Thursday, April 5, 2012

Epic (Utah) Hopulent Imperial IPA


Epic Hopulent IPA. India Pale Ale. Elevated Series. Release #37, 8.2 % ALC./Vol.

Opaque appearance, peach/apricot hue, smallish wheat head, leaves lace and lots of tiny bubbles. Nice.

Aroma: classic American IPA nose, Cascade and then some, citrus and pine, plus peach and so forth. Getting more prickly, and pleasant, the more I drink it in through the nostrils. Just right.

Taste: Mmm, mmm, mmm. Almost perfect. Tons of pine and citrus, with the merest malt, providing a plump pillow. Hitting all the marks, plucking all the strings, striking all the notes. Nothing too over the top in bitterness, not too heavy, not too lean. Not too high in alcohol, either, though it is on the strong side. Very palatable, very approachable, easy to please for the experienced hop-o-phile. Plenty of pure hop flavor, here, gets a touch astringent, but not too much of anything I can't handle. Gets increasingly bitter and pungent, but, again, that's right up my alley.

Let us now put to rest the notion that there is no good beer coming out of Utah. Eventually, that will be claimed for all 50 States, just you wait and see.

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