Salt Lake City’s Epic Brewing is bringing back one of craft beer’s most anticipated annual releases, with six new takes on its celebrated barrel-aged imperial stout, Big Bad Baptist. Fans can get first crack at the 2026 lineup at the brewery on Friday, October 9, with wider distribution following in November. This year’s series pushes the flagship stout in bold new directions, layering barrel character, coffee, spices, honey, and even peat smoke over the rich, roasty backbone that made the original a cult favorite.
The 2026 lineup includes:
Big Bad Baptist 10-Year Anniversary, a celebratory blend of vanilla, cinnamon, cacao, and house-roasted Mexican coffee marking a decade of this fan favorite.
Godfather Part II, the return of the Godfather series, built to showcase the depth and complexity of Epic’s whiskey barrels.
Beehive, an imperial stout brewed with local Utah honey and cacao nibs, a nod to the Beehive State.
Big Easy, a rye whiskey barrel-aged stout inspired by New Orleans’ classic Sazerac cocktail.
Irish Baptist, featuring smooth vanilla bean and coffee flavors.
Scottish Baptist, brewed with coffee, cacao nibs, and peat-smoked barley for a distinctly smoky, layered finish.
All six variants will be packaged in 16-ounce cans and will ship across Epic’s distribution footprint beginning in November. Stout lovers in Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin should keep an eye on shelves, since these limited releases tend to disappear quickly.
From Brine Shrimp to Big Beers: The Epic Story
Epic Brewing’s roots trace back to an unlikely source: brine shrimp. Founders and co-owners Dave Cole and Peter Erickson, originally from California, started an international aquaculture company in Utah in 1992. The two had met in San Diego in the mid-1980s, when Erickson was managing an indoor aquaculture facility producing brine shrimp and Cole was hired on, and they spent years watching the Bay Area microbrewery boom with envy. Their chance came when Utah passed a law in 2008 permitting breweries to produce and sell “heavy” beer, over 3.2% alcohol by weight, directly to the public. Epic opened in May 2010, and billed itself as the first brewery in Utah since Prohibition to brew only high-alcohol beer.
Growth came fast. The brewery started with six 10-barrel fermentation tanks, and within a few short months it was earning medals domestically and internationally. In 2013 Epic expanded into Colorado with a second brewery in Denver’s River North district, giving it room for national distribution, a larger barrel-aged program, and a new line of sour beers. Beyond the Big Bad Baptist family, Epic has built a loyal following for beers like the award-winning Utah Sage Saison and Hopulent IPA, and the company has even branched outside of beer with Clearly Coconut, a brewed coconut water made from 100% USDA Organic coconut. Visitors to the flagship taproom on State Street will find a wide rotating lineup, from hazy IPAs and sours to the big barrel-aged stouts that put Epic on the map.
For more information about the 2026 Big Bad Baptist series, visit epicbrewing.com or email info@epicbrewing.com.
Address: 825 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Website: https://www.epicbrewing.com