NORWICH, CONNECTICUT
Inside the large brick-walled expanse of an old printing press, EPICURE BREWING took hold June 8, 2017. Its high ceilings, cement floor, exposed pipes, metal-wood furnishings and old mill setting offer the perfect “lofty Industrial vibe” for brewers Ken Thiffeault and Jim Bojarski to craft their fine stylistically standard fare.
The 12-stool L-shaped bar features twelve-plus taps, a white Epicure banner and several mugs-growlers. Eight high-chair tables sit across the bar while several wooden pews and silver brew tanks don the rear. A vintage 1950 Sunbeam motorcycle hangs bear the front wall.
As I settle in on a cold December ’18 evening before dinner at neighboring These Guys, there are seven elixirs to consume.
Lovely light-bodied Kolsch, Cool Side Of Beautiful, stayed crisply clean as spritzy yellow fruit spicing, herbal hop astringency and straw-dried graining reached a pleasant pilsner-malted biscuit base.
Three rangy India Pale Ales hit the palate next. Briskly Citra-Mandarina-Eldorado-hopped Good Old Tom, a hazy New England-styled IPA, loaded juicy yellow grapefruit tanginess and navel orange peel sweetness alongside a slightly soured lemon zing, leaving mild wood tomes at the sunny citrus finish.
Stylishly bitterer, Damned Yankee IPA evenly spread grapefruit, orange, tangerine and lemon zest across piney hop resin and light herbal nuances.
Despite its lofty 8.5% ABV, easygoing Little Coat Double IPA will appease less heady pale ale fans with its playful lemony orange-grapefruit spritz, cereal-grained caramel malt roast and mild dry hop astringency.
Sweet ‘n sour raspberry puree draped silken brown chocolate malting for Raspberry Chocolate Porter, a dessert-bound dark ale finishing with a lemon-soured berry piquancy that crowds its mocha mightiness.
Dark chocolate bittering and soy-sauced earthen dewiness garnished semi-enigmatic Lightning Struck Twice Oatmeal Stout to its milk-sugared oats base.
Syrupy chocolate overwhelmed the toasted coconut adjunct of Zussamen Chocolate Coconut Stout, leaving subtle burgundy, espresso, marshmallow and dried fruit reminders.
epicurebrewing.com