Hop Syndrome Lager - Epic Brewing Co.

stimulus

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Release #2.
Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A: Pours straw yellow with a one finger white head. (as expected for the style)
S: Pilsner malt with a lightly hoppy background.
T: Reminds me of your run of the mill light lager while cold, but after warming up a bit, the hops start to show through with a fruity presence.
M: Crisp, clean, light bodied, and well carbonated.
O: Once I let this warm up to about 45-50 degrees rather than the colder temperatures lagers are traditionally enjoyed at, the beer became more than just your average pale lager, yet not as hoppy as advertised. So good for the style, but falls short of expectations of a hoppy lager, and probably my least favorite Epic offering as of yet.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 19:46:26 | More by stimulus

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -14.5%

05-12-2013 18:03:20 | More by mikeburd1128

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

05-10-2013 18:40:17 | More by twenty5

juicebox

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +6.8%

04-23-2013 01:25:18 | More by juicebox

yemenmocha

Arizona

3.41/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours hazy golden color with plenty of white head that laces nicely as the pint goes down. Nose is on the lighter & cleaner side for me with some hints of grass, herbs, and citrus. Mouthfeel is pleasingly smooth with good carbonation, light bready flavors, lemony citrus hops to balance, and more of the herbal components mixed in. Finishes with some hoppy aftertaste that is nice.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 03:38:14 | More by yemenmocha

sixerofelixir

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +21.1%

02-28-2013 01:13:16 | More by sixerofelixir

muskiesman

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -14.5%

02-26-2013 05:06:32 | More by muskiesman

InfernoBoss

California

3.75/5  rDev +6.8%

02-04-2013 06:30:45 | More by InfernoBoss

superspak

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle into pilsener glass; Release 7, bottled 5/24/2012. Pours hazy golden straw color with a 1 finger dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing on the glass; with a nice amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of lemon, pear, apple, pepper, grass, floral, cracker, bready grain, and earthy hop spiciness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity. Taste of lemon, pear, apple, orange zest, floral, grass, cracker, bread, pepper, pine, and herbal hop spiciness. Fair amount of lemony pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, light fruits, floral, grass, pepper, cracker, bread, pine, and herbal hop spiciness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice flavor balance with good complexity; good hop/malt balance; and almost zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a crisp, prickly, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with nearly zero warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good hoppy pale lager. Nice hop/malt flavor balance with solid complexity; and extremely smooth and crisp to drink. I enjoyed this quite a bit, very well done.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 05:35:19 | More by superspak

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Pours a very lightly cloudy pale yellow in color with some light golden yellow highlights and moderate amounts of carbonation. The beer has a two finger dense frothy white head that slowly reduces to a thick film covering the majority of the surface of the beer with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate amounts of a pale and grainy malt with some more moderate aromas of citrus/lemon zest, herbal, and grassy hops.

T: Upfront there is a light to moderate flavor of grainy malts with a touch of pale malts. After that, there is a moderate amount of hoppiness with citrus/lemon zest, herbal, and grassy hops all present. The hops impart a light amount of bitterness which fades after a short amount of time.

M: Just slightly heavier than light bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Slick with a light amount of oiliness.

O: Overall this is a very nice beer, that is easy to drink, sessionable, and quite refreshing. A nice low ABV for an easy drinking beer is one that I could easily have all day long and it pairs nicely with food - in my case, ribs.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 03:34:22 | More by dbrauneis

yokken

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -7.4%

12-24-2012 03:28:13 | More by yokken

mactrail

California

3.9/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Extremely pleasant light lager with an aromatic kiss of hops. Pours a golden color in the big glass with a nice head. Light but sudsy mouthfeel.

This has the hop flavor I call "perfumey." Really aromatic with hop flowers along with a little mustiness. A nice flavorful mouthful. Just enough malt to give a little tenderness. After the malt fades the aftertaste is rather resiny and plenty bitter.

A great example of a usually not very inspiring style. From the 22 oz bottle bought at the Utah Liquor Store in Sugar House.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 05:11:46 | More by mactrail

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

12-18-2012 01:16:18 | More by stereosforgeeks

GarretD

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -21.7%

12-14-2012 21:44:39 | More by GarretD

roadies

4/5  rDev +14%

12-07-2012 17:37:28 | More by roadies

BigTrubble

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -7.4%

11-28-2012 23:50:19 | More by BigTrubble

Mister_Joshy

California

3.75/5  rDev +6.8%

11-05-2012 00:37:41 | More by Mister_Joshy

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

bomber into flying dog chalice.

A: a little bit of haze on this straw yellow body. head is white and bubbly with great retention and lacing.

S: herbal nose, a little soapy, a little minty. i cant seem to shake the soapyness in the aroma and it is a bit off-putting.

T: mild floralness and herbalness start things off. bitterness follows, not striking, but enough for the amount of grain here. the bitterness also dries things out on the finish.

M: average carb on a pretty light, almost medium, body.

D: some flaws that i cant really overlook. any lager shouldnt have this much haze and i cant really get over the soap on the nose. if they can clean a few things up this would be pretty solid.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 20:18:35 | More by Jimmys

jtd1969

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Golden, good carbonation with good lacing

S - Tart and herbal

T - Crisp earthy hops with the sweetness of a lager

M - medium bodied, smooth, well carbonated, clean finish

O - Very refreshing lager. I really enjoyed the added hops to this beer

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 01:53:37 | More by jtd1969

AndrewMichael

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

09-29-2012 15:37:40 | More by AndrewMichael

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Release #7.

Pours a cloudy pale golden yellow color with a two finger, frothy white head that slowly fades into a lasting ring. Really good retention with chunks of soapy lacing left behind.

Floral aroma with spicy, earthy hops, pale malt and light fruit notes. Grassy with some straw and pine followed by hints of apple, pear, alcohol, bread and biscuit. The nose reminds me of a lightly hopped pilsner.

Medium bodied with a crisp, spicy hop bite up front that provides some dry bitterness which lingers over the sweeter notes into a dry finish. Earthy and slightly resinous with some grassy pine flavor followed by some light fruit and pilsner malt. Hints of hay, biscuit and grainy cracker give this beer a nice pale malt backbone that counters the other flavors. Not overly complex but well balanced, flavorful and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 08:30:52 | More by corby112

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer #48 in my great Utah Brew Hunt.

The label on mine states that this is 5%.

So, this seems less like a syndrome and more like a kersniffle, at first. As time goes on though, the beer does grow on me and I appreciate it more. There is a mild fruit tone to it that I find interesting and a somewhat herbal and oddly minty thing as well. But overall, it's just a pretty easy drinkin' lager with nice earthy tones. I would have loved a lot (or a little) more hop influence or something that makes this one stand out a bit more, but no matter. If I were out, I'd probably order this on-tap if I saw it.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 17:00:34 | More by RblWthACoz

tdm168

North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to jtd1969 for sharing this bottle with me.

A - clear, pale yellow with a soft, white head that has little retention

S - herbal, grassy, heavy lager yeast

T - herbal, earthy, lager yeast, clean bitter finish

M - medium bodied, smooth, well carbonated

This is a really nice, hoppy, smooth lager. The hops are intense and definitely give it character. A bit more balance would help, but overall this was a very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 23:48:02 | More by tdm168

brewdude1982

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +6.8%

09-26-2012 14:42:10 | More by brewdude1982

t0rin0

California

2.5/5  rDev -28.8%

09-26-2012 02:48:20 | More by t0rin0