Beer Review: Epic's Lupulingus IPA

FULL-ON FUN: Epic's Lupulingus Imperial IPA. Not for the faint-hearted.

First impressions of Auckland-based Epic Brewing Company's new seasonal Lupulingus IPA (Imperial Pale Ale) are it's a full-on flavour and has a surprisingly sweet aftertaste.

This is considering their Lupulingus, which roughly translates from Latin as "call of the wolf", is a hefty 9 per cent, you certainly don't get a beer that tastes as potent as that.

A true IPA, this beer is rich, strong and highly flavoured with intense pine flavours and a mellow golden syrup and malty finish - you can almost hear the wolves calling in the background as the bitter aftertaste lingers.

The people who helped me sample this brew were even more complimentary saying that out of the bottle this was a silky smooth IPA which did not taste like it was a full 9 per cent and was very drinkable.

Epic have also recently released their new Loves Bacon Smoked IPA which was a hit at the recent Beervana event held in Wellington.

But, if you're keen on a Lupulingus Imperial IPA just make sure the car's parked up - you'll definitely want more than one.

I'll give this Epic brew four pints out of five.

- Beer supplied by Brew Craft Beer Pub Eat Streat Rotorua and The Strand Tauranga.