Herevana – Epic – Player 1
You know I don’t pay attention that much, and impulse buy, so this might have been done before, a brewer making the same beer two ways, one West coast and one East coast, clear and hazy. Well it got me hooked in, and so here we are with a wonderful face-off Player 1 VS Player 2
Both beers have similar combinations of malts and hops to create the backbone of the recipe. We have used New Zealand grown Pale Ale Malt, plus some of our favourite hop varieties Mosaic Columbus and Centennial. Similar ingredients, very different beer styles. Which Player will you choose?
Epic Brewing Company (NZ) make the Epic Player 1 in 🇳🇿 Auckland, New Zealand, this one is an IPA at 6.7% and this can would be 2.3 standard drinks in NZ.
What. then could got wrong? Well it did occur to me after I started that I should have done a side by side, but there are things you just don’t think through, and this appears to be one of those things
That’s a really nice “IPA” aroma when you crack the can open, and it’s a classic decent IPA pour, golden with a lovely bit of fluffy head on the top, the aroma spills out everywhere, a thing of personal joy.
There’s a bag of lovely malt cushion in this that does the very best to shield you from that late profile bitterness that kicks in with a playful and brilliant nudge. This is nice.
I’m quickly alarmed by just how much I’ve drink in two sups. It has quite an addictive lingering note prickly bitter and moorish,
I like Epic beers they make some of the best straight up IPA’s that I’ve drunk, like Hop Zombie, Armageddon, and others and whilst this might not be carrying a flag at the front of the pack in terms of breaking ground for this me this a winners circle beer, one that shows off class and ability without sacrifice to style.
If only it came with a free replay.
The Pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 10 on the arbitrary number scale. This is just good beer, really good beer done goodly. The arbitrary scale is jsut my hot take recons, and based on the experience I’ve jsut had I can’t fault this. No it’s not groundbreaking, leading, taking IPA in a new direction, it’s just showing how it should be and can be done.
I’m listening to Face Value (Deluxe Editon) by Phil Collins on a crackly vinyl that I should clean, but I’m quite enjoy it as it is.
Insert Coin. Press Start and Get Ready for the battle royale of modern brewing styles. You’ve selected Epic Player 1 West Coast IPA to be your defender against the legion of wannabee, has-beens and johnny-come-latelys of the beer universe. your secret weapon? An unstoppable triple key combo of boss-level hops. Bonus stage if you unlock all achievements and respawn as Epic Player 2 East Coast Hazy?
Player 1 – Red with the W on the chest shield. A classic West Coast IPA ,which we have become pretty good at making over the last decade. It is crystal clear, dry, with a firm lingering bitterness. The hops are big, bold, piney and resinous. Familiar and timeless.
Player 2 – Blue with the E on the chest shield. Your classic East Coast Hazy IPA which has a remarkably low bitterness, to let the malt sweetness and juicy fruitiness take over. New world, but an instant classic.
Herevana beers are those I drink at home, I’m not at some beer festival, like, for instance, Beervana, but am just in my kitchen, usually, dining room table, sometimes, or outside, occasionally, where I can take an average picture and write in real time about the beer that I’ve invested in, both in a monetary and emotional way.
Philip himself.
A life just as ordinary 