 doubleo (470), San Diego, California, USA
May 10, 2008 On-tap at Stone 5/8/08. Pours slightly hazy yellow with a small white head and some lace. Smells malty sweet and slightly hoppy. Tastes crisp and not overly malty sweet, has a bitter hoppiness right in mid sip as well. Lingering bitter sweet hoppiness. Full bodies but not overly thick or sweet like I was expecting. GOod carbonation.
thenick (476), North Bellmore, New York, USA
May 10, 2008 Tap @ Blind Tiger. Pours a cloudy golden color with a slight white head. Aroma and taste are slight malt up front with monster hops in the background and a bitter aftertaste. You can really notice the dry-hopping, as this is more overtly bitter than many other imperial pilsners I’ve tried.
blackmurder (157), sadf, Hawaii, USA
May 10, 2008 I dug this one, my favorite from Rogue actually. A powerful lager of raw strength and pure dominance. Got on tap at Rogue brewery.
bhensonb (2319), Woodland, California, USA
May 9, 2008 750 ml. bottle. Not getting a strong aroma. The head is pretty tall and dense. The color is slightly hazy gold - loose protein? Some noble hop aroma as the head breaks up. Near medium body with creamy carbonation. Turns a bit thin as the carbonation leaves. Flavor is nicely bitter - grassy bitter. There is quite a bit of malt to go with all of that bitter. Seems balanced. One of the hoppier lagers, but not quite so much as the Sam Adams version. Very tasty. A little spice, a little touch of fruit. Leaves the mouth rather dry and bitter.
soulgrowl (51), Kitakyushu-shi, Japan
May 7, 2008 Aroma: Rather faint; caramel malts and herbal/spicy hops come through. Kind of a pumpkin smell, as well, with just a hint of clove.
Appearance: Cloudy red-orange with an apple cider quality. Creamy but overly excited head dissipates rather quickly, leaving wispy, cobweb-ish lacing.
Flavor: Very fruity. Prune juice, orange rindy hops, and there’s some banana action going on, like a dunkel weizen. A bit of powdery yeast runs through it as well, and just a drop of maple-like sweetness. This is not like any other pilsener I’ve had before. It goes pretty well with my New Year’s Day dinner, consisting of roast goose, cranberry-pecan wild rice stuffing, and green beans. Alcohol is more present as it warms.
Palate: Medium bodied, and surprisingly sharp and dry.
Overall: I did really enjoy this beer and I recommend it, but I can’t say I’ll ever buy it again. At most places it’s $16 a bomber (I found it for $12), and I’m afraid it’s just not worth that. Awesome bottle, though.
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