Imperial IPA - Epic Brewing Co.

quaybr

Colorado

2.85/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A slightly cloudy golden-amber with a short and bubbly head of white foam.

Aroma is a bit unbalanced - lots of caramel and burnt toffee malts (which don't necessarily smell pleasant) with no hop notes. Maybe something went wrong with this keg?

Taste seems to follow the confusing aroma. Malty with a peculiar resiny finish; the hop oils leave a strange aftertaste on the back of the tongue even though the taste of hops isn't too apparent. This was unpleasant.

Medium-bodied with a good carbonation level.

Overall I am disappointed with this beer. Came highly recommended by the bar tender here at Choice City, but I do not share her enthusiasm.

Serving type: on-tap

09-03-2012 21:00:47 | More by quaybr

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.63/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on-tap at Bailey's Taproom in Portland, OR.

Pours a rather cloudy and colour-wise pretty standard golden hue. Head is good and thick, forming a foamy, bubbly crown for the beer. Sheeting lace over a lightish body. Not bad all up.

Mild, smooth citrus on the nose, along with a slightly breezy vanilla-imbued malt character. Slightly earthy and organic. Pretty smooth and pleasant.

Tasty on the palate, but slightly skewed and off-colour as well. Light crisp citrus on the front, which morph into some sharper, phenolic notes mid-way through. Slight harshness on the back. Malt is solid, but it lends no real flavours to the beer as a whole. Some apricot is noticeable, but it's a weird amalgam, and slightly harsh and rotten when you get down to it.

Feel is light, but clingy with excess booze.

Not bad all up, but I've had better beers. This one suffers from the harshness which is unnecessary.

Serving type: on-tap

07-08-2012 02:33:27 | More by lacqueredmouse

UCLABrewN84

California

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the ColLAboration beer fest at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, CA.

First tapping in California!

Pours a hazy light orange with a foamy beige head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thin streaks of lace form on the glass on the drink down. Smell is of citrus zest and herbal hops with a slight vegetal aroma. Taste is much the same down to the slight vegetal flavors. There is a mild bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good DIPA with lots of hop aromas and flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2012 04:57:21 | More by UCLABrewN84

rwrk42

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +14.4%
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

rustymoore

Tennessee

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
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

tdm168

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Wine 101

Pours an orangish amber with a yellow hue and no head. The nose is floral with grapefruit, citrusy aromas. The taste is pale malt up front with grapefruit, citrus, and floral hop notes in the finish. There are very faint yeast notes in the finish as well. It's light to medium bodied and easily drinkable.

This isn't a bad beer, but it's one dimensional and pretty forgettable. It's an easy drinker though.

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2011 20:47:25 | More by tdm168

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Belmont Station.

The beer pours an orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. The is worrisome, as I get considerable mango and peach, along with some decent pine and light dry citrus. In other words, this smells like another sweet, boozy, east coast style IPA. To no great surprise, the flavor profile replicates the nose, and in fact this is a pretty sweet, malty, boozy DIPA. The beer delivers some decent bitterness, but it's not enough to counter the sweet malt in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, with a fairly long, sweet and bitter, alcoholic finish.

A decent DIPA, but that's probably the best I can say about it. Would likely not order this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

10-03-2011 00:42:00 | More by johnmichaelsen

FickleBeast

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +6.7%
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

bum732

Maryland

2.86/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

S: Faint grassy and grapfruit peel like hops. Fresh cut hay, slight maltiness.

L: Very hazy peach colored, white creamy head that dissipates. Solid lacing.

T: Sharp, grapefruit like hoppiness followed by some light malt sweetness. Medium bitterness with an almost cream-soda like malt backbone. Very grapfruit, pithy hop taste, fairly sharp. Finishes quite dry with some hop sharpness.

M: Medium full body, medium carbonation. Alcohol fairly well hidden.

Pretty mediocre for the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 02:21:58 | More by bum732

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

3.78/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

22oz bottle, volume #16, from Drake's Party Center in Kalamazoo.

Pours murky gold with an orangey hue and an inch-plus head of bone. Plenty of spongy lacework and a partial skim coat on the surface for the duration.

Piney hops with bready malt and some wet cardboard on the nose. A hint of forest floor and honey-drizzled paper follow through.

Medium bodied with a slick, tacky mouthfeel.

The palate leads off with sweet, doughy malt and pine resin. Hints of grapefruit and citrus fruit follow through.

Finishes with a mild bitterness, somewhat sweet, and pine-rubbed cardboard.

This beer is a bit sweet and faded. The hops are subdued and one dimensional, with oxidation running throughout. Certainly disappointing for an $8.00 bomber. Freshness dating on beers should be a law.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 22:05:39 | More by brewandbbq

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.91/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Release #21

A: Pours a hazy to cloudy golden peach in color with some moderate amounts of visible carbonation and some apricot + peach highlights. The beer has a finger tall creamy beige head that slowly reduces to a medium thick patch of medium-large bubbles, a very thin film covering the majority of the remainder of the surface of the beer, and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: There are moderate aromas of citrus/grapefruit/orange rind and pine/resin hops with lighter notes of pale & toasted malts. Light hint of vanilla.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of pale & toasted malts with a light amounts of caramel sweetness. There are moderate to strong flavors of citrus/grapefruit/orange rind and pine/resin hops. Moderate to strong amounts of bitterness that linger for a long time and fade slowly.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Creamy upfront with resiny stickiness and moderate dryness in the finish.

O: This is a big beer, the alcohol is pretty well hidden but after enjoying a glass of this beer I can not see myself being able to drink much more of it without getting tipsy. The bitterness is pretty agressive and limits the drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 19:58:35 | More by dbrauneis

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
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

Monkeyknife

Missouri

3.81/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Release #16. Poured from the bottle a cloudy nectarine-orange color with a finger of silky white head. A light sheet of lacing was left behind.

Aroma of fresh orange, lemon and sweet caramel malts.

Found this to be more malt focused with sweet caramel malts upfront followed by a bite of orange. The 8.9% abv was well hidden.

Medium bodied with a stickiness and moderately carbonated.

Not one of the top IPAs but definitely one that I found enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 22:51:45 | More by Monkeyknife

jtierney89

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2.8%
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

BeerLover99

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2.8%
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

superspak

Michigan

4/5  rDev +2.8%
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

Beer_Runner

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
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

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
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

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Beer #64 in my great Utah Brew Hunt.

This is a decent double ipa. A bit too high on the malty sweet edge of things. But that seems to really calm down as time goes on. Unfortunately, it's replaced by a boozy burn kind of thing (I'm sensing a theme here).

A passable dipa, but nothing really worth noting.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2012 05:22:11 | More by RblWthACoz

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

props to andrenaline for including this in our latest trade
A - cloudy golden orange, two fingers of off white head retained forever, lots of random lacing
S - perfume, funky herbs, and mild citrus, along with a biscuity background
T - perfume hops and booziness are big up front, pine and herbs show up next, biscuit and grain malty background, a hint of licorice root, and astringent and booziness lasting through the finish
M - medium body with fairly big carbonation, big bitter and somewhat astringent, with a prominent boozy heat
O - this is a big brew that is proud of it, not trying to hide anything, all in your face flavours and feels, a little intense at time but it has an appeal, not for the faint of heart or pallate

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 02:33:18 | More by joemcgrath27

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev +2.8%
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

schoolboy

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +11.8%
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

Docer

Washington

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Release #17 22oz. bomber 8.7% ABV

Appearance: (4.0)

- I like the golden straw yellow color when pouring. Nice frothy white foam with big bubbles settles quickly to a big bubbly and lace ridden mess. Looks great. The brew is rather cloudy, and there is certainly a lot of chunky yeast sediment suspended in the brew. For me, yeast sediment is a negative as I like most beers filtered... at least the big chunks. Yeast in that amount can wreak havoc a day after drinking the beer. Don't even get me started on brett.. though I love the beers too much.

Smell: (4.0)

- Kind of a tart and fruity IPA. Grapefruit is the first thing that comes to mind. Aceto is the next, though not so sure that is what it is. Light sweet malt presence, some bready grassiness, some mild caramel. Overall not too bad.

Taste: (4.0)

- Lovely citrus and grapefruit hop flavors. Fruit and glorious hops with a nice grassy and earthy bitter hop. The malt agenda seems pretty basic, but is nice in that it isn't some sweet and loaded with caramel. It's a nice balanced light sweetness with some good bready and yeast character to it. Solid and certainly hop forward. Still though, can't tell if it is the abundant use of hops, or perhaps a slight aceto 'early-pull' type flavor going on. Certainly some pine for sure.

Mouth Feel: (4.0)

- Nice chewy medium bodied brew which is perfectly carbonated and a touch drying from the bittering. Overall easy to drink, and a touch chalky though from the mad yeast.

Overall: (3.5)

- Solid grapefruit and citrus character.. nice bready notes with a malt that isn't overly sweet. Only beef is perhaps an 'aceto-like' flavor hidden far in the back, and the serious chunks of yeast all over in this brew. It would be even better if the yeast would just settle in the glass, but it doesn't. It's like snow in a photograph.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 05:45:27 | More by Docer

Avast

4.38/5  rDev +12.6%
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

dogfish90

California

3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a hazy golden hue with little head. Also, I've never seen such an insane amount of yeast floating around my glass since I had a Brasserie d'Achouffe – Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen Tripel. Keep in mind, this is the first pour from a bomber, I haven't poured the second half yet.

S - Has a white wine-esque smell accompanied with a fruity Belgian like aroma.

T - Consistent with the Belgian characteristics and not so strong on the IPA side. Slight bitterness and fruity notes.

M - More carbonation than what i'm used to with IPAs. Smooth resin is left on the roof of my mouth.

O - A very interesting beer to say the least. Partially because it's labeled an Imperial IPA, but has all of the characteristics of a Belgian style beer IMO. Def has the similarities of a Belgian IPA. I probably won't buy this beer again, but i recommend giving it a shot.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 04:56:10 | More by dogfish90