#epic brewing

[whatsontap]

[thedaily-beer]

Epic Barley Wine Ale (Picked up at an Utah State Liquor Store in Salt Lake City). A 3 of 4. Yep, this is a class English barleywine. Lots of toffee and dark fruit and bready notes with some alcohol that fades in towards the finish. The nose is mostly malty but there is a touch of citrus and resin, and this finishes on the sweet side, as you'd expect.

[brandonsdrunkagain]

First half of beer mail from @adventureinthemountains ! Epic Brewing's New England Style IPA, Vicinity DIPA and Congress Street IPA from Trillium Brewing, both greatness, Rabbit Rabbit IPA from Lamplighter and this great 2015 Coffee Okie Brown Ale Aged in Whiskey Barrels from Prairie Artisan Ales. Thank you, Anthony, I can't wait to get to the other half!

[whatchudrinkin]

Beer and Taxes

It’s not that often you find a bottle of Mild on the shelf. Mild is a British style of ale that’s notoriously weak -- it’s not unusual to find casks of Mild under three percent alcohol. Any beer historian will tell you it hasn’t always been that way, but modern Mild is known primarily as a session beer.

Epic Brewing’s Mid Mountain Mild is a hearty four point eight percent alcohol, but it’s endlessly sessionable. It has a spicy scent, but only ever so spicy, like a sprinkle of cinnamon. That spice really complements the malty sweetness. The malts really shine here, sweet like apple pie, but so light and crisp you want to drink more. The finish is actually a little watery, but that’s sort of the point. It’s cleansing. It’s sad I’ll probably never get to drink it again.

Despite borrowing and tweaking every other English ale, American brewers have never really brewed much Mild. One reason is our infatuation with hops. American brewer’s just love playing with hops and Mild is a malt vehicle. Very light session IPA had a moment there a few summers ago. But that surge seems to be waning, probably due to problem two: price. Few people want to pay craft beer prices for light beer strength.

One reason Mild has stuck on in the UK is that it’s damn cheap. You can get a pint for half the price of fancy craft beers. It’s a function of using less malt and hops than full strength IPA, but it also has to do with tax. In the UK, beer excise taxes are tiered by strength. The tax on weak beer -- under 2.8% ABV -- is half that of middle strength beer. 

In the US, brewers pay a flat tax per barrel, $7 a barrel if they produce fewer than 60,000 barrels a year, and $18 per on any additional barrels. States add on their own bit, which varies wildly. But it doesn’t matter the strength, doesn’t matter the style, the tax is the same. It’s actually strange we ended up with such a simple system. Wine has a similar system to the UK. Depending on alcohol, the tax on a single bottle of wine is between 21 cents to 61 cents.

I don’t want to get into a whole discussion about tax policy, but I think it’s clear that the current rates disincentivize low strength beer. Sessionable beers, I just wish they could come at more sessionable prices. A single bomber of Mid-Mountain is about five bucks, not exorbitant, but enough to keep it out of daily rotation.

[thedaily-beer]

Epic Brewing Spiral Jetty IPA (Picked up at a Utah State Liquor Store). A 3 of 4. Mostly resin and pine in the nose on this and some lighter citrus behind it in the body. Well-balanced with some malt sweetness, and finishes clean and dry. Simple, good West Coast IPA.

[thedaily-beer]

Epic Brewing Hopulent IPA (Picked up at a Utah State Liquor Store). A 3 of 4. Simple and good IPA with lots of tropical fruit and orange citrus in the nose. Much the same in the body, and a bit bready and sweet up front, which is quickly cut by the bitterness and slightly higher booze.

[thedaily-beer]

Epic Brewing Lunar Transit IPA (Picked up at Harmons in Salt Lake City). A 3 of 4. Mostly citrus-pith like notes up front and in the nose. Relatively bitter/astringent in the thinner body, and quite easy to drink. A little bit of bready malt sweetness, but quite light throughout.

[nwbeerguide]

Epic Brewing joins forces with Melvin Brewing to release Cross Country Chemists IPA. A beer made with terpenes!

Press Release

Melvin Brewing out of Alpine, WY, and Epic Brewing out of Salt Lake City, Utah, have teamed up to release the stickiest and ickiest of beers, Cross Country Chemists IPA! Cross Country Chemists was brewed using experimental techniques to evoke unique flavors from its specialty hops. And, it is crossed with a dose of terpenes.

The brew teams at Melvin and Epic began talking about a collaboration brew in early 2022 with a meandering conversation about terpenes, Biotransformation, and an enzyme called Beta Glucosidase!?! “The brewers sounded like a bunch of mad scientists in the eyes of the rest of us,” said Gus Erickson, Marketing Specialist at Epic.

Terpenes

- Cross Country Chemists dosed with terpenes with a high concentration of the Myrcene. Myrcene is found in high concentrations in hops, bay leaves, and lemongrass. It adds a range of fruity and peppery flavors and aromatics.

Biotransformation

- Biotransformation happens every time a beer goes through fermentation, particularly during High Kräusen - the peak of fermentation. High Kräusen is when the yeast is most active and behaves unpredictably when ingredients are introduced.

Beta Glucosidase (Phantasm Powder)

- β-Glucosidase is an enzyme, found in Sauvignon Blanc grapes from New Zealand, that induces biotransformation. When β-Glucosidase is introduced alongside hops, the hops emit *Thiols with pungent tropical fruit aromatics and flavors that cannot be achieved simply by **Dry Hopping. β-Glucosidase also enhances the beer by giving it a dry finish.

o *Thiols - Thiols are an organic compound that can be found in almost every living plant including hops, which have highly aromatic thiols.

o **Dry Hop - A dry hop is when hops are added post-fermentation. The intention of a dry hop is to improve the beer's floral & fruity aromatics/flavor.

Cross Country Chemists IPA, a dank and delicious IPA with Terpenes, will be available at Epic Brewing in August. Grab a four-pack of 16oz cans today and remember to sip, sip, pass.