A Salt Lake City brewery has created a special beer in commemoration of Utah’s newly arrived National Hockey League team.
On Friday, Oct. 4, Epic Brewing Company will release its newest beer, Hip Check Ice, an “imperial” lager brewed in celebration of the Utah Hockey Club, according to a news release. The team’s first official league game is on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at the Delta Center against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The beer is called an imperial lager because, at 7.5% ABV, it’s heavier than the typical lager, which is usually between 4% and 6% ABV, according to the website Brewer’s Friend.
Gus Erickson, who’s in sales and marketing at Epic, said Thursday that the imperial lager is unique in Epic’s lineup of beers, which contains a few regular lagers.
He said the team at Epic wanted to do a lager because “hockey guys like beer, especially light beers. ... That’s more of the style we think people would be interested in when they’re watching a hockey game or after playing a game of hockey.”
Brewed in 16-ounce cans, Hip Check Ice is, of course, “crystal clear,” the release said. It’s named for a high-action move in hockey where, Erickson said, you “bend your knees a little bit, get under the guy and kind of throw them up into the air.”
Like other lagers, Hip Check Ice is light on hops and malt, Erickson said. “We use a lager yeast, which is flavorless, as opposed to an ale yeast, which does have kind of a funky flavor to it. So you’re going to get more bready notes. It’s going to be kind of biscuity,” he said.
Overall, it’s going to be smooth, drinkable and crisp, Erickson said.
On Oct. 4, and over the weekend before the game, Epic will be giving away free hockey pucks at the brewery at 825 S. State St., the release said. On Oct. 8, ESPN 700 radio will be broadcasting from Epic for the game, the release said.
