EPIC Beer - Best Beer in New Zealand - Supreme Champion Winner

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2010-03-18T10:55:00.001+13:00

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Epic Armageddon Wins Best Of BrewNZ Tasting

2009-11-09T08:56:00.002+13:00

A recent tasting held by Wellington Beer Writer, Neil Miller at the backbencher, featured all the Best in Class winners from the BrewNZ Beer Awards.

This taste off to find the best of the best resulted in Epic Armageddon IPA being awarded the top place.

Beerly Tasting at the Backbencher

[TASTINGS] Epic series of beer tastings

2009-10-13T08:57:00.004+13:00

Today starts an epic series of beer tastings around Australasia.

Each link goes to a page with more details

13th October - Christchurch - Pomeroy's on Kilmore
(Official tasting sold out, but I will be in the bar from 4pm to 7pm talking about Epic Beer)

14th October - Christchurch - Pomeroy's on Kilmore
(maybe even a chance to try Armageddon on tap for the first time in the South Island)

20th October - Auckland -Elliott Stables - Six NZ Craft Beers
(Six beers, tutored tasting by Luke Nicholas, includes Epic Armageddon IPA)

29th October - Wellington - Malthouse Event
(secret)

17th November - Melbourne - Ale Stars - The Local Taphouse
(Luke to talk about his beers in Melbourne for the first time)

(Note: there maybe another tasting or two added to Melbourne for the 12th & 13th November, stay tuned)

[ARTICLE] Social Networking - DrinksBiz October 2009

2009-10-12T15:08:00.002+13:00

Here is an article from the latest DrinksBiz magazine about Social Networking, which uses Epic Beer as a case study on how to use online social tools effectively.

[AWARDS] Best in Class for Epic Armageddon IPA at BrewNZ 2009

2009-09-04T11:48:00.003+12:00

Epic Armageddon IPA won Gold and Best in Class at the 2009 BrewNZ Beer Awards

Epic Pale Ale and Epic Lager both got Bronze medals

VOTE FOR THE SHOE

2009-09-04T00:10:00.000+12:00

Vote Now - Epic Shoe

Epic Armageddon IPA Oak Barrels tasted after ocean voyage

2009-08-31T23:07:00.001+12:00

Luke Nicholas of Epic Brewing Company tries the first sample of Epic Armageddon IPA from the oak barrels that spent 6 weeks on the Interislander ferry that travels between the North & South islands of New Zealand.

The barrels crossed the Cook Strait 126 times. The beer was sampled at the public festival Beervana, on the 28th and 29th August 2009, to very positive feedback from the public.

The barrels were named Pete & Melissa after UK based beer writers Pete Brown and Melissa Cole.

The inspiration for this idea come from Pete Brown's book Hops & Glory

Armageddon a taste for hoppy beers by Bruce Holloway

2009-08-08T09:10:00.006+12:00

("The end is ni…ce! by wasabicube, on Flickr")

Put the paper down and go and write these beer names in your diary now: Epic Armageddon and Maximus Humulus Lupulus.

Because anyone interested enough to be reading a beer column, or possessing even a vague appreciation of hops, should make a special effort over the next few months to try and hunt out these two exciting limited-release hop-monster beers brewed in Auckland.

Armageddon is a hop-crazed, supercharged mutation of Epic Brewing Co’s Pale Ale – effectively a walk on the wild side well beyond Epic Mayhem -- while Maximus Humulus Lupulus (the Latin translates as "greatest hops") is Hallertau Brewery’s equally robust interpretation of a double India Pale Ale.

These beers are a hop lover’s dream, and, to be fair, quite possibly a garden variety lager drinker’s worst nightmare, given their unfettered accent on flavour rather than a marketing department’s brand imagery.

In the past few weeks Armageddon and Maximus have been the stars of the West Coast IPA Challenge, in which they have gone head to head and hop to hop in a contest to find New Zealand’s champion super-hopped beer, before packed houses of beer buffs in Wellington (The Malthouse) and Auckland (Brew on Quay).

Here drinkers were invited to vote for their favourite hop monster with their wallets.

Armageddon, fuelled by cascade and centennial hops, is perhaps the more commercial of the brews. It’s filtered, pasteurised, and more stable.

Numerologists will appreciate how its 6.66 per cent alcohol by volume also ties in nicely with its biggest, baddest "end of the world beer" theme. It has huge floral and citrus aromas – I swear I could smell it from the door of the pub -- and a resinous, piney tang, though the powerful taste of hops actually creates an illusion of a far less intoxicating beverage.

By contrast Plowman’s Maximus seems more raw, exciting and alive. It was every bit as botanical as its name, with layer after layer of hops evident, and a satisfying dry finish. It features Columbus, Centennial and Simcoe hops and weighed in at 6.8 per cent.

It was standing room only in Auckland, as beer boffins enjoyed a rare opportunity to enjoy two extremely hoppy tap beers side by side.

"This is the greatest beer I have ever tasted," Seattle-based beer hunter Nick Keefe told me, in drooling over an Armageddon.

The bloke on the other side of me disagreed. "Not even the best beer in the challenge," he sniffed.

They could both have been right. It was that sort of event.

Epic certainly won in terms of pints sold, was smoother, and it had a name punters could pronounce. But Maximus was perhaps truer to the pioneering spirit of the challenge, with its big boldness and rough edges.

However to judge a beer by turnover is an absurd proposition, particularly in New Zealand, where it is almost a rule of thumb that the bigger selling a beer is, the more likely it is to be complete rubbish.

Both beers evolved after Epic brewer Luke Nicholas and his Hallertau counterpart, Steve Plowman, travelled to California last April, where Nicholas was judging at the World Beer Cup.

They sat in on the 2500-strong American craft brewers conference, came under the influence of boffins pushing the boundaries with extreme-hopped beers and suffered a craving to create their own monsters.

Plowman is a laid back unflappable Westie. By contrast, Nicholas is like Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear -- an eloquent, engaging frontman for his product, and one who loves to win just as much.

In the final analysis my wallet voted for his beer more. But Plowman has given us the most memorable Maximus since Russell Crowe starred in Gladiator.

Only 1000 litres have been brewed of Maximus, so it is a collector’s item, and only available in take-home supplies from the brewery in Kumeu.

Armageddon is in 500ml bottles, and available through the New World supermarket chain and speciality liquor outlets, for anywhere between $10-12.

This article appear over the weekend in The Press (Christchurch), Dominion Post (Wellington) and The Waikato Times (Hamilton)

Hops over the top, but not the price by Geoff Griggs

2009-08-05T09:07:00.001+12:00

Last week, I wrote of how, in an attempt to mimic the arduous six-week sea voyage endured by the original India Pale Ales, Auckland brewer Luke Nicholas recently filled two oak casks with his new beer, Epic Armageddon IPA, and sent them criss-crossing Cook Strait on the inter-island ferry.

Although those barrels will not be tapped until next month's Beervana tastings in Wellington, the bottled version of Epic Armageddon IPA is now available at selected outlets around the country and, I'm glad to say, a few cases have made it to Blenheim.

Armageddon pours a bright amber colour with a deep off-white head. Hopped exclusively with American varieties, the beer almost jumps out of the glass as it assaults the nose with a massive hit of citrus zest and sweet, lollyish, tropical-fruit hop aromas.

A first sip confirms the intensity of the hop attack and, despite some cushioning sweet maltiness, in the end, the inside of the mouth is left dry with a coating of hop resin. After a glass, you'll likely end up with a fixed hop grin.

Armageddon isn't quite the end of the world, but it is certainly brash, intimidating, full on and over the top in other words, just as an American IPA should be. I love it.

Full Story

[MAP] Epic Beer Outlets - AUSTRALIA

2009-07-28T20:34:00.001+12:00

Looking for some Epic Pale Ale in Australia. This map should help.

View Epic Beer - Australia in a larger map

Big reception planned for seasoned travellers - by Geoff Griggs

2009-07-23T15:03:00.003+12:00

By the time Pete and Melissa finally arrive in Wellington in mid-August, they'll have crossed Cook Strait about 120 times!

Since boarding the inter-island ferry Aratere on July 9, the pair have crossed the strait three times a day without a break. But Pete and Melissa aren't a couple of fame-seeking tourists trying to get themselves into the record books they're two wooden barrels of beer.

The plan was hatched by two beer-loving Kiwis Colin Mallon, manager of Wellington specialist beer bar The Malthouse, and Luke Nicholas, owner and brewer of Epic beer after a recent beer-hunting trip around the UK. In their travels, Colin and Luke visited several famous British breweries and met up with beer writers including Pete Brown and Melissa Cole. Hence Pete and Melissa!

Putting the two casks of beer aboard the inter-island ferry is Colin and Luke's attempt to recreate beer's most famous voyage. In the 1880s, strong, hoppy pale ales from Burton-on-Trent in England took about six weeks on tall ships to reach thirsty customers in India. That beer became known as India Pale Ale, or IPA.

British writer Pete Brown recently retraced the long journey that helped create the iconic beer style and subsequently chronicled his adventures in a book, Hops and Glory: One Man's Search for the Beer that Built the British Empire.

Returning to New Zealand with copies of the book, Colin and Luke were fascinated to read how IPA was brewed with extra hops and stronger than ordinary beer to withstand the rigours of the long sea journey across the tropics.

Hops were first employed as a natural preservative in brewing and the extra amount used in IPA, in conjunction with the beer's increased alcoholic strength, slowed the oxidisation process and prevented souring.

The beer maturing inside Pete and Melissa is Epic's latest seasonal brew, Armageddon IPA.

"I sourced two 20-litre new oak barrels and filled them with fresh Armageddon," explains Luke.

"I recently brewed a real ale in England for a huge British beer festival, so I knew Armageddon was not a million miles away from what a traditional pale ale would have tasted like. For a beer to stand up to the kind of treatment we have in mind, it has to be pretty robust. Armageddon is definitely big, strong and hoppy.

"The idea is to see what effect changes in temperature and constant movement has on beer stored in wood. Most pundits believe India Pale Ales benefited from the conditioning they received during their sea voyages."

So what will the beer taste like? Given the small size of the wooden barrels and the fact that they're brand new, I anticipate the beer will pick up a huge amount of vanillin and tannin and I wouldn't be surprised if it requires blending with unwooded beer to soften the effect.

A ceremonial tapping of Pete and Melissa will be held at this year's Beervana, a series of public beer tastings being held in Wellington on August 28 and 29. Tickets are available now (at www.beervana.co.nz), so why not head to Wellington and sample the world's first I-IPA ("Inter-Island Pale Ale") for yourself?

Cheers!

Full Story

Looking for Epic Armageddon IPA?

2009-07-22T20:09:00.006+12:00

Here is an initial list of outlets with Epic Armageddon IPA. As I get more information I will tweet it.

Auckland Launch Party - Friday 24th July - Brew on Quay, 102 Quay Street, Auckland City

Beervana - 28th & 29th August, Wellington Town Hall

Alberton
Barkers Lodge - Methven
Farro
Fresh Choice Springlands
Fresh Choice Parklands
Four Square Kelburn
Hamilton Wine Co
LL Albert St
LL Newmarket
LL Parnell
Moore Wilsons
NW Blenheim
NW Eastridge
NW Greenmeadows
NW Hillcrest
NW Island Bay
NW Metro
NW Miramar
NW Te Rapa
NW Thorndon
NW Vic Park
NW Halswell
NW Warkworth
NW Wgtn City
PNS Royal Oak
Regional Wines
Village Winery
The Thirsty Weta
The Beer Store

Yes there will be some in Melbourne by the 1st of August, possibly check out Purvis Cellars.

Epic Journey recreates beer’s most famous voyage

2009-07-22T19:57:00.002+12:00

Forty litres of fresh India Pale Ale from Auckland will spend up to six weeks at sea on the Interislander Ferry looking to recreate a recreation of beer’s most famous voyage.

In the 1880s, pale ale from Burton-on-Trent in England took around six weeks on tall ships to reach its thirsty customers in India. British beer writer Pete Brown recently retraced the long journey which helped create this iconic style of beer. He chronicled his adventures in the newly released book Hops and Glory: One Man’s Search for the Beer that Built the British Empire.

After a sleepless night finishing the book, Malthouse proprietor Colin Mallon had the ‘crazy idea’ of replicating the experience in New Zealand. “I had met Pete Brown in England recently and just loved the book. First, I needed some beer. My first thought was Epic Armageddon, a limited release double India Pale Ale brewed by Luke Nicholas from Epic Brewing Company. He agreed immediately. Then I needed a boat. The Interislander Ferry agreed immediately. I tasked Luke with finding appropriate barrels,” says Colin.

“I sourced two 20-litre new oak barrels and filled them with fresh Armageddon,” Luke explains. “I recently brewed a real ale in England for a huge British beer festival so I knew Armageddon was not a million miles away from what a traditional pale ale would have tasted like. For a beer to stand up to the kind of treatment we have in mind it has to be pretty robust. Armageddon is definitely big, strong and hoppy. The idea is to see what effect changes in temperature and constant movement has on beer stored in wood. Most pundits believe India Pale Ale’s benefitted from the conditioning they received during their sea voyages.”

Colin and Luke jointly christened the beer ‘Epic Journey’ while the barrels are affectionately known as Pete (after Pete Brown) and Melissa (in honour of British beer writer Melissa Cole). Pete and Melissa will spend up to six weeks on the ferry before being ceremonially tapped at Beervana at the Wellington Town Hall, 28th & 29th August.

For the full background story see http://armageddon.epicbeer.com

All Welcome to the Auckland Armageddon Launch - Friday 24th July - Brew on Quay, 102 Quay Street, Auckland City

[VIDEOS] So What's The Story Behind Epic Armageddon IPA

2009-07-14T16:36:00.011+12:00

This series of videos explains the story behind the origins of Epic Armageddon I.P.A., The West Coast IPA Challenge, the reasons for putting Epic Armageddon I.P.A. into oak barrels, naming them Pete & Melissa before putting them onto the Interislander for a six week ocean voyage between the North & South Island of New Zealand (actually it is multiple sailings between the two islands three or four times a day) and then making the beer available to taste at Beervana, Wellington Town Hall, 28th & 29th August.

Epic Adventure Part 8 - Made From New Zealand
Introduction about Luke brewing in the UK for JD Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival, then brewing some Epic Halcyon at Thornbridge Brewery (UK), using two New Zealand brewers - Luke Nicholas and Kelly Ryan, plus some New Zealand hops and New Zealand water. Then two 5 litre mini kegs are shipped from the UK for tasting by an exclusive group in Wellington, and we see the unpacking of the keg.

Epic Adventure Part 9 - Made From New Zealand
Luke introduces Colin Mallon of the Malthouse in Wellington. Colin talks about how the two got to know each other, became friends(?), traveled to the UK together for some market research, Luke pours Colin the first pint of Epic Pale Ale at the JD Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival for his birthday. A meeting with Pete Brown author of Hops & Glory, Melissa Cole and a visit to the Rake in London. And a very cool idea inspired by Pete's book.

Epic Adventure Part 10 - Made From New Zealand
Luke talks to Stephen Plowman from Hallertau BrewBar, about the origins of the West Coast IPA Challenge, a trip to California in April 2008, inspired by some crazy hoppy beers, brewing for the 2nd Annual West Coast IPA Challenge, and unleashing of some pain on the beer drinking public.

Epic Adventure Part 11 - Made From New Zealand
Luke talks to Neil "Haiku" Miller about the naming of Armageddon, Pete Brown's book Hops & Glory (again), the second coming of Armageddon and a reference to the impish brewer.

Epic Adventure Part 12 - Made From New Zealand
Luke summarizes the epic journey to this point, meeting Pete Brown, reading about his own barrel called Barry (you will need to read the book to find out the full story), two oak barrels filled with Epic Armageddon IPA, an ocean voyage on the Interislander between the North and South Island of New Zealand, here's to Pete Brown and Melissa Cole for inspiring the current stage of this epic journey.

People are blogging about Epic Armageddon IPA - already!

2009-07-13T12:51:00.003+12:00

Does My Bum Look Big in this Barrel? by Melissa Cole

To set the scene for you, a couple of months ago Luke Nicholas from Epic brewery was over here brewing for Wetherspoon's and I met up with him and his mate Colin Mallon (a Scotsman who runs a great-sounding pub called the Malthouse ) had some beers, a bite to eat and an all-round good laugh.

They went back to New Zealand, we did the Facebook thing to stay in contact and I didn't think much more about it - until a tagged photo of a barrel appeared with my name on it on Colin's page, which I found a little odd/slightly insulting!

Basically, inspired by Pete Brown's new book Hops & Glory (which I've mentioned previously), Luke & Colin cooked up the idea to put two wooden casks of beer onto the New Zealand Interislander Ferry for six weeks to see what effect it has - the decided that the barrels should be named after Pete and myself, which is sweet... I think!

from the blog Taking the beard out of beer! - A Girl's Guide to Beer

=========================================================

Whatcha gonna do, Brother?

Whatcha gonna do, brother, when the hoppiest beers in the country run wild on you?

The Second Annual West Coast IPA Challenge: Battle of Champions has rightly been likened to a huge title bout with two cocky contenders out to win the spoils of victory and, perhaps more importantly, bragging rights over the other for a whole year.

This year, the Challenge kicks off on July 17 at Malthouse with Hallertau’s specially brewed Maximus Humulus Lupulus squaring off on tap against Epic’s brilliantly named Armageddon.

from The Malthouse blog

=========================================================
An these have been re-blogged here The Epic Journey Has Begun

Craft Beer Surge - Sunday Star Times - 12 July 2009

2009-07-12T09:28:00.003+12:00

Letters To The Business Editor - Page D7

Dear Tim

Re: Recession Bites Grog Sales – Sunday Star Times 28th June, 2009

I was surprised to read this article which does give the point of view
of the large brewers in this country and the commodity they sell
called beer. It is easy for consumers of this type of product to trade
down in tough economic times due to the fact that the flavour difference between the so called "premium" international style lagers and the budget NZ draught styles (which evolved during tough economic times during WWII) is minimal.

There is a segment of the New Zealand beer market that is still experiencing growth, the craft beers. Last week I was in Christchurch for a meeting of NZ craft brewers looking at setting up an export cooperative for the Australian market. We all talked about the growth rate were are all experiencing, even now, of 50% - 100%, across the
brewers at the table. We also discussed the issues we are currently having getting funding to expand capacity in our breweries. This is definitely something that the current economic situation if effecting the 50 craft breweries of New Zealand

As a brewer myself of craft beer, I would be surprised to see my customers trading down, as there is no comparative products that are cheaper. As a craft brewer I am making beers full of flavour, and don't compromise of ingredients, as a result my beer cost significantly more. But there is a growing market for these beers.

This month I am releasing a beer that could arguably be most flavourful beer in New Zealand, Epic Armageddon IPA. This beer will be selling in supermarkets for around $10 per 500ml bottle and I expect to sell out within a few weeks.

Cheers
Luke Nicholas
General Manager - Flying Brewer ;-)
EPIC Brewing Company

Become a fan of Epic Armageddon IPA

2009-07-09T15:23:00.000+12:00

Epic Armageddon on Facebook

An Epic Tale - Kia Ora, July 2009

2009-07-08T20:42:00.002+12:00

If you don't get a chance to travel this month on Air New Zealand then here is the article from Kia Ora, inflight magazine

[CLICK IMAGE TO GET A BIGGER SIZE TO READ IT]

Whatcha gonna do, Brother? by Neil Miller

2009-07-08T17:36:00.001+12:00

Whatcha gonna do, brother, when the hoppiest beers in the country run wild on you?

The Second Annual West Coast IPA Challenge: Battle of Champions has rightly been likened to a huge title bout with two cocky contenders out to win the spoils of victory and, perhaps more importantly, bragging rights over the other for a whole year.

This year, the Challenge kicks off on July 17 at Malthouse with Hallertau’s specially brewed Maximus Humulus Lupulus squaring off on tap against Epic’s brilliantly named Armageddon. A few lucky Malthouse patrons had a sneak peak at both the brewers and tank samples of their respective brews at the very limited Epic Halcyon tasting. Halcyon was the real ale Luke Nichols made in England for a huge beer festival. Only ten litres ever made it to New Zealand and they did not last very long.

This event was, if you like, the weigh-in and the early favourite would have to be Hallertau. However, Maximus has been in the tank two weeks longer than the Armageddon so the actual showdown will be a lot closer and a heap tastier.

There was even a bit of a media scrum with some guys shooting footage of Luke and Steve Plowman (Hallertau head brewer and general bearded good guy) talking about pale ales and their contest. They worked for “YouTube” apparently so that footage is currently being edited. Luke will undoubtedly twitter and blog the appropriate link the second it is available provided he has stopped ranting about Wilson Parking. This blog will probably mention the final video some weeks later. We just work at different speeds.

So there was the media, there was the weigh-in and, wisely, both brewers declined to impersonate classic professional wrestlers in order to promote the Challenge. But if they had, it might have gone something like this:

The Nature Boy Steve Plowman: “Imp, let me tell you something. I’ve spent my entire career seeing off punks like you. Women want to be with me, men want to be me. I’m a limousine-riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling-dealing, porter noir drinking son of a gun. Woooo! My shirt costs more than your entire house. A word of advice slick, stand up when you talk to me… if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man.

You’ve got to climb Space Mountain! Wooo!

He then strutted around the room, emitted another “wooo” and then flopped face first into a table. (That final move is now trademarked by Mathieu Basteraud.)

The Imp: “Finally, The Imp has come back to the Malthouse! The Imp has taken time out of his busy Hollywood schedule to address the Nature Jabroni. His brewery is located outside of Auckland on the corners of Know Your Role Avenue and Shut Your Mouth Boulevard. You cannot challenge The Imp. How many IBU’s does your beer have? It doesn’t matter how many IBUs your beer has! The Imp will layeth the smack down on your roody poo candy ass. If you smell what The Imp is cooking!”

I’m delighted to report that both their nicknames appear to be sticking.

The hype for the Challenge already exceeds Tua vs Cameron and the end result is likely to be a lot more satisfying too. Head down to the Malthouse and, from 17 July, try the contenders and let the staff know which you think is the undisputed champion.

Remarkably, the West Coast Challenge is not the only major pale ale related story for July. Pete Brown, favoured beer author of the Handsome and Softly Spoken Scotsman, has just published a rather excellent book– Hops and Glory. He takes a cask of pale ale from Britain to India by ship, retracing the long journey which helped create this marvellous style of beer. He even graphically demonstrates some of the pitfalls of transporting beer in warm climes by having a 20-litre cask explode in a rented house. Apparently you never realise how much beer is 20 litres until you are on your hands and knees sopping it out of the carpet.

Anyway, over a quiet pint of Epic one evening, the Handsome and Softly Spoken Scotsman had the crazy idea of recreating Pete’s recreation right here in New Zealand. He asked the Impish brewer to procure some wooden barrels and fill them with Armageddon. The Impish brewer immediately agreed. He asked the Interislander ferry if the barrels could go on their ship for up to six weeks. The Interislander people immediately agreed.

The new oak barrels, called Pete (for obvious reasons) and Melissa (after beer writer Melissa Cole) will experience changes in temperature and constant movement. Tapping them and finding out what effect the voyage has had will be a little bit of history and it will undoubtedly be at Malthouse – the home of beer in Wellington.

“So whatcha going to do, brothers, when the hoppiest beers in the country run wild on you?”

Cheers

Beer Writer
Real Beer New Zealand
Beer and Brewer Magazine

Links

Epic – http://www.epicbeer.com/
Impish Brewer – http://imp.epicbeer.com/
Hallertau – http://www.hallertau.co.nz/
Steve Plowman – http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2598667299_a1de94c9aa.jpg?v=0
Pete Brown – http://petebrown.blogspot.com/
Hops and Glory –

Melissa Cole - http://girlsguidetobeer.blogspot.com/
Malthouse Facebook Group - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wellington/Malthouse/7084276173
Real Beer – http://www.realbeer.co.nz/blog/blog.html
Beer and Brewer Magazine - http://www.beerandbrewer.com/

[VIDEO] Adding Hops to Epic Armageddon IPA 2009 + other important details

2009-06-12T20:30:00.004+12:00

Today Epic Armageddon IPA was brewed again.

The first batch (1000 litres) was brewed at Hallertau BrewBar in 2008 as part of the inaugural West Coast IPA Challenge at The Malthouse.

Epic Armageddon IPA 2009 will be available as a limited release beer both on tap and in 500ml bottles from mid July around New Zealand.

This may well be the hoppiest beer currently (possibly ever) brewed in New Zealand. It is brewed in the American IPA style (style descriptor below)

Launch Parties:
Friday 17th July - The Malthouse, Wellington
Friday 24th July - Brew on Quay, Auckland

More details about the beer and its journey will follow.

Become a fan of Epic Armageddon IPA on Facebook and have your say, share your photos, and read the comments

===========================
81. American-Style India Pale Ale
American-style India pale ales have intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma with medium-high alcohol content. The style is further characterized by fruity, floral and citrus-like American-variety hop character. Note that “fruity, floral and citrus-like American-variety hop character” is the perceived end, but may be a result of the skillful use of hops of other national origins. The use of water with high mineral content results in a crisp, dry beer. This pale gold to deep copper-colored ale has a full, flowery hop aroma and may have a strong hop flavor (in addition to the hop bitterness). India pale ales possess medium maltiness and body. Fruity-ester flavors and aromas are moderate to very strong. Diacetyl can be absent or may be perceived at very low levels. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures.
Original Gravity (ºPlato): 1.060 1.075 (14.7 18.2 ºPlato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato): 1.012 1.018 (3 4.5 ºPlato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 5 6% (6.3 7.5%)
Bitterness (IBU): 40 70
Color SRM (EBC): 6 14 (12 28 EBC)

[BREWERY] Epic Pale Ale - Changes and Updates

2009-05-15T15:22:00.004+12:00

Just some quick feedback for those that have asked, yes the current batch of Epic Pale Ale is slightly different. It was kegged and bottled on the 5th & 6th of May, with kegs now on tap and bottles arriving on shelves over the next couple of weeks.

You can find the code on the shoulder of the 330ml bottles
BB 06.05.10 (BB=Best Before)
B0379 xx.xx (B=batch number)(xx.xx=time)

It seems firstly that we have used some coloured malt that is out of spec and is lighter in colour than what we expected. This has resulted in the colour being lighter.

Secondly we are now using current season US Cascade hops at 7.6% alpha. Prior batches to this had had a blend of current and previous seasons hops (US Cascade 6% alpha).

The double whammy effect of the lighter crystal malts not only means the colour is lighter but the malt sweetness is slightly lower, but also the hop character is greater being fresher and greener from being 100% current season.

Over all there is a noticeable difference but it isn't significantly different.

Ahh, the joys of using agricultural crops which change from season to season.

FUTURE CHANGES
Over the coming batches I will be trialling using English Maris Otter malt (a variety of malt) in varying percentages. The reason for this trial is that the beer I brewed in the UK at Everards Brewery in Leicester for the JD Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival we used Maris Otter.

Reason for this was it was their standard base malt and they had a silo full of it. So we gave it a go and it turned out fantastic, and the extra malt flavour really seemed to improve the beer.

Epic Halcyon at Thornbridge

2009-04-30T12:37:00.002+12:00

Still all go and we’ve just finished an awesome collaboration with Luke Nicholas of Epic Brewing Company over in New Zealand. Luke was over here to launch and promote Epic Pale Ale which he had been invited to brew with Everards Brewery in Leicester as part of the JD Wetherspoons International Real Ale Festival. Luke is a highly awarded New Zealand brewer with a vast amount of experience. He has twice brewed beers that have won the Supreme Champion Beer of New Zealand (including Epic Pale Ale, which won in 2006) as well as scooping Gold and Best in Class awards at the 2008 BrewNZ competition. Coupled with the fact that he has twice judged in the World Beer Cup (Seattle, 2006 and San Diego, 2008) you can see that he’s no stranger to both brewing and judging a beer!

Although we are both from NZ, this was the first time our paths had crossed. You have to remember that everyone knows everyone else in NZ, so this was no mean feat! How can I describe Luke? He is very confident and oozes self-belief and passion. He has an intuitive understanding of the world of craft beer and has literally worked from the bottom up. He told me of how he used to volunteer his weekends at a local Auckland brewpub chain so he could learn how a commercial brewery worked (Luke was a passionate home brewer prior to this) until he was employed and gradually worked his way up in the brewing world. Commitment seeps from his every pore and the intensity with which he talks about beer and brewing is awesome. He is engaging, intelligent and the type of person that us Thornbridgers love to hang out with.

It was a big step to decide to collaborate with someone that we did not know. We hadn’t tasted his Epic beers or met him; however it was an opportunity not to be missed. In hindsight, I would have been gutted had we not brewed together. We had a great day and even got to try some of Luke’s beers, which were fantastic!

I met up with Luke the night before our brewday at the Chesterfield Arms in Chesterfield, where Everards were launching a Meet the Brewer evening and where Luke had a coveted mini-cask of the Epic Pale Ale that had been brewed with Everards. We sat down and had a few pints of the Everards beers and then got a chance to try the cask Epic. This stood head and shoulders above the Everards brews (which were all good pints nonetheless) with a dominant citrus hop character, a little grapefruit with some underlying caramel maltiness. Luke told me that Everards were shocked when he told them how much hops he wanted to put into the beer. I think he should have put in even more!

It was time for the brew and myself, Luke, Dave and Stef were ready for action. The mash in the mash tun and vessels cleaned and ready to go, we began the mammoth task of deciding what hops we were going to use. We worked our way through a load. New Zealand Hallertau, Pioneer, Cluster, Atlas and Liberty didn’t make the cut. Chinook, however with its wonderful resinous and citrus notes and a little pine and the ultra-intense Hallertau Magnum made the grade. We thought these two hops would provide a nice resin-pine-citrus backbone as both early and late additions and allow our other two hop choices to shine through. Centennial with its pungent orange zest and the unique New Zealand Nelson Sauvin (for a touch of home of course) with its mango and pineapple and gooseberry and grapefruit were the obvious pairing to give us a real New World character in what was to be a unique twist on our Halcyon Imperial IPA.

We cracked open a bottle of our Green Hopped Vintage 2008 Halcyon and started discussing bitterness. The bottled version has a touch more dryness and astringency due to a little more attenuation and a humungous amount of wet hops added at maturation, yet we thought the bitterness level (around 85 IBUs) was still well balanced by the residual malt sweetness. With this in mind and knowing that this was to be in the cask form only, we upped the ante. We went for over 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) in the hope that the slightly increased perceived sweetness that the less carbonated cask form would have, would then balance out the mouth puckering hops.

Because this had a bit of a New Zealand twist, Luke had the brilliant idea of bringing a little New Zealand water with him. Good Water is from Kauri Springs in Northland, above Auckland and is exactly as its name suggests! Once the brew was finished, Luke added the water to the finished brew. You can see that here!

We were also lucky enough to try a bottle of Luke’s NZ brewed Epic Pale Ale, which was absolutely beautiful. Reminiscent of some American Pale Ale’s I have tries. Quite light on the bitterness, yet retaining a lot of citrus and resin pine character. Nice carbonation and fantastic cold. No longer will I be reaching for an ice cold New Zealand lager after mowing the lawns when I’m back in New Zealand. From now on, it’s definitely going to be an Epic! Just when I thought that Luke’s Pale Ale was all that, then he brought out his Epic Mayhem. At 6.2%, this poured a nice dark orange/amber colour. The nose was amazing. Lots of sweet tropical fruits with a hint of pineapple and a floral and citrus background. I’ve always thought that Jaipur was extremely drinkable at 5.9%. Mayhem is of the same ilk. I polished off my taster quickly and instantly thought of the movie, Interview with the Vampire… I was the young child vampire Claudia after my first meal… “I want some more.” This was a ridiculously drinkable and extremely tasty drop. All I can say is well done!

Once the brew day was over, we all met up at the Coach and Horses in Dronfield for a few beers, a few laughs and some good kai (that’s the Maori word for food). We tasted the various Thornbridge beers (Luke described Kipling as being the best use of Nelson Sauvin on the planet) as well as some Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Birrificio Italiano Tipopils (one of my favourite beers ever), Port Brewing Hop-15, HaandBrygeriet Norwegian Wood (courtesy of Phil at BeerMerchants) a couple of HopDaemon beers (Green Daemon Helles and Skrimshander IPA) and my very own improvised lambic-style beer. As usual it was awesome fun and great for us all to talk about the different flavours and aromas we were picking up.

We are beer nerds!

I love my job…

This great blog post by Kelly Ryan at Thornbridge
http://beerevolution.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/epic-halcyon-at-thornbridge/

Luke to pour first pint at International Real Ale Festival

2009-04-13T15:07:00.004+12:00

I am heading back to the UK tonight to be in London on Wednesday 15th April 2009 to pull the first pint of Epic Pale Ale for the JD Wetherspoons International Ale Festival.

If you are interested in following my travels and sampling (ticking) check out http://uk.epicbeer.com

If you get a chance to try the UK brewed Epic Pale Ale at the Real Ale Festival make sure you give it a vote http://vote.epicbeer.com (head down to number 42)

Here is the latest video from my March trip. Everards Brewery owner Richard Everard.

Small brewer scores epic festival effort

2009-04-13T15:02:00.002+12:00

When it comes to success in the art of beer making, brand recognition can mean everything, so the significance of winning a slot at a British ale festival dubbed "the world's biggest" is not lost on Kiwi brewer Luke Nicholas.

Over the next fortnight, the Poms will be sipping their way through 100,000 pints of multi-award-winning Epic Pale Ale after the 38-year-old was invited to showcase his brew at the International Real Ale Festival.

Epic's founder and head brewer has landed one of only six international taps at the annual event hosted by British pub giant JD Wetherspoon which he says could provide the company with the springboard it needs to maximise its potential.

"The Wetherspoon chain has 720 pubs and my batch will be selling in all of them overnight that's more than twice the number of outlets I can get into here," Mr Nicholas said.

"Of course, it's not just about selling the beer. It's about seeking publicity, pursuing potential avenues, exploiting brand recognition and putting Epic on the map something that's not easy back home."

Full Story

JDW Real Ale Festival - Epic Beer Feature

2009-04-13T14:44:00.003+12:00

Epic Beer feature from the JD Wetherspoons International Real Ale Festival booklet (pages 6 & 7)

[VIDEOS] Coverage from Epic Beer in the UK

2009-03-31T12:23:00.004+13:00

Over the last few weeks Epic Beer has produced and had uploaded a significant amount of video. So below is a collection of what has been posted, much of it relating to the recent brewing adventure in the UK when I was there brewing a batch of Epic Pale Ale at the Everards Brewery in Leicester for the JD Wetherspoons International Real Ale Festival.

Say tuned for more of the epic adventure of brewing in the UK. Videos will be first uploaded to the Made From New Zealand YouTube channel and then the EpicBeer channel, so subscribe to both and get notified when there is more to watch.

Epic Beer Adventure Part 6 - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer Adventure Part 5 - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer Adventure Part 4 - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer Adventure Part 3 - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer Adventure Part 2 - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer Adventure Part 1 - Made From New Zealand
Hidden as an Easter Egg on the inter-webs somewhere. Can't give away everything for free. You have to earn it. If you can find it you deserve to see it.
======================================================================
OTHER RECENT VIDEO

Wellington Beerfest - Epic Beer - Luke Nicholas, Interviewed by Haydn Green - Public Address

How To Make Beer - Epic Beer Styles - Made From New Zealand

Epic Beer - Think Small - Made From New Zealand

Luke Nicholas - Friday Show Epic Beer Interview - Made From New Zealand

NZ Beer Fest kicks off in Auckland
This video is stored at the 3news.co.nz website
Featured on Sunrise on Friday 13th March, the day before the New Zealand Beer Festival. Head into the 2 minute mark where they taste Epic Pale Ale and Rod Cheeseman says "I love this one alot, actually its one of my favorite beers" as he is pouring a large serve of Epic Pale Ale

[TV3] Campbell Live - Epic Beer's hoppy brew an economic success

2009-03-11T08:31:00.002+13:00

Across the board New Zealand companies are performing badly – shedding jobs in the process.

But not all businesses are performing badly, take Epic Beer for example – sales are up and demand is high.

The beer has been being made since 2006 and is definitely a labour of love.

The process for fermenting this malt-based is very labour-intensive but despite this things are going well – 200 percent growth in the last year.

But making beer has got more expensive, the price of hops has skyrocketed as has packaging and transport costs.

The major breweries are putting up their prices and so are Epic – the six pack is out and the four pack is in.

“The six pack was nearly at $20 which is a psychological barrier for a lot of consumers, so we decided we would keep the product affordable but make it a four pack,” says Epic Beer’s Luke Nicholas.

Things have come a long way since 1835 when New Zealand’s first commercial brewery was established – the major players now spend a fortune wooing their target audience.

Mr Nicholas cannot compete with the big-boys financially but is determined to remain independent.

He does not think the major brewers could afford him anyway.

“Probably not because I think any of the big brewers that would look for acquisition, would look at how much it would cost to make Epic and how much I have to spend on hops to get that flavour and go ‘that’s insane’.”

Full Story

See Video

[F&B Magazine] NICHOLAS HEADS OFF ON AN EPIC TRIP

2009-03-05T18:06:00.004+13:00

Food & Beverage Magazine, March 2009

Hot News - Epic Pale Ale - Kia Ora, Air New Zealand in flight magazine

2009-03-05T17:48:00.001+13:00

Mayhem by Geoff Griggs

2009-03-02T08:11:00.000+13:00

Those who think otherwise would be well advised to try a bottle of a Kiwi beer with real flavour, like Epic Mayhem. The latest seasonal release from Auckland brewer Luke Nicholas is a hugely hopped, 6.2 per cent, American-style, IPA (India Pale Ale). Southern Man's favourite brew contains around one hop per bottle; Nicholas estimates there are around 26 in each 500ml bottle of Mayhem! You get the idea?

Mayhem is similar to the brewery's multi award-winning Epic Pale Ale but with the volume turned up! Bursting with US Cascade and New Zealand Riwaka hops, there's a heady aroma of tropical fruit, citrus and pine-like notes over a sweetish, biscuity malty background. The grist, which includes British pale ale, and Munich and crystal malts, provides a luscious rich malt base that balances the beer's challenging bitterness.

With a single 500ml bottle of Mayhem costing about the same as a six-pack of Speight's, aspirant Southern Men are unlikely to be impressed, but those seeking flavour rather than just refreshment from their beer should definitely check it out.

But be warned, Mayhem as the name suggests is definitely NOT for wusses!

Full Story

South Island Mayhem

2009-02-26T21:43:00.004+13:00

Live in the South Island? Want Mayhem?

Go here:

Barkers Lodge - Methven
Riverstone Kitchen - Oamaru
Tonic Bar - Dunedin
Eureka Cafe & Bar - Dunedin
Scotch Wine Bar - Blenheim
New World Blenheim
Fresh Choice Parklands (ChCh)
New World Halswell (ChCh)
The Thirsty Bloke Bottle Store (ChCh)

(for all outlets with Epic Beer see http://map.epicbeer.com)

Metro Magazine - March 2009 - Epic Pale Ale

2009-02-26T09:21:00.003+13:00

An Irishman walks into a bar.....

2009-02-25T09:04:00.003+13:00

[THIS IS AN EMAIL FROM MY BROTHER THAT LIVES IN SAN FRANCISCO]

Hey dude,

I was in the 500 club tonight. And i got into a conversation with an Irish guy. Very interesting. He had to tell me about the greatest beer he has ever had in his whole life. To my surprise he was in NZ last week, and he got to try Epic. I did not say a word (which was difficult), then he went on to tell me about all your other beers and how you were off to the UK to brew 100k pints for whatever pub over there. That was awesome. And yet I still did not say a word. Then Anne came up and laid the whole thing out for the dude. About how I was your brother and the history of this and that (I filled in the gaps). To make a long story short, the guy thought we were full of crap until I gave him your twitter account. That really worked well. You now have another massive fan of Epic in SF. Dude, I gotta tell ya, your shit is going global!!!

AWESOME!!!

Mayhem Unleased on New Zealand

2009-02-24T17:05:00.005+13:00

So to answer all of the emails, txts and tweets on where you can buy Mayhem, here is the list of outlets that have it

Alberton
Barabra
Branos
Cellar Room
Centre City Wines & Spirits
Duff & Finn Hastings
Farro Fresh
Hallertau
Hamilton Wine Co
Hillcrest Wines & Spirits
La Vino
Liquorland Albert St
Liquorland Forrest Hill
Liquorland Mt Eden
Liquorland Newmarket
Liquorland Parnell
Liquorland Pt Chevalier
Moore Wilsons
New World Blenheim
New World Hillcrest
New World Island Bay
New World Metro
New World Miramar
New World Rototuna
New World Te Rapa
New World Thorndon
New World Vic Park
New World Wellington City
PakNSave Porirua
Regional Wines & Spirits
The Beer Store (online)
Wine Circle
Wine Vault

(SOUTH ISLAND - I don't have a list of outlet from BeerNZ yet but once I do I will make an update)

So after spending weeks fretting about being able to sell all the Epic Mayhem within 3 months, it looks like it might all be gone after just three weeks on the shelf :-(

The delays on the bottle label pushing the actual street availability date out from 2nd February to the 18th February meant that the stock had been oversubscribed before it was even ready to ship. So there has been some rationing and allocation to the retailers. Some will run out before others.

Sorry if you can't find any in time to try. It will be available at the New Zealand Beer Festival both in Wellington (28th February) and Auckland (14th March).

Once the festival season is complete the small amount remaining (if any) will be shipped to a handful of retailers to top them up. So there maybe Mayhem available till the end of March at best.

An ale of Epic proportions

2009-02-13T21:38:00.001+13:00

It's a sad fact that one of this country's most highly awarded beers of recent times, Epic Pale Ale, is available from just 250 outlets. Soon, however, that number is set to quadruple to around 1000; but it won't be Kiwis benefiting.

The next Wetherspoon's International Real Ale Festival is scheduled to begin in mid-April and the good news is a New Zealand beer will be featured. Auckland brewer Luke Nicholas has been invited to travel to England, where he will be brewing a cask-conditioned, real ale version of his multi-award-winning Epic Pale Ale.

Full Story

How Many Hops In My Beer? - Epic Pale Ale

2009-02-13T21:34:00.000+13:00

How Many Hops In My Beer? - Epic Pale Ale from Epic Beer on Vimeo.

Kiwi brewer to be ale fest special guest

2009-02-13T21:24:00.002+13:00

A Kiwi brewer will mix it with the best as a special guest at the largest ale festival in the world in Britain. Luke Nicholas talks to Newstalk ZB host Larry Williams about his invitation.

Listen to Radio interview (.mp3 file)

Beer O’Clock: EPIC takes on the world!

2009-02-13T21:10:00.002+13:00

First, Epic came on stream just for Cock and Bull drinkers. Then it came for beer drinkers and bottle stores across New Zealand. And now, with the invitation to brewer Luke Nicholas for his multi-award winning Epic Pale Ale to be one of six beers included in the International Real Ale Festival in the UK later this year, it’s now heading towards world domination – and deservedly so.

Nicholas will be brewing 100,000 pints just for this festival.

Full Story

Epic to be brewed in England for biggest ale festival

2009-02-11T22:16:00.006+13:00

New Zealand’s top brewer Luke Nicholas will be one of only six international celebrity brewers at the ‘World’s Largest Real Ale Festival’ in Britain later this year. Luke, head brewer at the Epic Brewing Company, has accepted an invitation to fly to Britain and make a special batch of his multi-award winning Epic Pale Ale for the International Real Ale Festival.

The two week festival is run by giant pub company JD Wetherspoons from April 15 to May 4 2009. During this time, their 700 British pubs will sell more than 2.5 million pints of real ale. Over 50 cask ales will be available during the festival but only six will be made by international brewers.

Luke says it is a huge honour and opportunity to be selected to produce 100,000 pints of his hoppy Epic Pale Ale for the festival. “It’s the first time Epic Pale Ale will be served from a traditional cask which is tremendously exciting. It is also fantastic to have the chance to brew at the historic Everard’s Brewery in Leicester. This independent brewery was established in 1849 – just nine years after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It will be great to work surrounded by such history,” he says.

The beer will be brewed at Everard’s in mid-March before going on tap in April. Luke says he was invited because his signature Pale Ale is a world-class beer.

“Since launching in May 2006, Epic Pale Ale has won major beer awards and critical acclaim. Most New Zealander’s are only just beginning to discover the flavours I like to pack into my beer. It’s still quite unknown here but is gaining an international reputation as a ‘must-try’ New Zealand beer. International judges and experts that have tried it, hold it in high regard. Maybe brewing for the biggest festival in Britain will create a little profile and help Kiwis realise what they have on their doorstep!”

Luke has amassed a history of top awards for his beers over the last decade including the unique distinction of brewing the Supreme Champion Beer of New Zealand a record three times. He is raring to unleash his beer on unsuspecting British palates. “Another Kiwi brewery sent the Brits a pub. Epic is sending them the brewer. They won’t know what hit them!” Luke laughs.

Epic Brewing Company – www.epicbeer.com
Everard's Brewery - www.everards.co.uk
JD Wetherspoons – www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

Epic Beer - Profile Video

2009-02-04T12:12:00.004+13:00

This is an Epic Beer profile video thanks to the guys at Made From New Zealand

Mayhem to be unleashed on Summer Beer Festivals

2009-02-02T10:30:00.003+13:00

As New Zealand begins a long, hot summer of beer festivals, Epic Brewing Company announces the welcome return of their most famous limited edition festive brew – Epic Mayhem.

This 6.2% hoppy strong ale has been brewed only twice before, once in 2006 (when it won Gold and Best in Class for Festive Brew at the BrewNZ Beer Awards) and again in 2007. It will be on tap for a limited time at selected venues and beer festivals around the country. This year for the first time it will also be available in bottles. The 2009 Mayhem will be sold in the same distinctively tall 500ml bottle which Epic Pale Ale and Epic Lager already use.

Head brewer Luke Nicholas says that Epic Mayhem is a beer that will challenge the senses. “Epic beers are increasingly available at supermarkets, bottle stores and bars. People are starting to discover that beer can be much more than just a cold and fizzy beverage. It can have aroma and flavour too. It should have aroma and flavour! Mayhem takes this up a notch with its hop-fuelled intensity.”

Epic Brewing Company is a brewery which has always loved and celebrated hops. Hops grow on a flowering vine and are used to give beer aroma, flavour and bitterness. Mayhem is packed full of US-grown Cascade and New Zealand-grown Riwaka hops. The bottle label boldly states that there are 26 hops in every bottle of Mayhem. That is outrageous given that most beers sold in this country have the equivalent of a single hop.

“Mayhem simply shouts hops at a time when hops are in short supply globally and prices are at record levels. At Epic, we know there are two ways to respond to these tough times. Brewers could cut back and hope no one notices the lack of flavour. Or brewers could do what we did, ramp up the hops to celebrate everything that we love about them – the punchy aroma, the sweet citrus flavour and the lingering, refreshing finish,” Luke says.

Epic Mayhem will be shaking up the beer reality of Kiwi drinkers at the following beer festivals:

14 February – Kumeu Beer Wine & Food Festival – Kumeu Showgrounds
28 February – New Zealand Beer Festival – Waitangi Park, Wellington
14 March - New Zealand Beer Festival – Ellerslie, Auckland

Epic Beer 2008 Top 10

2008-12-24T13:12:00.003+13:00

2008 was an Epic year for @epicbeer

1. Epic Armageddon IPA & the West Coast IPA Challenge(alot of dry hopping)

2. World Beer Cup, San Diego (Luke was a judge)

3. California Trip - 10 days, 12 Breweries, 317 beers

4. BrewNZ - Epic Pale Ale wins - Best in Class & Gold (more awards)

5. Launched Epic Lager (gateway?)

6. Launched the new 500ml bottle (lower price for a taste of the good stuff)

7. Epic arrives in the South Island (why does it cost so much to get it there?)

8. Voted Best Beer at the Great Christchurch Beer Festival (these people have good taste)

9. Twitter passed the 500 followers mark (get it as it happens)

10. Facebook passed the 500 friends mark (become a friend today)

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Thanks to everyone that supported Epic Beer in 2008, and contributed to spreading the word about good beer. 2009 is sure to be even more EPIC ;-)

Keep drinking the good stuff

Cheers
Luke Nicholas

DISH Magazine - "in pursuit of hoppiness"

2008-12-17T17:31:00.003+13:00

In the latest DISH magazine, Issue 21, December 2008 - January 2009 there is a fantastic article about craft beer in New Zealand by John Corbett (pages 40 to 45)

John attended Beervana in September and had his eys opened. There is a review on Beervana the development of craft beer in NZ and a feature on three craft brewers - Steve Nally from Invercargill Brewery, Carl Vasta from Tuatara Brewing and a bit on myself, Luke Nicholas of Epic Brewing Company.

In the first sentence, the third word should be grandfather not godfather, but beyond that most of the information is close enough.

Epic Pale Ale 3rd Birthday [PICS of cake]

2008-12-15T10:32:00.003+13:00

Yesterday was the third birthday of Epic Pale Ale. (first bottling of Epic Pale Ale was 14th December 2005)

To celebrate this wonderful occasion Epic Pale Ale was drunk and there was a birthday cake (much to my surprise)

Epic Kegs photo appears on Cracked.com

2008-12-01T15:20:00.002+13:00

Unlike Britney, Tara Reid knows how to keep her children safe in the car. [winning caption]

See All Captions

Epic Pale Ale - Voted Best - Great Christchurch Beer Festival

2008-11-26T15:48:00.002+13:00

Just in via the Twisted Hop email newsletter

Thanks to those of you that voted for your favourite brews at the Great Christchurch Beer Festival. The results were...

1st - Epic Pale Ale
2nd - Pink Elephant Mammoth
3rd - Emersons Hoppy Jim

We definitely were hoppy pale ale fans. The winner of the draw, that is the person who picked the three most poplar brews as their choice was Pat McLauchlan, who wins a $50 bar tab.

The Twisted Hop
6 Poplar Street
Lichfield Lanes,
Christchurch
New Zealand

Imp-lausibly tasty beers

2008-11-20T10:20:00.005+13:00

This article written by Neil Miller was recently posted on the Malthouse website.

Impish brewer Luke Nicholas once wrote that he “created Epic Pale Ale for the Steam Brewing Company and liked the beer so much he bought the company.” He is now the head brewer and director of Epic Brewing Company which brews Epic Pale Ale, Epic Lager and, occasionally, Epic Mayhem and Epic Armageddon.

His brewing style is unashamedly hop-fixated. Luke has made a decision to use all imported hops for his beers as they give him the flavour and power he is looking for. While this approach can be controversial with his peers, the resulting beers are highly regarded. Epic Pale Ale was crowned Supreme Champion Beer of New Zealand just weeks after it launched. Metro called it the “Best Beer in Auckland” (by which they mean New Zealand) and the Listener also had it as the best beer of 2007 though their sole source for that assessment was me.

Epic Pale Ale (5.4%) pours a burnished gold colour and throws a punchy citrus nose. It has an immaculate balance between the rich malt body and lashings of summerfruit and citrus notes. It finishes with a lingering, almost oily, bitterness which leaves you anticipating the next drop. Luke admits to using a “shed load” of hops and says while others might consider that to be “insane”, he calls it “flavour”. The judges at the 2008 Brew NZ Beer Awards concluded this beer deserved a gold medal and was proclaimed the best in the fiercely competitive pale ale class.

For those that prefer a little less hops, Luke created Epic Lager (5%), a tasty, quaffable beer. It is bright gold in the glass, soft in the mouth with a crisp, lingering, grassy finish. The hopping is still generous by mainstream standards which means the Epic Lager is a highly quenching drop.

Both beers are now on tap at the Malthouse and are popping up around the country in swank new 500ml bottles which are better for single bottle sales, perfect for sharing and mean that I have to get and go to the fridge 37% less often.

Mayhem and Armageddon are very special beers and are brewed sparingly for fear that they will devastate the international hop market. Each can be compared to a turbo-charged Epic Pale Ale with attitude because they pack in even more bitterness and alcoholic strength. The Armageddon claimed to be the bitterest beer ever made in New Zealand. These beers are not for the faint of heart or weak of liver. One or both may make a return to the Malthouse in 2009 and, if they do, I might let the readers of this blog know. Or I may just turn up at the bar with a very large straw. We shall see.

Unlike big breweries which can afford television ads with Hollywood B-listers stuck in a creepy amusement park or computer generated native birds pooping into a man’s cereal, the Epic promotional budget is tiny. Instead, Luke uses a plethora of interactive technology to connect with the paying public. He has been so successful at this that he was even profiled on a serious business website called Management Focus. Here are some highlights from his profile:

A confirmed “gadget geek”, Luke made the decision to use on-line technology as Epic’s principle form of branding and marketing. The more traditional marketing methods would only be used as support.

“I’ve used the internet in business for over ten years and I know that on-line tools, used properly, can be very cost effective. Perhaps the biggest change I’ve seen is that my target audience is pretty technology-savvy and is becoming more so every day,”

Luke believes that people aged 25-45 do not get their information from billboards, television or even newspaper adverts anymore.

“ These people use the internet, email, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Friendfeed and Flickr to gather information to help make their real-world purchases. Epic has a strong on-line presence on all these platforms – in fact, they are all listed on the back of my business card,”

“ I guess I’m lucky as a closet computer geek that I have been able to bring my twin interests or obsessions of gadgets and beer together! ”

The full version can be read at this link.

I’d particularly encourage discerning drinkers to add Luke as a friend on Facebook. He needs more friends as he currently only has 474. You also have the ability to join the official “Epic Beer is my friend” group but I’d prefer people signed up to the rebel “Hail the Impish One” group which was created by Colin the Handsome Scottish Proprietor and me after a couple of quiet Epics. We currently have a rather pathetic and potentially unlucky thirteen members.

The final word, as usual, goes to Luke getting a little emotional and poetic about his Epic:

“ The flavours dance across your palate and invigorate your mind… which lets you reflect and contemplate the EPIC flavour experience for a moment before the desire to have another mouthful starts to grow. ”

Cheers,
Neil Miller

Bruce Holloway has an Epic adventure

2008-11-16T21:29:00.006+13:00

Great article by Bruce Holloway about Epic Pale Ale. Appeared at the weekend in The Press - Christchurch, Dominion Post - Wellington and The Waikato Times - Hamilton. Full article scanned and available online here

(Trouble reading? Click here for large format)

Blend Magazine - Epic Beer just got Bigger

2008-11-05T13:08:00.003+13:00

October sees the release of a new 500ml bottle from Epic Brewing Company. Epic Pale Ale is the first to be bottled in the new format 500ml bottle, with Epic Lager to be available in 500ml come November.

Craft brewers across the country are embracing 500ml bottles format and consumers love the ability to be able to pick n mix a range of different beer styles and breweries. Luke Nicholas, General Manager of Epic Brewing Company says “beer drinkers can just pick up one bottle of a beer they have never tried before and give it a go. For around $6 or $7 a 500ml bottle you can see if it is something you like.”

Full Story

Management Focus - Case Study: Epic Brewing Company

2008-10-14T08:01:00.002+13:00

While large established businesses often have substantial marketing resources to promote their brand, new products or special offers, start-up companies rarely have much of a marketing budget to contact customers and build brand awareness.

The challenge for Luke Nicholas, the Managing Director of Epic Brewing Company in Auckland, was to get people around the country talking about his new beer with only a tiny promotional budget to spend. To find the answer, he turned to what he knew: technology.

Full Story

[BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT] 500ml Epic Pale Ale

2008-10-07T10:50:00.000+13:00

Epic Pale Ale just got bigger.

Now available in 500ml bottle.

Like a baby lamb the new Epic 500ml bottle arrives for Spring

[PHOTOS] A few pics of the new 500ml Big Bottle of Epic Pale Ale

[VIDEO] First of the 500ml Epic Pale Ale bottles coming off the line.

"you ruined my beer world"

2008-10-06T16:41:00.002+13:00

I received this email over the weekend. It is something I hear more and more often. It's a reflection on the fact that the selection of beer in New Zealand lacks alot of flavour. And also that people are looking for and trying new beers.

to: blog@epicbeer.com
date: Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 9:07 PM
subject: you ruined my beer world

i'm addicted to your pale ale and now can't drink anything else. help!?

/k

Judges Notes from BrewNZ 2008

2008-09-16T09:31:00.006+12:00

Here is a consolidation of the judges notes from the recent 2008 BrewNZ Beer Awards. The beer was judged by four expert beer judges who wrote notes about each beer as feedback for the brewers. This is valuable to the brewer so they know where their beer maybe lacking or showing a fault. Or why it is so AWESOME.

EPIC PALE ALE - (winner Gold & Best in Class for New World & American Style Ales)

Colour & Appearance: bright golden orange, crystal clear, good head

Aroma: spicey hops with fruity esters, fresh citrus, grapefruit, lychee, low biscuit malt, nicely peachy, hoppy,

Bitterness: pleasant hop profile, low end for style

Style: delicate malt w/ assertive hop flavours, dry interpretation, good balance, elegant and loud,

Flavour: very hoppy, fresh hop character, cushioning malt continues on palate, very clean ferment, peaches, apricots, lovely dry, good floral citrus hop

Balance: hop flavours overpower malt character, good hop flavour

Other comments: Absolutely fabulous!!, nice beer overall

=================================================

EPIC LAGER - (entered as an International Golden Lagers)

This beer didn't move forward to medal round for the reason of "Inappropriate flavour" (which looks like being "too hoppy")

Colour & Appearance: golden w/ nice head, good

Aroma: lovely hops but out of style, hop, grassy notes, hops dominate, too hoppy

Style: too much hops for style, too much hop for style, hops too big

Flavour: nice citrusy hoppy flavour but out of style, lacking malt dominance

Other Comments: love the beer but out of style too much hop, too much hops, out of style

Kate's Blog - Beervana Tasting Notes (Part 1)

2008-09-10T14:30:00.001+12:00

We couldn’t pass the Epic stall without having a taste of their Pale Ale – just to check it is as good as we remember – it is. This is my tipple of choice at The Malthouse . I believe it won gold and best in class at the awards. The trophies depicting a mash tun are very cool and those who had won them were proudly displaying them on their stalls.

We first had Epic Pale Ale two years ago when there was a beer festival beneath the Old Bank on a Saturday afternoon. We emerged blinking into the pale sunlight with a feeling we had just tasted the best beer we’d had in New Zealand since we arrived ten years previously. I loved the Armageddon Ale that Epic released recently, but sadly that wasn’t on offer, or not that I could see anyway. Does this mean it’s all gone? Bring it back please – I love it! I love hops, which may explain it. In the meantime, I will happily drink the Pale Ale.

Full Blog Post

[INTERVIEW] with Luke Nicholas of Epic Beer, @ Beervana 2008

2008-09-10T08:58:00.003+12:00

This article has an interview with me during Beervana 2008.

Download the .mp3 file (9.8Mb and 10 mins 33 sec)

----------------------------------------------------------

Public Address - Field Theory by Hadyn Green

Beer and Loathing | Sep 08, 2008 21:41

Armageddon comes from the Epic brewery in Auckland. Three kegs of the 26-hops-per-glass beer were delivered to the Malthouse for Beervana. The first keg was tapped at 10pm on Friday and was empty by Saturday, so I needed to try it before the other two disappeared. Armageddon is a dark copper beer with a mild nose which hides a flavour that doesn't so much clear your palate as blast your tongue with a flavour of a thousand suns. Which is not say it's a bad flavour, in fact half way through the glass I found it immensely drinkable. The problem came with my second beer, a Mata Artesian, in that I found I couldn't taste it. It took almost ten minutes for my taste buds to recover.

All day Martin Bosley had been doing cooking sessions where he would create a dish and serve it with a matching beer. I caught the crostini with broad bean paste, sardine and parmesan matched with Epic Pale Ale

But to the drinking! I started with my old favourite the Epic Pale Ale (winner of the best Pale Ale [pdf] for the second year running). Luke from Epic is well known by many "internet folk" for his fantastic advertising idea of giving free beer to well-connected people and selling on word of mouth.

Full Story

Epic Pale Ale still the Best

2008-09-05T07:36:00.000+12:00

Epic Pale Ale won Gold and Best in Class at last nights BrewNZ International Beer Awards

Epic FriendFeed

2008-08-29T07:45:00.001+12:00

Armageddon It

2008-08-07T20:48:00.000+12:00

Haha

The Food Show - Auckland

2008-07-31T08:35:00.004+12:00

I am at the Food Show Auckland for the next four days (31 July to 3 August), sampling out the wonderful Epic beers - Pale Ale and Lager. If you come along make sure you ask for a taste of the Epic Armageddon IPA. Only those that ask will be getting a taste of Armageddon IPA.

Hope to see you there.

Epic Armageddon IPA is a Bugati Veron

2008-07-28T21:59:00.002+12:00

Epic Armageddon. 6.66% ABV. The hops climb out of the glass and cuff you around the head before you can even get your nose in the glass. Lots of hop resin, lots of grapefruit. Decent off-white head on top of a dark amber beer, darker than the Maximus. Doesn't start as sweet as the Maximus and the hops kick in faster and harder. A creamy mouthfeel is blasted away by coating hops. Balance in this beer is all about running along a tightrope in hobnail boots. It's a hell of a ride. The bitterness lingers in the mouth for hours.

Each beer was stunning in its own way. If I had to choose a favourite I'd lean towards the Maximus Humul Lupulus. It's the Jaguar E-type to the Armageddon's Bugati Veron - not as outrageously fast, but a little more stylish.

comment: wow, I didnt think the Maximus was even a starter. The NZ malt gave it a strong husky sweet character that the hops struggled to poke through. The Armageddon was I thought quite spectacular.

comment: The Armageddon is an outstanding technical achievement in hoppiness but I just found it a bit too overpowering.

Full Story

What they are saying about "Epic Armagaddon IPA"

2008-07-28T08:33:00.005+12:00

"Took some home and just shared it with a mate and my dad. They can't feel their teeth."

"ARMAGEDDON IS ONE HOPPY SON OF A... you are a crazy crazy man."

"Bloody lovely, i could still taste the hops two hours later"

"Mmmm need hop goodness....bland beer baaaaad!"

"Armageddon annihilates the senses. Colossal in every sense of the word"

"gotta say, @epicbeer made one hell of a drink - the epic armageddon lives up to it's name."

"In recovery from Armageddon. Not sure if my tastebuds are still working."

"just got smacked in the face by an Epic Armageddon."

"Popular opinion was that @epicbeer Armageddon was a clever way to use beer as an assault weapon."

"One more @epicbeer and i'll be drunk enough to buy an iphone."

"@epicbeer broke me. Going home to sleep."

"a beer so strongly flavoured it completely changes your palate, making it very difficult to go back to the brew you usually drink."

"Armageddon looks to be the beer equivalent of purchasing a Liebherr T 282B to drive to work in – hedonistically fun but hideously expensive."

Beer O'Clock: Hop Heavyweights

2008-07-23T16:01:00.002+12:00

Fresh from a trip to the World Beer Cup in San Diego, with tongues still numb from an excessive amount of hoppy American-style India Pale Ales (IPA), Luke Nicholas of Epic and Stephen Plowman of Hallertau hatched the plan to brew up a heavyweight IPA challenge.

Armageddon looks to be the beer equivalent of purchasing a Liebherr T 282B to drive to work in – hedonistically fun but hideously expensive.

Full Story

Hop off - by Aaron Watson, Capital Times

2008-07-23T15:07:00.002+12:00

Epic Armageddon (6.66%) has a more resinous aroma with hints of red grapefruit. It fills the mouth with weighty complexity at first, then its herby bitterness emerges – and lingers with extreme prejudice.

This is 90-plus IBU, a beer so strongly flavoured it completely changes your palate, making it very difficult to go back to the brew you usually drink.

The question in the New Zealand market is: will anybody drink such bitter ale? Colin Mallon at The Malthouse reckons his customers will, and has taken as many kegs as he can get his hands on.

Full Story

DISH Magazine - Can you handle the hops?

2008-07-21T10:25:00.001+12:00

Epic Lager gets a nice photo and write up in the August/September 2008 issue of DISH Magazine

Free as in Beer is Good, Good Beer is Better

2008-07-20T21:43:00.001+12:00

But now, take notice. Epic is producing the best beer in NZ. And to be fair, these days that is saying something. Friday night drinks at work has changed a little. We have Epic in stock, but it runs out fast. Various strategies are evolving to ensure a constant supply to EPA drinkers. My current tactic is to … keep myself well supplied.

Epic brewer, owner and good fellow Luke Nicholas doesn’t market his beer. Not overtly anyway. He does it in a geek, this is good have some free…tell a friend sort of way. Luke has a blog, but he also twitters, Facebooks, Flickrs, seeks out systems administrators as influential beer drinkers, and, dubiously, Air New Zealand pilots.

That’s clever. But to be successful in this approach, Luke has to be more than clever. Like good FOSS, his beer has to be good. And Epic is bloody good.

Full Story

Epic Armageddon IPA - Has Arrived

2008-07-16T19:39:00.002+12:00

[well this blog post isn't really about the arrival more of the departure to be fair. I am going to be in Wellington for the launch of Epic Armageddon IPA on Thursday 17th July, and will be staying over for the International Brewers Day on Friday 18th July, please come by if you can to try this new hop sensation - "the beer that caused the global hop crisis"]

My car can fit 8 empty kegs comfortably, but number nine becomes a hazard to the driver when going round corners. I picked up these cleaned empty kegs from Steam Brewing the night before.

Filling kegs takes sometime, and you have to be patient. It also leads to interesting conversation and a little sampling of the beers you are filling into the kegs

Because the cut off time for the freight company for a pick up from Hallertau in Riverhead is 11am, and you have to book the pick up before 9am, we frantically put four kegs each in our cars and drove safely to the Brewery in Otahuhu, where the other Epic kegs are normally picked up from.

This is the pallet of kegs that was shrink wrapped for transport to the Malthouse. They received 4 x Epic Armageddon IPA, 3 x Hallertau Maximus Humulus Lupulus and 1 x NHC Bock

New Epic Beer Available Thursday 17th July

2008-07-14T21:41:00.003+12:00

This Thursday will see the official launch of the new limited release Epic Armageddon IPA at the Malthouse on Wellington from 5.30pm

Only 1000 litres of insane hop joy have been created. The rumour has started that Epic Armageddon IPA is "the sole reason there is a global hop shortage". This may well be true since many hops were sacrificed in the making of this beer.

If you would like a taste of Armageddon please join me at the Malthouse on Thursday evening.

Can't make Thursday I will be back for a repeat performance on Friday from 5.30pm for International Brewers Day

Epic Armageddon will be on tap from 24th July at Hallertau BrewBar and eventually Galbraith's Alehouse. (with the possibility of Regional Wines FYO)

(special thanks and recognition to Steve Plowman at Hallertau for the use of the brewery, and encouragement to add more hops (like I needed that), Neil Miller for the stroke of brilliance in the naming of Armageddon, the guys at Steam for back up support of yeast, and kegs, and anything else I may have forgot, Mike Shadow for the tap badge (still to be finished) and poster, Colin at the Malthouse for thinking that he can sell the whole batch, I'm sure with a few pints himself and a little help from Mr Miller, who I hear will be camping out the whole time, while Armageddon is on tap).

Want the behind the scenes story, follow the Photo Essay on Flickr.com

[PHOTOS] West Coast (USA) IPA Challenge - Epic vs Hallertau

2008-06-22T16:33:00.005+12:00

Here is a photo diary of the West Coast(USA)IPA Challenge - Epic vs Hallertau.

A quick outline: two brewers make similar beers brewed in the American IPA style, 7% alc/vol, target. One uses New Zealand malt and hops, the other uses imported malt and hops. The outcome? We'll see on the 17th July at the launch at the Malthouse.

There will be a detailed blog post coming shortly outlining what we are doing and why.

Photos

Epic Pale Ale - Cuisine Magazine, June 2008

2008-06-19T20:50:00.003+12:00

Cuisine Magazine - "We Fancy Epic Pale Ale and Epic Lager" (Page 38)

Too Many Hops = Delivery Failure

2008-06-19T20:40:00.001+12:00

Your email failed to be delivered because of too many hops. 27 hops!!, sorry 25 max.

Epic Lager review from Ratebeer.com

2008-06-18T14:54:00.002+12:00

An online review of Epic Lager from the website RateBeer.com

yalnikim (616), Wellington, New Zealand

May 4, 2008
Tasted 04/05/2008. 330ml bottle from New World, Thorndon. Pours a bright yellow gold with a thinning creamy white head. Delightfully fresh, zingy herbal hop aroma has a hint of floral note. A little cornflour malt character on the nose too. Very clean. Superbly fresh! A little sweet aroma of biscuit dough malt at the bottom of the glass. The first few sips are bursting with that herbal hop flavour. Very clean malt character supporting. Medium bitterness. Stops short. Spot on carbonation and weight. Pretty good recipe, great execution (wouldn’t expect less from Epic). In then end, like an amped up Stella (a beer I do like), it feels like it needs a little less hop flavour and/or a more assertive bitterness.

http://www.ratebeer.com

Epic vs Transformers

2008-05-22T16:56:00.002+12:00

Found this blog post today from Fiction Engine

My latest discovery is Epic Lager, brewed by the Epic Brewing Company in Auckland, NZ. This is a beautiful lager with the aroma of freshly cut grass and a full bodied hop-fuelled flavour that really lasts the distance right across the tongue. As far as lager that I’ve tried goes, it’s a stunner. My only criticism is that, for those of you who are sensitive to these things (like me), the Epic Lager may bring on a touch of the sniffles. Still, it’s well worth it. I’ve also tried the Epic Pale Ale, and it’s a damn fine one as well.

Full Post [with cool Epic and Transformers PHOTO]

Epic Discovery by Lauraine Jacobs, editor Cuisine Magazine

2008-05-22T13:18:00.008+12:00

I realized the other day at the Wellington Food Show that I hadn't told the story about doing a beer tasting in Business Class on my flight to San Francisco, NZ8, 10th April 2008.

It starts out that a friend of mine, we'll call him Dave (cause that's his name), he's a pilot at Air New Zealand. He found out I was going to the US with a few other Kiwi beer guys (guys as in brewers, beer writer, and malt supplier), and said I should do a tasting on the flight. Well long story short, he made it happen after talking to several people over several months.

It was arranged that we would have Epic Pale Ale and Mac's Great White on the flight as Colin Paige, Mac's Head Brewer was coming with us (he didn't end up coming because he had to have back surgery, he's now OK).

On the day of the flight I was to check in and meet with head of catering(?) to be introduced to the cabin crew at 6.15pm, (Dave was going to be the pilot of the flight be got scheduled to fly the following night). When I got to the meeting point I was told the bad news, " the beer went on last nights flight by mistake":-( So in a last ditch effort to it happen we tried to get more beer to the airport. I rang the closest outlet to the airport but they only had three six packs left. Time was running out.

I thought Keith (my business partner) will have some stock at home and can throw it in a cab for the airport. As luck would have it when I called him he had just arrived home, and quickly loaded the car and hit the road. It's now 6.35pm and the flight leaves at 7.30pm, and they close the flight off at 7.15pm. I am now standing at the boarding gate waiting to hear the news that the beer had arrived at the airport (from Meadowbank, a 30 min drive). I get the call it has arrived but it has to be loaded in a catering cart, with dry ice, get through security and get loaded in the plane in 10 mins.

So by now I have had to board the plane and turned off my mobile. It is in the hands of the Gods of Kobol. I get introduced to the head steward and cabin crew in business class just in case the beer makes it on the plane.

The plane takes off.

10 minutes into the flight the head steward comes to the back of the plane to seat 65A (yes there are 67 rows in the AirNZ 777, I was at the back) to say to me "would you like to come forward to do the beer tasting"

Yes I would.

So I get to business class, and all the seats are the follow out bed seats, very nice. The beer is on board. But it isn't very cold so I have to break open the boxes and put the dry ice packs on the bottles direct.

I started in row one with an American guy who seems interested in beer. While I was siting talking and drinking the beers with him the woman across the partition from him said please come around here next as we are interested in seeing what you have to offer, and she handed me her business card. It was Lauraine Jacobs, editor of Cuisine magazine.

So after tasting the beers with another American guy in business class, who was not likely to visit New Zealand again for some time and even less likely to ever buy these beers, I headed back to the front of business class to meet Lauraine.

Lauraine had never heard of Epic Pale Ale before and was very intrigued and interested, first at the fact that I was doing personal tastings in business class, and secondly with a product from New Zealand she had never heard of.

So after maybe 30-40 mins of some intense questioning, and genuine enthusiasm, when the meals were coming around, I left her to her meal and set off for the next victim.

After nearly 3 hours in business class it was time to head to the back of the plane. Before that I did have to have dinner in business class as they had finished dinner down the back and turned the lights out.

So off back to row 65 with a six pack of Epic Pale Ale I went, as the boys had thought I had abandoned them, and were excited to drink something other than Export Gold or Steinlager from a can.

Before the flight came to land the cabin crew said "what should we do with the left over beer". I said share it amongst the crew, as long as Lauraine Jacobs gets some. They were all very grateful.

So that was mid April - 10 days in California, 2 days judging at the World Beer Cup, 11 breweries visits and 317 beers tasted later I returned to NZ.

As I promised, I sent Lauraine some samples of Epic Pale Ale and Epic Lager to taste, on my return.

Fast forward to this last weekend at the Wellington Food Show, guess who stops by the Epic stand? (well that was hard wasn't it.) Lauraine stopped by to say "hi", have a taste of the Epic Lager, and ask how things were going. I suggested that she have a bottle of Epic on display for her cooking presentation. (she didn't take one, I guess no harm in asking)

It can't have been more than half an hour later, she stopped by again on her way to her cooking presentation. She asked for a bottle of Epic Lager, as she said she would just put it up on display, even though she wasn't going to use it in what she was cooking. I suggested that she needed the Epic Pale Ale also.

About 20 minutes later I headed down to see Lauraine do her cooking presentation. I came in part way through and it was a full house so I had to sit toward the back at the side.

See photo - Lauraine with Epic Pale Ale and Epic Lager on stage at the Wellington Food Show. (today I can't seem to load images to blog posts, so follow the link for the pic)

Not long after I sat down she started to promote Epic and how wonderful the beers are and that you must make sure you get around to trying them while at the Food Show.

So that is it for now, but keep an eye out for a possible appearance of Epic beer in Cuisine magazine.

[maybe blog posts this long are a bit much]

Epic Wellington Visit - 15th to 18th May

2008-05-14T15:51:00.003+12:00

For all of those that live in Wellington I am coming to town to do some tastings of Epic Beer.

15th May - 'Meet the Brewer' tasting at the Malthouse, 48 Courtenay Place. 5pm to 7pm. Nothing too formal, other than taste the beers and I'll explain why they are like that and where to from here.

16th, 17th & 18th May - 'Food Show' 10am to 6pm I'll be manning the Epic Beer stand so come by for a sample. We are located in the Hawkes Bay section next to our sales agent Sileni Estates.

(I won't be on the stand from 3.30pm on Friday as I am doing a corporate tasting from 4pm)

Want to have a beer with me out side these times follow me at http://twitter.com/epicbeer

Regional Wines & Spirits Say Nice Things About Epic Lager

2008-05-07T09:33:00.002+12:00

Epic Lager 5.0%
The advent of Epic Pale Ale has been a revelation for those who crave for flavour that the vast majority of mass-produced beers fail to deliver. It was created by Luke Nicholas who, after being introduced to craft beers in California, became brewer for Steam Brewing in Auckland. His first beer under the Epic brand name was designed to pack in as much flavour as possible into each bottle. Epic Pale Ale has the equivalent of 15 hops per bottle - a mind-boggling, 3000% more than regular beers. However, for some people this is just too much hop!

Now, Luke has made an 'entry-level' brew for the Epic brand - Epic Lager. With ‘only’ the equivalent of six hops per bottle, the recipe for Epic Lager includes a blend of Bavarian and Moravian Pilsner malts, and two aromatic, but low bitterness American ‘Noble’ hop varieties to tone down the powerful flavour. Luke reckons: "If you are (an Epic) pale ale drinker it probably won't have the hop hit you are used to, but you will now have a beer to share with your friends that are scared of hops and flavour." Our beer expert Geoff Griggs says: “Despite the reduction in hops, Epic lager is still an aromatic and flavoursome brew and it certainly gets a big thumbs-up from me.” (330 ml)

This can be found on the front page of the Regional Wines & Spirits website

Drinking Social - Epic Pale Ale

2008-05-05T13:34:00.001+12:00

Comments made about Epic Pale Ale on the Drinking Social website

- a hoppy punch in the face with a cunningly moreish finish

- A hop fueled dynamite beer that is refreshing, balanced and quite possibly my favorite beer of all time. I may now die.

Full Story

Epic - Superhero of the NZ Beer Market

2008-05-02T12:00:00.001+12:00

Or how about Epic Beer? Grenville Main, managing director of DNA, the design company behind the brand, describes it as ‘the ultimate niche beer’.

"You could call it passion or insanity to build a beer this strong," he says, "but we see it as designing a solution to a market that needed a superhero."

Full Story

Back from Judging at the World Beer Cup

2008-04-25T07:28:00.003+12:00

I'm now back from judging at the World Beer Cup in San Diego. Over the next week or so, I'll be uploading a trip report and photos from my time there.

If you didn't follow my Twitter feed while I was away you can go back and have a look at all the beers I tried while on tour.

Paul Mercurio's Recipe - Epic Scrambled Eggs

2008-03-29T22:26:00.000+13:00

BEER SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SMOKED FISH AND GOATS CHEESE TOAST

4 Free range eggs
Fresh Dill
Cream
2 Epic Beer (Epic is a NZ brand, comes in six packs)
Vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
Salt and cracked pepper
NZ Smoked Trout, in strips
Sourdough bread, good quality to slice thinly
New Zealand Goats Cheese, good quality spreadable

Full Story

[PHOTO] Epic Lager

2008-03-28T08:46:00.000+13:00

Brewing social alcohol

2008-03-22T22:13:00.000+13:00

You can’t get much more social than a nice cold one on a Friday afternoon. Brewer and closet geek Luke Nicholas brews Epic Pale Ale and markets it using, among other things, blogging, Facebook and micro-blogging platform, Twitter. Here’s how he keeps up.

Full Story

Epic Lager for Easter

2008-03-20T14:10:00.003+13:00

After some long delays this week in getting the newly bottled Epic Lager out of the brewery and on the trucks, it should be turning up at the following locations in time for Easter (fingers crossed)

ON TAP:
Hallertau
The Malthouse

IN BOTTLE (yes it is a green bottle)
New World Victoria Park - (they already sold out once last weekend)
Liquorland Mt Eden
Liquorland Albany
Don Johnson's Wines & Spirits
New World Devonport
AZ Liquor (next to NOSH, GI)
Herne Bay Cellars
Alberton Fine Foods
New World Te Rapa
New World Hillcrest
New World Warkworth
Kowhai Liquor Centre
Blend Winestore (previously Wine on Jervois)
La Barrique (Mt Eden & Remuera)
New World Eastridge

More stores will follow next week. Sorry but I don't think the deliveries will happen in time for Wellington stores. Epic Lager only arrived into Wellington overnight and probably won't make it for delivers today, but you never know.

Need a map to find an Epic Beer?

[BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT] Epic Lager

2008-03-14T19:45:00.002+13:00

This morning at 8.40am Friday 14th March 2008, Epic Lager was born. A hoppy lager in a 330ml green twist top bottle.

Early delivers were made to Mt Eden Liquorland, and New World Victoria Park. More stock will roll out next week, including Wellington.

Epic Lager is available on tap now at Hallertau and the Malthouse.

Another on tap addition was made by Galbraith's Alehouse with Epic Pale Ale now serving on tap.

[PHOTOS] Epic with fresh hops

2008-03-04T20:41:00.000+13:00

Harvested some of my homegrown hops, and took a few photos yesterday. Thought you might enjoy.

Cheers
Luke Nicholas

Wellington Bloggers Meet-up February 2008 3

2008-02-28T20:53:00.001+13:00

Wellington Bloggers Meet-up February 2008 3
Originally uploaded by Miramar Mike

Bit of Epic love for and from the Wellington Bloggers at Mighty Mighty.

Cheers
Luke

Epic at the New Zealand Beer Festival 2008

2008-02-25T11:12:00.000+13:00

Pale ale with epic flavours

2008-02-24T21:09:00.002+13:00

Epic Brewing is owned by Luke Nicholas, who was the brewer at Steam Brewing that supplied the Cock and Bull pubs in Auckland. He has been an active member of the New Zealand brewing industry for over a decade.

He set up the brewers' newsletter, sparging, which led to Realbeer. co.nz. He developed the award-winning Monks Habit, which is packed with hops and has been winning awards for many a year. He also created Epic pale ale for Steam Brewing Co.

He liked the beer so much he bought the company. He wants to take the beer to the world. At the moment it is only available at The Beer Emporium in Merivale, but watch for it in the near future in your local good liquor outlet.

Epic Pale Ale has also done well at recent beer awards and I think it is set to become a bit of an iconic New Zealand beer.

Full Story

[Knowing Carl Hadler's style of writing I think Epic Pale Ale got off pretty light, and pretty positive. At least he didn't have a cold sore, which he describes vividly in half the article, and then gets his friend to write the review cause he can't taste the beer.]

EPIC ARRIVES IN THE SOUTH ISLAND

2008-02-21T08:57:00.002+13:00

Well the first delivery 'hasn't touched the sides'.

Kegs gone to the following:

Twisted Hop - 6 Poplar St, Lichfield Lanes, ChCh
Pomeroys - 292 Kilmore St, ChCh
Zymergy - 90 Armagh St, ChCh
Eureka - 116 Albany St, Dunedin

Bottles to the following:

Deli de Luxe - 6 Papanui Rd, ChCh
Restaurant Schwass - 190 Ferry Rd, ChCh
Zymergy - as above
Twisted Hop - as above
Riverstone Kitchen - 1431 State Highway 1, Oamaru

Plus top up deliveries to Beer Emporium & London St
and shortly on the menu at Cook'n With Gas, 23 Worcester Blvd, ChCh

Link for websites and placement on the Epic Beer Map to follow shortly

Cheers
Luke Nicholas

The very best beers of 2008 - by Neil Miller

2008-02-04T14:09:00.000+13:00

As is becoming traditional in this column, I have compiled a list of my favorite New Zealand beers of 2007. There is no pretension these are necessarily the "best", they are simply the beers I enjoyed the most last year.

1. Epic Pale Ale – full of flavor with reservoirs of drinkability, my beer of the year.

3. Epic Mayhem – strong, punchy, aromatic, this is hophead heaven

Full Story

EPIC LAGER ... COMING SOON

2008-01-31T20:13:00.001+13:00

Yes there have been rumblings about the new Epic Lager, so I thought I would put some facts out there to satisfy the thirst for more information.

The new Epic Lager has just finished fermenting, and is now on cooling in the tank.

We are looking at a keg release date of the 23rd February, with it's official unveiling at the New Zealand Beer Festival in Ellerslie, Auckland.

Release in bottles is still dependent on the smooth arrival of all the packaging, which is still to be confirmed. But it won't be too long after the 23rd.

A bit about it - malt used is German Pilsner malt, US grown aroma hops. It has the equivalent of 6 hops per bottle (so not as big as the Pale Ale with 15 hops per bottle) but noticeable and worthy of the name Epic Lager. 5.0% alc/vol

So as you would expect I'm very excited about getting it into the bottle and out to the world.

If you are a Pale Ale drinker it probably won't have the hop hit you are use to, but you will now have a beer to share with your friends that are scared of hops and flavour. You can call it a stepping stone, it is about the middle between "mainstream premium lagers" and Epic Pale Ale.

Cheers
Luke Nicholas

Startup Handbook: How to identify and deal with the slow masses, knowledgeable skeptics, and savvy dreamers.

2008-01-27T20:49:00.000+13:00

When you start a new company your job as founder is, in large part, to help people understand the vision. To help them explain why the idea you have, which on the face might seem somewhere between impossible and crazy, is--in fact--completely logical and obtainable. If you're like me you've found that different folks respond differently to your idea at different points in the life cycle of your company.

Full Story

[PHOTOS] Blues, Brews & BBQ's 2008

2008-01-14T13:49:00.000+13:00

After a huge day in the sun on Thursday at Blues, Brews & BBQ's , Mount Maunganui, I have now uploaded the photos of the day.

PHOTOS

Get ready for take off. Your plane is full!

2008-01-08T11:07:00.000+13:00

The "Epic Journey" plane is now full - in only 24 hours.

"Nice one Captain Luke Nicholas your flight is full and you could soon be taking off in your plane for a day on Saturday 26 January 2008."

Fingers crossed to all those who made it onboard.

Epic Friends Join The Plane To Wellington

2008-01-07T09:46:00.000+13:00

I have created a "Grab A Plane" to go in the draw to win a plane to Wellington, with 40 keen EPIC drinkers. If we win the draw (the odds aren't too bad, better than lotto) we will fly to Wellington on Saturday 26th January to go to the exalted Malthouse in Wellington and sample Epic Pale Ale on Tap, and possibly have a look around at some other EPIC outlets.

Be quick to be one of 40 on the plane, competition ends 9th January

Go to www.grabaseat.co.nz with these details:
Plane Name: EPIC JOURNEY
Password: mayhem

Or click on this link
Plane web address: https://www.grabaplane.co.nz/Join.aspx?fgfCode=2U5IGVU80

(Note: plane departs from Auckland)

At Long Last! Could it Be a Kiwi Ale Worth Drinking?

2008-01-06T22:27:00.000+13:00

Tired of washing that South Island dust down with a brew that’s just a bit too mal-mal-mal-malty? Despair no more, exalted globetrotting anglers of transplanted invasive apex predator species, for reports from afield rate Epic Ale a hoppy wonder as sure to delaminate the palate as it is to quench that thirst only a gaping hole in the ozone could ever deliver. My own salivary glands are cramping in anticipatory glee.

Link

MORE - New Epic Outlets

2007-12-06T13:34:00.000+13:00

Here is the latest outlets that now have Epic Pale Ale

- Rotorua New World - in store tasting Friday & Saturday
- Warkworth Super Liquor
- Warkworth New World
- Keri Keri New World
- Highway Liquor Orewa
- The Merchant of Tirau

and

- Caro's - Metro Best Wine Shop

Metro Best Beer is also available at these Metro Best

- Victoria Park New World - Metro Best Supermarket
- Mea Culpa - Metro Best Cocktail
- Farro Fresh - Metro Best Gourmet Food Emporium
- Galbraith's Alehouse* - Metro Best Pub

(*The last pre-release Epic Lager keg is all but sold out, you might still get a taste if you are there for Friday drinks)

Metro - Best Beer - EPIC

2007-11-26T16:57:00.000+13:00

Here is a scan from Metro Magazine about the Best Beer in Auckland - Epic Pale Ale

Best of Auckland - METRO - Best Beer is Epic Pale Ale

2007-11-26T14:01:00.000+13:00

Combing the city in search of the best things it has to offer has become the magazine’s own seasonal tradition. We rate this year’s comprehensive list of deserving winners in 115 different categories as our best “Best of” yet.

Best Beer: Epic Pale Ale

Epic @ Galbraith's

2007-11-23T20:03:00.001+13:00

Epic Lager will be on tap next week at Galbraith's Alehouse. This week after delivery it was found the beer line from the keg to the bar had been cut off and used for something else. Don't worry they'll get around to hooking up some new tubing, maybe on Monday or Tuesday.

If you do go along for an Epic Lager and it isn't flowing yet, you can always be assured that the Epic Pale Ale is on offer.

NZ brewer going it alone

2007-11-14T16:27:00.000+13:00

One of New Zealand's top beer brewers is going it alone. Multi-award winner Luke Nicholas has bought the Epic Brewing Company and with it the Epic brand, from his now former employer the Steam Brewing Company.

Nicholas is planning to take Epic worldwide, after it won best in class at last year's BrewNZ International Beer Awards. It also claimed a silver medal this year, behind another of his beers, Monk's Habit, a Steam Brewing Company product. Epic Mayhem was awarded bronze.

Nicholas says he will be taking Epic to the world in measured steps. The first is the launch of Epic Lager in February next year.

Full Story
Newstalk ZB
NZ Herald