Dogfish Head Golden Era (Shower)

This was interesting when tasted with Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner. It has medium strong hops flavors with a corn flavor that reminds me a bit of malt liquor. An interesting evolution of the style, although not as enjoyable as Sam Adam’s offering.

Bottle. Poured a golden yellowish color. Aroma is malt and hops. Taste is crisp with a hop finish.

Bottle. Poured a deep golden color with a nice head. Smelled amazing: hops and florals. Nicely balanced beer.

12oz bottle courtesy of my Secret Santa. Pours a golden orange/yellow body with a thick, very creamy looking snow white head. Excellent retention and some very nice lacing as well. Nose is oddly silent coming from this brewery. I get some floral hops, malt, some doughy notes and not much else. Even those aromas are very hard to coax out of the glass. Fore is finally some spicy, citric hops, along with a malty backing, and adding in some pine, BC powder and some metallic notes. Very heavily astringent. Feels like battery acid on the palate. Finish is very bitter, very lengthy, and then finally settles to a malty sweetness, but the bitterness never goes away. Alcohol is well hidden in the aroma and the flavor composition, only hinted at by a subtle warming sensation as the beer is consumed. Tastes pretty good, but ultimately the lack of aroma kills this one.

Smells spicy, hoppy and makes me want to sneeze. Pours a nice golden color with a big white head. Taste is very thick heavy malts, not expected from a beer this light. Plenty of sour and bitter hops to balance the malts followed by a slight alcohol bite. Having this after the 120 Min IPA kinda dulls my taste a little.

Pours a crisp golden yellow with a small soapy head. Aroma is slightly grassy and flowery/floral. Taste is quite hoppy and rich, but spicy and floral as well. Kinda like liquid potpouri.

12 oz. bottle. Poured in a Sam Adams glass, which invites comparison to the SA Impy Pilsner. This one has a different odor, less specific to one Hallertau hops, more of a general Budvar on steroids. Looks great in the glass—small streams of bubbles rising through the center of a pure gold body, spongy head that dissolves to slight lace—gotta give that a 5. Taste is, of course, very hoppy, but we don’t normally get this much hop power from German cones. Peppery foretaste, leaving a slight burn on my lip. Like to taste all that pilsner malt; frankly it could use more to bear up against the hops. Quite a bit of it goes down before you even notice the alcohol. I’ve had a lot of diesel fuel that was categorized as "European Strong Lager;" any more of this along with the S.A. and we may need a whole new set of Impy styles. From Cardinal Liquors, Frankfort, IL.

Bottle. Pours a lovely clear gold with a small white head. Aroma is pepper and hops. Taste is heavy pepper and hop up front, dissolving into a hoppy aftertaste that reminds me of an IPA (not surprising since Dogfish makes such great IPA’s). Alcohol somewhat noticeable, but did not take away from the overall experience. A great, refreshing brew.