not in a very strong way, aroma is mildly moderate, not pungent but somewhat resiny. There's a slight bit of booziness intermingled within the nose. Malts are pretty subdued as this is more hop forward.

T - Very similar to what I experienced in the nose. Lots of resiny, hoppy, fruit with the addition of pine (I didn't pick that one up in the nose.). The tip of the tongue is met with some sweet caramel malt for a very brief second, followed by a wave of tangy, bittersweet, zesty, orange peels and grapefruit rind. After the wave of spicy fruit, the sip is finished off with a pretty healthy dose of alcohol effervescence and a little bit of caramel malt. Because of the noticeable alcohol, this one finishes pretty dry on the palette.

M - Heavy medium body and somewhat sticky. Texture is mild and prickly on the tongue with a velvety texture.

O - I've never heard of Epic Brewing Co. before and bought this at a local bottle shop out of curiosity and being a big IPA fan, especially D-IPA's. The Exponential Series Imperial IPA is definitely worth checking out, I'm glad I did and will be going back for some more bottles (if they're still on the shelf).

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 01:24:37 | More by jzeilinger

Beer_Runner

4.1/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The Epic website states that Series #15 was bottled between January 2 and February 14, 2012. This bottle had aged nine months.

A: A slow pour into a standard pint glass produced about one finger of off-white head that was dense and clumpy. After a few minutes this had dissipated to a very thin layer and left some okay lacing. The brew is a very clear golden-orange with plenty of carbonation stream raising through.

S: The aroma consisted of strong pine and citrus notes along with a good shot of floral and just a hint of malt sweetness.

T: The taste began with some caramel malt sweetness and then a mildly bitter citrus quickly joined in, and that was followed by a nice rush of pine and floral, and there was also just a touch of peppery hops.

M: The body was in the lighter range of medium and very smooth with a medium amount of carbonation; and, it was just a little bit sticky.

O: This is a very good beer, and it is a bit of a different take on the Imperial IPA style. This Imperial IPA is light in color and has a much sweeter malt backbone than most Imperial IPA’s I have tried. It seems a little more like a Double IPA in my opinion. It had big, bold, and balanced malt and hops flavors – with the hops focused on citrus, pine, and floral, without a large amount of bitterness. This beer was very high quality and will certainly make my interested in trying other Epic beers when I can find them.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 16:48:25 | More by Beer_Runner

smakawhat

Maryland

4.08/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass. Bronze GABF winner 2011 in Imperial India Pale Ale category. Release #14. This label is ribbed, feels like a good grip! Interesting, onward into a nonic pint glass you go.

A classic off white head, somewhat uniform but quite large and fistfull big with a large cap. Body is kind of murky and cloudy dull amber brown with some faint rising carbonation.

What a great classic nose on this. Chewy perfect mix of hop and sweet biscuity malt. Hop angle seems to take a soft side getting into mushy fruit but a sense of a real dense sweet malt body perhaps coming.

Sweet hop blasting with a perfect malt brown sugar in the palate on first sip. Body hints at bigger thickness but is subdued yet coating. Afterfinish has a bitterness without the astringency, in fact it seems there's a great malt sweetness that takes over. Really nice balance here in the palate, with a hop angle that just seems to hit a simple dry pine.

Overall, fantastic nice job, real interesting and different from the usual rip your face off IPAs which have their place too.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 16:42:19 | More by smakawhat

Beaver13

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle - release #3, 9.9% ABV. Pours a cloudy straw orange with a medium frothy white head that laces the glass.

The aroma is dank, piney hops with a little sweet malt and a touch of fruit.

The flavor is some sweet malt and a little fruit with a lot of dank, piney, resiny, peppery hops that give it a lot of bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, a surprisingly good DIPA! It's a big unbalanced hop bomb, but well done and not too much over the top.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 04:21:57 | More by Beaver13

ocelot2500

Arizona

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy light amber color with a tight, white head that leaves a sheet of lacing.

Smells of mostly citrus hops with a bit of caramel.

Tastes of a wave of hops om top of a solid malt backbone. Hops lead off with pine and citrus that offer a moderate amount of bitterness. Caramel malt sweeps in and offers a bit of sweetness with some toasted notes as well. A bit of fruitiness comes in near the end.

Mouthfeel is medium-full with a smooth amount of carbonation.

Overall, a solid DIPA that is a bit of a surprise.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2011 01:58:14 | More by ocelot2500

oberon

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into an imperial nonic a dull medium golden with a frothy 1/2 finger white head atop that left one big continous sheet of lace as it settled into a frothy mass.Drunken fruit really stood out in the nose,along with some leather and citrus,the boozy fruit really stood out here.Boozy and quite sweet up front,again that leathery element comes into play along with overripe tropical fruit hop notes,its not as over the top sweet as most of the style are but its big and sweet.This is a solid rendition of a DIPA,Epic makes some solid if not spectacular beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 04:08:05 | More by oberon

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a hazy golden-orange color with a finger of frothy white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of grapefruit, pineapple, tropical, and pine hops with some sweet caramel and biscuit malts and a bit of booze.

T - Starts out with a mix of grapefruit, pineapple, mango, and other tropical hops with some bitterness and some sweet caramel malts. Through the middle, some resiny pine hops and more bitterness come through with some biscuit malts. The finish is a mix of grapefruit and pineapple hops with some bitterness, some sweet bready malts, and a bit of booze.

M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry and bitter finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice hop profile and overall balance. Little bit of floaties.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 23:10:54 | More by ngeunit1

superspak

Michigan

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass; Release #16, bottled 4/1/2012. Pours very hazy golden orange color with a nice 1-2 finger very dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big orange zest, grapefruit, caramel, pineapple, mango, biscuit, orange rind, light pine, grass, floral, and light earthy spiciness. Very nice aromas with good hop complexity and malt balance; the age is notable here, but still very nice. Taste of grapefruit, orange zest, pineapple, caramel, bread, mango, pine, citrus rind, floral, grass, toast, and herbal spiciness. Fair amount of piney bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, pineapple, caramel, bread, mango, pine, floral, and herbal spiciness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice hop complexity with a very balanced malt backbone; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Hop and malt balance is great and not overly sweet at all; despite the age of this bottling. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, sticky, and fairly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with hardly any warming noticed at all after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice DIPA! Great hop flavor complexity and malt balance; and extremely smooth to sip on. This was a very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 04:05:53 | More by superspak

BeerLover99

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(Release #22/10.2% ABV)

A: cloudy gold/light orange, finger off-white head, sexy lacing

S: grapefruit, pine, mild floral background

T: grapefruit, hint of peach, firm pine,
grainy malt, long oily/sticky bitter finish

M: med/heavy body, big oily/sticky mouth

O: BRAVO, EPIC! Haven't tasted your brews
in a while, rather nice. Hopheads should grab this
and I would love to share it again. ABV well hidden.

DELIGHTFUL; TREAT YOURSELF!

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 22:15:23 | More by BeerLover99

jtierney89

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Incredibly hoppy nose. Hazed orange glow with a nice big sticky white head. Big hop resin on the nose, slightly citric, slightly floral with a hint of pint. Detectable malt on the nose as well in the form of caramel.

Wow super slick mouthfeel with hop resin throughout. Sweet caramelized fruits on the tip of the tongue roll into a piney citric rind bitterness. Big, fruity, sweet, bitter and balanced. This beer starts with enormous malt sweetness and balances itself with huge tropical fruit hop bitterness. The beer has a long bitter finish with a hint of lingering booziness. Very very good.

Everything from Epic's elevated and exponential series has been great so far.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 05:07:13 | More by jtierney89

GilGarp

Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Batch #13 weighing in at 9.6% ABV.

Served chilled into a goblet, this beer is a hazy golden copper color with quick-settling head. It leaves some nice lacing behind.

Aroma is strong and hoppy but it should probably have even a little more in this day and age of OTT DIPAs. Nice citrus and grapefruit notes. A little bit of a honey-like sweetness.

Flavor is intensely hoppy, in fact, moreso than I would have expected given more muted aroma. Bitter orange, pine, and grapefruit all contribute to the taste. The sweetness from the huge malt bill is evident only at the very beginning of each sip. From there on out, it's a palate wrecker.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and nicely carbonated. The alcohol and the bitterness get to you after a while.

Overall a good double IPA but not one of the best. Worth a try if you really love the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2012 23:47:38 | More by GilGarp

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a one finger white head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of citrus hops, grapefruit, mild sweet malt. Taste follows aroma, dominated by citrus and somewhat herbal hops supported by a nice caramel malt body. Flavor starts with hop bitterness which persists through the taste, finishing with residual citrus bittering hops. Medium bodied with a pleasant creaminess. Nicely integrated hops and malt; although the hops do not stand out in flavor intensity, the overall flavor progression is nice and inviting. I will watch for this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 02:43:22 | More by LiquidAmber

rustymoore

Tennessee

3.95/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Green Dragon in Portland OR

poured a creamy orange with minimal head but good lacing in a Chimay glass

Smell is full of hop notes as well as sweet fruits. Orange as well as banana

Taste is remarkably muted with hop flavor given the level of alcohol by volume. I was expecting an ethanol tinge but did not get that

Mouthfeel is smooth for the most part but is also acidic on the finish

Overall this isn't something you can drink all night but certainly give it a go if u get the chance

Serving type: on-tap

12-06-2011 05:08:20 | More by rustymoore

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a light copper colour, thumb of fine bubbled head, solid retention and nice sporadic lacing.

S - Sweet citrus hop notes, solid caramel malt undertones, lemon sugar on the finish.

T - The citrus hops dominate, offering up a resiny flavour, hints of metallic lemon rind and a solid caramel malt on the finish. A sour citrus flavour lingers alongside a hint of ABV sweetness.

M - Medium bodied, a tad prickly and a touch of ABV heat on the finish.

O - Overall a solid DIPA and probably my favourite of the Epic brews that I picked up. The bitterness is certainly prominent and the ABV could be a bit more subdued, but all-in-all a solid DIPA worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 02:33:38 | More by andrenaline

Mdog

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Hazy gold, huge head.

Smell: Not too strong, citrus.

Taste: Lots of caramel backbone, reminds me a lot of barleywines like Bigfoot. Bitter citrus does show up but is nicely balanced.

Drinkability: Not too heavy for a big beer.

A new DIPA in Minnesota so I'll give it a try. Very balanced, gives you plenty of hops but also plenty of caramel sweetness. I like sweeter DIPAs so this hits the spot. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2011 23:14:22 | More by Mdog