Sour Apple Saison, Epic Brewing Company, Denver

Style: Saison

ABV: 8.1 percent

Serving Type: Draft

Malty? Hoppy? Not much of either; tart and fruity

Reviewed: September 2013

Epic Brewing’s arrival in the Mile High City has been a bit different than the hordes of nanobreweries popping up around Denver. It’s no brewing startup. For the past three years, the company’s brewers have concocted a wide-ranging line of 39 beers—everything from hoppy ales to sour Belgian-style brews—in Salt Lake City, Utah. Several months ago, however, the brewery announced it intended to expand to Denver. Construction of a new brewhouse and taproom in the River North neighborhood has been in the works for a while, but last weekend the brewery officially opened its new space to the public.

Though we’ve yet to make it to the taproom, we stumbled upon this particular Epic brew at Lucky Pie Pizza and Tap House in Lodo. This sour apple saison is part of the brewery’s more adventurous line of beers known as its “Exponential Series” (think: imperial stouts, barley wines, and a variety of Belgian brews). The saison is a sharp golden color, and smells like a, well, sour apple. The brew is dry and crisp and true to its name: It’s almost as if your taking a bite out of a Granny Smith. We’re already looking forward to trying our next Epic brew.

Would we buy it again? This beer is fit for summer. If only we had discovered it a few months ago during those nonstop 90-degree days. We’ll file this one away as a good warm-weather option.