Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

Pours a deep and very cloudy gold with hints of orange. It pours up an immense, cloudy, uneven, off-white head that laces the glass heavily and lasts impressively - fading to a persistent, medium-sized, rocky layer floating on the beer. The aroma is an excellent mix of malt and hops - big, chewy, sweet, malty smells mixed with fragrant, grassy, almost perfumy hops. The aroma, overall, leans towards the malts. The first sip has a delightful maltiness. The tip of the tongue detects the sweet flavors of caramel and honey mixed with bitter and flowery hop flavors - again, leaning more towards malty and sweet. The middle of the tongue detects a more complex balance - a taste of peppery, bitter hops slowly begins to balance the huge malt presence. By the end, the back of the tongue tastes a very well-balanced, hoppy mixture that has begun to lean away from the malts and towards the hops. Masterful. The finish is medium in body and long. The after-taste is a rich mixture of grassy hops and faint notes of honey. The mouthfeel is a bit thick, but is well tempered by the carbonation resulting in a creaminess that hides the heavy body. The alcohol is virtually undetectable too - it is very well hidden. Overall impression: a very tasty strong lager with interesting layers, or "waves", of flavor. Also, it came in a kick-ass bottle that includes a free-hanging pop-top (as the bottle is capped) that could be used if you don’t drink the whole thing at once (all 26 oz.).

Bottle, 22oz. Nice ceramic bottle. Clear yellow color. Very hoppy aroma. Flavor is rich on hops, with notes of grass. Good mouthfeel. This beer will proberbly gain a lot with ageing.

Pours hazy orange with a sudsy light beige head. The aroma has pils malt that’s thick with mild honey sweetness and grass. Medium / thick body with a lush syrupy feel with some sharp carbonation giving it a bit of crispness. The taste starts with lots of maltiness, some sweetness and grainy / grassiness. The finish has some hops coming in that are more earthy than spicy. A nice beer, but not really worth the $14 price tag.

Very cloudy golden with a large head, decent lacing and retention. Aroma is grassy, spicy hops with loads of a soft bready malt backbone. Medium bodied with a bittersweet finish. Certainly enjoyable, I really liked it. However, paying an extra $10 for the bottle is ridiculous.

750ml Ceramic Fliptop $5.99 Big Red Bloomington I’ve had this one for a couple months now. A warm day helped me decide to finally crack it open. Morimoto Imperial Pilsner pours with a glug glug into a pilsner glass. A beautiful crystal clear golden body fills the glass. Numerous big carbonation bubbles rise rather quickly to the 2 finger craggy white head that forms. The head eventually falls to 1 finger and leaves spotty lacing. A really wonderful looking beer. The smell is inviting and refreshing. Clean raw graininess along with a nicely subdued hay and grassy hop aromas. There’s a mild sugary sweetness in there as well. This is a truly refreshing beer. Very simple flavors yet they’re very well rounded and in perfect balance. Raw graininess starts things off and is present in the background throughout. Mild grassy hops show up midway through along with a subdued sugary sweetness. This sugary sweetness actually compliments the other flavors very nicely. Nice hop spiciness on the swallow. Every now and then I get mild alcohol fumes on the swallow. Body is surprisingly light for such a high ABV. Good carbonation keeps things moving and awakens the tongue. Finishes dry and very crisp. Refreshing. This is an easy beer to put back. I could easily see myself drinking this all day long and I would if I could find it for $5.99 all the time. This is a superb beer from Rogue. Unbelievably refreshing and crisp for such a high ABV. This is usually an expensive bottle but I would definately suggest trying it at some point in time. Excellent! 3/12/07

Bottle, Brewski’s in Fayetteville AR. Bright green aroma, minty, dill. Blending with a warm sulfur pop that fits right in with the hop character. Lots of herbal hop bitterness and hay in the flavor. Earthy. This was my favorite of the evening. A really surprising and unique beer. Thanks Andy and James! I’d been curious about this one.

Unclear golden yellow with a small white head. Grain and hops in the aroma. Very bitter and with some alcohol noticable.

Not a bad lager, but I’ve been more impressed with other offerings from Rogue. Hazy, golden body and a snow-white head. No lacing. The aroma is dominated by floral hops, but there’s definitely some malt in the background. The flavor consists of a huge dose of both malts and hops -- much more than I was expecting, to be quite honest. Mildly bitter aftertaste. Mouthfeel was quite heavy, and the carbonation level was about average.