Epic. World Famous in NZ
YOU don’t call a beer Epic unless you think it’s pretty good. So the brewer of Epic Pale Ale obviously thinks he’s on to something. And so did the judges at the NZ International Beer Awards, where Epic Pale Ale took the Supreme Trophy. It smells fresh, light and hardly "epic". Just a pleasant hint of ruby grapefruit over malt. It’s in the mouth that the beer lives up to its name. It fills every nook and cranny with resinous hop flavours, the like of which I’ve only come across in Emerson’s APA and the limited release Brewjolais from Mac’s. This is an American Pale Ale, a new style that picks up where the India Pale Ale left off, pushing hops into your gums and lips like moisturiser into a sunburned face. You soon get the hop grin, and you need to keep drinking because your mouth feels perversely dry. It’s a big beer from New Zealand’s biggest city, the Land of Auks. The brewer claims it has the equivalent of 15 hops (presumably pellets) in each bottle. That’s 14 more, or perhaps 14-and-a-half more, than most Kiwi draught. It’s not elegant, but it is distinctive. And curiously moreish. Cheers, Aaron Watson Capital Times
