Q & A with Gus Erickson of Epic Brewing Company, located in Salt Lake City, UT and Denver, CO.
Q. Tell us a quick history of your brewery:
A. One of the Top-Rated Breweries in the World, Epic Brewing Company is Utah’s first brewery since prohibition to brew exclusively full-strength beer. With locations in Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, Epic continues to win awards for its cutting-edge, handcrafted and unique beers.
Q. How many different kinds of beer do you produce?
A. We produce dozens of styles. From common ones like Lagers, Ales, IPAs and Stouts to Belgian-style Golden Strong Ales, Saison Style Ales, Double India Pale Ales, and Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts.
Q. How do you choose which styles of beer to brew?
A. We have a committee of about ten people who hop in a meeting once a week to discuss our game plan. The members include myself and range from head brewers to graphic designers and the owner. We get our inspiration from market trends or simply what we enjoy drinking.
Q. What is unique about your beer? What makes them stand out?
A. Our beer us ultra high quality. We're able to brew very true to style with a machine that performs Reverse Osmosis on our water supply, making our water content soft for Belgian-style ales. With the same machine we can inject minerals into the water to make the water content hard for Irish-style Ales. We source high quality malts and hops from all across the world, and we cultivate our own yeast line for several generations.
Q. How is your beer connected to the local area?
A. We source our ingredients locally whenever we can and primarily distribute to our local community. We have special releases that don't get distributed nationally which helps strengthen our bond with locals.
Q. What is your favorite beer that you produce? Describe its aroma, flavor and appearance.
A. My favorite beer is called Los Locos! It's a Mexican-style lager with lime puree and added sea salt. We add lime and salt so that you don't have to. It's golden and clear, but can be a little hazy from the real lime puree that we add after filtering it. The flavor has a hint of malt sweetness, a dash of salt, and a refreshing splash of lime.
Q. What foods pair well with the beer named in the previous question?
A. Los Locos pairs amazing with street tacos from the vendors on our block! I also suggest pairing with fish or gazpacho.
Q. What can visitors expect when they visit your brewery?
A. You can expect to find a huge selection of beer to-go. We usually try to have at least two dozen different styles on hand. You might also have a chance to sit in our small tasting room and sample all of the beers we have on deck, but seating is extremely limited.
Q. Where can consumers purchase your products besides at your brewery?
A. Our beer is in all of the Utah state liquor stores, it's in dozens of mom and pop liquor stores in Colorado, and it is distributed to a handful of states from coast to coast. Try using the beer finder on our website to find out if Epic is near you. The best place to find fresh and the widest selection of our beer, however, is to visit our taprooms in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado.
*Images courtesy of Epic Brewing Company.
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