New Beer - Epic Armageddon IPA

New Beer - Epic Armageddon IPA

Epic Journey recreates beer’s most famous voyage
Forty litres of fresh India Pale Ale from Auckland will spend up to six weeks at sea on the Interislander Ferry looking to recreate a recreation of beer’s most famous voyage.

In the 1880s, pale ale from Burton-on-Trent in England took around six weeks on tall ships to reach its thirsty customers in India. British beer writer Pete Brown recently retraced the long journey which helped create this iconic style of beer. He chronicled his adventures in the newly released book Hops and Glory: One Man’s Search for the Beer that Built the British Empire.

“I sourced two 20-litre new oak barrels and filled them with fresh Armageddon,” Luke explains. “I recently brewed a real ale in England for a huge British beer festival so I knew Armageddon was not a million miles away from what a traditional pale ale would have tasted like. For a beer to stand up to the kind of treatment we have in mind it has to be pretty robust. Armageddon is definitely big, strong and hoppy. The idea is to see what effect changes in temperature and constant movement has on beer stored in wood. Most pundits believe India Pale Ale’s benefitted from the conditioning they received during their sea voyages.”
Full Story

[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.
Watch the videos

The West Coast IPA Challenge
Epic Armageddon IPA will be launched at the West Coast IPA Challenge events:

17th July 2009 - The Malthouse, Wellington
24th July 2009 - Brew on Quay, Auckland

Everyone welcome

Come try the beers
Launch Dates

Hops and Glory: One Man's Search for the Beer That Built the British Empire
The original India Pale Ale was pure gold in a glass a semi-mythical beer from the late 18th century, brewed in Britain to travel halfway around the world, through ocean storms and tropical sunshine, and arrive in perfect condition for a long, cold drink on an Indian veranda. And although you can still buy beers with 'IPA' on the label today, most are, frankly, pale imitations of the original. For the first time in 140 years, a keg of traditional Burton IPA has been brewed for a voyage to India by canal and tall ship, around the Cape of Good Hope; and the man carrying it is award-winning beer writer Pete Brown. Brazilian pirates and Iranian customs officials lie ahead, but will he even make it that far, having fallen in the canal just a few miles outside Burton-on-Trent? And if Pete does make it to the other side of the world with 'Barry' the barrel, one question remains: what will the real IPA taste like? Weaving first-class travel writing and new historical research with assured comedy, Hops and Glory is both a rollicking, raucous history of the Raj and a wonderfully entertaining, groundbreaking experiment to recreate the finest beer ever brewed.
The Book

Beervana - 28th & 29th Augus
Come to the Wellington Town Hall for the ultimate beer tasting. Try beers from Auckland to Invercargill and even Australia! This opportunity happens only once a year to sample the freshest brews which have come from many many miles apart - all in one room, surrounded by fellow beer lovers

* Rub shoulders with 30+ premium craft brewers in one room, with tastings of up to 120 different beers.

* Experience beer and food pairings (with Neil Miller and Martin Bosley) that you never thought possible!

* Meet NZ's leading female brewer and discover how women have had a huge part to play in beer's history and will continue to play in the future.
More Information on Beervana

If you can't make one of the launch dates for Armageddon (17th or 24th) make sure you come to Beervana as it is the best place to try more beers in one place than you can get your hands on anywhere in New Zealand.

And an opportunity to try the Epic Armageddon IPA from the oak barrels.

ENDS

© Scoop Media