Copper Cone (Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT)

Copper Cone is a hazy gold to copper American Pale Ale with a dirty white head. Nice grapefruit, lemon, spice and caramel. A good nose that makes me anticipate liking this beer more than some of the earlier Epic beers I've had. And...nope. Taste is adequate, but doesn't live up to the nose. Slightly thin body, good malty base but overwhelms the hops, and the bitterness and body are muddled. Some of the fruit carries into the body, but seems set a part from the rest. Perfectly good beer, but not going to go out of my way for it again.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 11-15-2011 02:01:37

Sour Apple Saison (Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT)

Pours very effervescent with tiny, tight bubbles flowing quickly upward through the glimmering gold beer to form a ever so slightly off white head that builds high and collapses and lingers across the top of the beer. Taking in a deep smell, the sour apple registers in the back of my mouth w/o taking a sip. Not overpowering, but clearly present and pleasant. As it warms, the sour apple overtakes the saison yeasty notes a bit, but not overly so. Understated but a clearly fruity beer with some spicy notes and a bit of alcohol coming off the top. Like drinking apple champagne, disappearing completely off the back of the tongue. Very enjoyable and a fine start to the fruity portion of the Epic brews. As it warmed up, the taste soured a bit and seemed a little off. Much better cold—drink this one fast.

825 Stout (Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT)

Pours inky black with a light tan head. Singular roast smell wafts up immediately, and along with bready, earth notes. Nice. Roast is clear in the first sip as well—enough the I thought it to be an Irish stout. BA lists it as an oatmeal stout, which the smoothness of the brew lends itself to it but it seems to be misnamed a bit, maybe. Slight dark fruits underneath the coffee taste. Clean and dry off the back. More than adequate stout.

Brainless on Cherries (Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT)

Bright red beer that shimmers in the light very nicely. Light acidic cherry in the nose, clean and subtle with slight alcoholic esters over the top. Not hot, but clearly some alcohol off the top. Body is light but palatable, and the bright fresh cherry taste in the center is clearly the best part of the beer. Clean and little syrupy, a tasty beer for the night. Unfair, but hard not to compare to New Glarus Belgian Red. NG beer is far more complex, but the Epic beer fresh is far better than average fruit ales. Good for a try but not going to be a standard in the beer fridge.

10/15/11. Just had the same beer on tap at the Blue Nile, and, when it warms up, this beer reaches a new level. The blend of the beer is much improved between draft and warmth. When cold initially, it seemed very much the same as I remembered the bottle, which makes me wonder if I drank the bottle too fast last summer.

Spiral Jetty (Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT)

A light, golden colored IPA that didn't hit me in the face enough that I really understood it was an IPA until looking at the label. Even though hints of amber give it a fairly nice color, the mouthfeel is light and disappoints right away. The alcohol level is fairly high for the lightness—6.6%. A part of the Classic series of Epic's brews, it is understated to say the least. The earthy hops are nice, but not enough to excite the nose. Nice peppery, almost saison-like yeast characteristics. Interesting, but compared to their Hopulent IPA, just not in the same league. And not just because of the hop levels; simply not as strong of a beer. Maybe a nice transition for someone getting used to hops to say he or she is drinking an IPA. Not bad, but I won't be seeking it out again.