In the largest margin of victory in a Maine Madness championship match-up, Epiphany is the undisputed 2016 champion!
Bringing in a breathtaking 70% of the votes, Foundation’s juicy double IPA handily took down the hazy hop bomb Swish from Bissell Brothers Brewing.
After nearly 6,000 votes, three full weeks, and a strong field of 64 beers, Epiphany can don the laurels of victory proudly.
Let me take this moment to thank all the Maine brewers who work day-in-day-out to bring us some of the best beer being brewed in America. Your time spent cleaning mash tuns, hauling grain bags, worrying over beer quality, and running a small business are not lost on us. The thousands of votes that poured in over the past three weeks are a testament to your hard work. Thank you.
Now to the craft beer lovers who turned out in droves to cast their votes. Yeah, I’m talking to you. Without your undying support, we wouldn’t have such a lush beer scene. You stand in long line for great beer. You write reviews on Beer Advocate. You stay social on Untappd. And you spread the word about our great beer scene. Kudos to you!
A quick word on cheating. Yeah, I know—bummer, right? But it happens almost every round. Let it be known that in all the cases of cheating we’ve found over the past three years, the brewer has never been involved. While the ballot stuffer might be a well-meaning, tech-savvy friend or super-fan of the brewery, in the long run, you only hurt the brewery. Don’t do it.
Now let’s give Epiphany its just deserts. This is a beautiful beer brewed with Columbus, Cascade, Citra, Ella, and Mosaic hops. (That hop line-up makes me giddy.) Epiphany is a tropical fruit symphony. One sip and you’ll understand why it won this tournament. The aroma is all mangos and grapefruits and passion fruit. The flavor is an amusement park ride of citrus fruit and just the right hit of bright pine notes at the end. Foundation Brewing Company is renowned for their dedication to quality. I have sampled many different batches of Epiphany over the past year, and its consistency and unwavering high quality is astounding.
Dying for an Epiphany right now? Me, too. Luckily the next batch of Epiphany will drop on April 21 at the brewery.
Expect next year’s tournament to feature an even mightier field of 64 beers as Maine’s brewery count pushes well over the 70 mark in 2016. Cheers to all of you, and next time you visit their tasting room, be sure to congratulate Foundation Brewing Company on their well-deserved victory.
Cheers!
