Beer – #316 – Epic – Comet IPA
So no doubts about this beer, Epic Comet IPA, Brewed by Epic Brewing Company (NZ) in the style of an good old India Pale Ale (IPA) and they do that based in Auckland, New Zealand.
500ml bottle of a 6.2% ABV beer, which is 2.4 standard drink units in NZ, and at 186 calories a serve. Label glitters in the sunshine.
One Trick Pony
Bred in 1961, but lost favour for all the reasons brewers love US hops today – Citrus & Onion.
In time to see the comet of the century and named after the 5th reindeer.
The third Single Hop IPA in the ‘One Trick Pony’ range.
Darker deeper hops aroma on opening, more grass but with something sweeter like a stonefruit of some kind.
Pours a fantastic orange golden with a decent and persistent head. Aroma remains of faint grass.
Lots of, and I mean lots of, carbonation on the mouthfeel.
That means, for me that the taste I was expecting on the front of my tongue somehow ends in the middle, so I get the impression that this is ‘thin’ of body and of whole taste. The Aroma is really inviting, and I tried to work past the fizziness of this, but couldn’t, for me really distracting.
The hops deliver a grassiness and a decent length of finish though, the aroma is inviting on the nose, and the head is persistent, lacing lacking. May have burped.
I’m then sitting here thinking, thinking about how I go about being a bit pragmatic about this beer when for me it isn’t hitting a mark. It is nicely bitter, it has aromatics and looks great.
Solid, almost classic, IPA then. Nothing bold, or adventurous, no multi hop creation , no IBU monster, just a fairly decent one trick pony. Which if you might think about it makes this possibly a bit better than you think it is.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as an 8 – very good, even though I think in my heart that this, when you compare it to other IPA type beer, is a bit ‘thin’ and lacking in body. But if it’s on its merits it stands up well.
The actual real measure is the question “Would you have another’, followed by “Do you want a bowl of hot chips (fries)”, as I can imagine that out and about, in the wild this would suit me nicely for a pleasing and pleasant afternoon of shooting the breeze and making stuff up with mates.
And if that is what you want in a beer then you want this beer. Get in!
Cheese is still going, getting softer and runnier and the music has moved onto the Bombay Bicycle Club, who are listed as Indie Rock, but the Bombay might give away the influence.
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A life just as ordinary 
I’m pretty sure “would you have another?” is really the only question worth asking. It’s interesting, though, just how many beers don’t result in a positive response.
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In this instance the answer would be, for me, yes. It ticks a lot of the boxes and misses on a few, But the ones it misses on aren’t the important ones like “drinkability” which is different to “enjoyment gained”.
People drink commercial domestic beers like, for instance, Budweiser or Heineken, or Corona for drinkability not because they’re challenged and entertained by the taste.
I’d happily sit with you and make stuff up over a few of these which for me makes it a bit good.
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Yes … there are beers where you can sit and drink a few … out on the back porch, while the sun goes down and all you want to do is have a few and have a great conversation. Then, there are those that you want to chew on, and analyze and think about whether it is a quality beer. There are definitely times — a lot of times — to just have one of those beers where it’s just good to have a few. Sounds like this is one of those. Look forward to the conversation if we ever have the chance.
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