EPIC Brewing Company

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, Don't Miss This

Epic Rosé Sour Ale is a triumph of a wine-inspired wild ale

Epic Rose Sour Ale

There are plenty of rośe inspired beers in the beer market right now. While they almost incorporate grapes, Epic Brewing Rośe, from the brewery’s Oak & Orchard Series, achieves a rose flavor with strawberries and an “epic” house mixed culture wild ale.

Epic Brewing’s sour program continues to impress us. Recent Oak & Orchard releases like Strawberry Rhubarb, and Pink Guava were some of the best American wild ales we tried at Beer Street Journal in 2018. (Incidentally, their Quadruple Barrel Baptist was one of our 2018 favorites as well.) Rośe Ale truly keeps this impressive flavor journey alive and well into a new year.

Strawberries, hibiscus, and rose hips are part of the approach for Epic Rośe. Each sip is a wash of oaky tart strawberry flavors, with a light, lingering floral aroma on your palate. The rose hips and hibiscus are perfectly subtle. This might be more enjoyable the sipping actual rośe wine. Far less sugary, and in our opinion, far more complex than any pink wine you’ll find at the same price point.

American wild ales grow in popularity in the United States every year.  If you don’t know what to look out for,  let us help. Don’t dare sleep on Epic’s Oak & Orchard Series. We fought over the last sips of Pink Guava, and sipping this Rośe Ale in the sun with hints of spring in the air made for a downright poetic drinking experience.

We can’t wait to see what the brewery does next ?.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Rose Hips. Hibiscus. Strawberries. Oak Aged.)
Hops: Tettnang
Malts: Pilsner, White Wheat, Spelt, Flaked Oats

Availability: 12.7oz Bottles
Debut: February 2019

7.1% ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, Don't Miss This

Epic Quadruple Barrel Baptist is big, bold, and blew us away

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

In the world of imperial stouts filled with various dessert-like additions, Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist stands alone. This big bottle of ridiculous is how you make a decadent pastry stout.

Big Bad Baptist was supposed to be released under another name – Jack Mormon Imperial Stout, back in 2011. Epic Brewing made a barrel-aged imperial stout brewed with Jack Mormon roasters coffee. Unfortunately, the state of Utah rejected the “Mormon” name, even though it was a homage to their coffee roaster.

Brewery co-founder Dave Cole is a California Baptist and decided to integrate his real-life “Big Bad Baptist” roots into the name.

In that first year, Big Bad Baptist scored a 100 on RateBeer.com, and still maintains that high mark today.

Since the launch, variants of this coveted imperial stout have been released, including a Double Barrel, Triple Barrel, and Big Bad Baptista Imperial Stout. Each one takes a creative step forward. Now there’s Epic Quadruple Barrel Baptist and it really is the best Baptist we’ve ever had.

The brewers at Epic racked their imperial stout to both whiskey and rum barrels. Meanwhile, the team barrel-aged their own coffee beans, coconuts, and almonds. Basically, the only thing that’s not barrel-aged is the cocoa nibs. You might read all that and think, there’s just too much going on here.

You’re not wrong. There are some imperial stouts out there that are packed with chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, lactose, even cookies, and cereal. Some taste great. Some of these coveted imperial stouts are just muddled in flavor. That’s how Epic got this beer right. Scroll up and read everything the brewery put in the beer. Now read the next paragraph.

Every flavor is present in every sip. Your first taste starts with this rich, chocolaty imperial stout which gives way to a balance of subtle almond, coffee, and coconuts that finishes with a mix of vanilla oak and toasted rum sugar. That’s what blew us away. All these flavors are very much there in a beautiful balance, from start to finish. To us, that’s the crossroad of imagination and brewing talent. Epic didn’t just throw all the buzz-worthy additions to a barrel-aged imperial stout and expect a line outside. This is a symphony of barrel blending, and we were some morose tipsy folks when the bottle ran dry.

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist is available in 22-ounce bottles – an extremely limited release hitting distribution now.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate. Barrel Aged Coffee. Barrel Aged Coconut. Barrel Aged Almonds. Barrel Aged. Whiskey. Rum.)

Hops: Nugget, Chinook, Cascade.
Malts: Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt 2-Row Black Malt, Roasted Barley.

Availability: 22oz Bottles. Extremely Limited Release.
Debut: Late Oct/Nov 2018

12% ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, Coming Soon

Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches, Batch #3

Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches

Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches returns again in May, 2017, marking the third release of this beer.

When Epic built their Denver, Colorado brewery in 2013, the sour program took a major step forward with the addition of three 60 hectoliter oak foeders (seen below). In 2014, some Brainless on Peaches casks got funked up by some errant wild yeast, and was so tasty, that Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches ended up launching the program. As of early 2017, the brewery now has 14 foeders.

Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches begins with one foeder filled with the souring bacteria, Lactobacillus, another with Brettanomyces. Scared to death of Pediococcus (aka “The Devil”), Epic filled wine casks with the Pedio and left the third foeder for blending.

The Final Blend.

Epic Sour Brainless on Peaches is a blend of the Brett and Lacto foeders, and all the Pediococcus wine casks that were blended into neutral oak white wine casks. The brewery’s new found love of Pediococcus eventually led them to finally funk up that third foeder with “The Devil”. Epic laments – this is the most sour edition of this beer to date.

Epic Brainless on Peaches Batch #3 is available in 375 milliliter bottles.

Style: American WIld/Sour Ale (w/ Peaches, Oak Aged.)
Availability: 375ml  bottles
Latest Return: May, 2017

?? ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, New Releases

Epic Brewing Los Locos debuts

Epic Brewing Los Locos Mexican-Style Lager

Epic Brewing Los Locos Mexican-Style Lager debuts on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th. Duh.)

The warm weather inspired beer boasts “a hint of malt sweetness, a dash of sea salt and a refreshing splash of lime.”

Troy Guard is the Denver chef with a Mexican restaurant so badass we can even put the name on this can. While enjoying his food we had a crazy idea: brew Mexican-style lager with corn, natural lime juice.

Epic Brewing Los Locos Mexican-Style Lager is a 12 ounce can offering for a limited time.

Style: Lager (w/ Lime, Sea Salt)
Availability: 12oz cans, Draft.
Release: 5/5/2016

4.8% ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, New Beers

Epic Sour Lime Gose

Epic Sour Lime Gose

Epic Sour Lime Gose

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, Headlines, Ska Brewing

Epic and Ska Brewing team up on a barrel-aged peach IPA

Epic Skeptic Barrel-Aged Peach IPA 2016

Colorado breweries Epic Brewing and Ska Brewing will debut a new collaboration beer on March 19th – Skeptic Barrel-Aged Peach IPA.

The new beer encompasses each of the brewery’s individual strong points. In the case of Epic – barrel-aging and the fruit. For Ska, hops. The result – Skeptic Barrel-Aged Peach IPA.

We like to view the world with a rational eye, and that’s the beauty of this beer. Share it with a friend – discuss UFO’s, the existence of a soul, how could homing pigeons possibly have ESP, who shot JFK… One thing’s for certain: this collaboration between Epic and Ska, aged in Peach Street Peach Brandy Barrels, is something you can believe in.

Skeptic Barrel-Aged Peach IPA will debut at Collaboration Fest, put on by the Colorado Brewers Guild on March 19th. Distribution across Colorado, and parts of the U.S. to follow after.

Style: IPA (w/ Peaches. Barrel Aged. Peach Brandy.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft
Release: 3/19/16

7% ABV

Posted in EPIC Brewing Company, New Beers