After tasting a few disappointing examples of IPAs utilising Yakima Chief’s all-in-one cryo-hop blend, I was beginning to build up a bit of speculation towards it. But, if anyone can make an IPA work then it’s Epic, so I’ll go in hopeful once again. Golden peach and guava lead the nose, with sweet orange citrus and some surprising strawberry fondant further back. There’s grapefruit juice and strong orange rind on the palate, with more heavily ripe peach emerging before an absolutely belting bitterness slaps across the finish. While I still think the Cryo-Pop blend lacks a bit of lift and zing, a big (6.9%), bright and bitter IPA like this is definitely where it does its best work.