Armageddon a taste for hoppy beers by Bruce Holloway

("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)

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

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.