Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

Wow. The aroma is hoppy, fruity. copper color, cloudy. big flavor. malty, some bitter fruit. very nice.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The label reads best before Jan. 09 and it was sampled on 6-24-09. Appearance: The body has a deep orange amber color with a few random and tiny bubbles of carbonation here and there. Its clarity is very good as well. The head is very thick and creamy with about a two and a half finger thick ness. It is light tan in color and very long lasting which makes for nice sticky rings of lacing on the glass. Smell: The aroma is really rich and full of leafy/spicy hops and pale bready malt. Taste/Mouth: The flavor, like its aroma, has an intense spicy/leafy/herbal hop character. It is in you face with hops and bitterness. Under this heavy layer of hops is a simple and very modest pale bready malt flavor. There is just enough malt presence in there to remind you that this is a beer and not just a bottle of hop extract. It finishes with slowly with a strong hop flavor and bitterness that clings to tongue and feels like it is pulling the enamel off of your teeth. The palate has a full, thick body and slick texture with light carbonation. Notes: This is a big, full hop bomb and I even sampled it a few months passed its freshness date. I love hops and the flavor was very good but I am not the biggest hop head in the world so for me the drinkability was low on this one. A little bit of this goes a long way.

Bottle. Pours an average, white, dense, creamy head. Honey golden, hazy body. Head is lasting, patchy and clingy. Nice, big (without being overpowering) noble hop (herbal and spicy) nose. Sweet, caramel malt dominates the body. Definitely malt forward. Hallertau is equally strong. Some citrus coming through now. A bit of raisin and bread in the malt profile. Full bodied, sticky and resinous. A little oil slick on the tongue. Malty sweet up front with a big bitter finish. Moderate, warming alcohol lingers on the back of the tongue with the hop bitterness. Average carbonation. Overall a pretty weird beer. I love the concept, but I think the Pilsener would be better served (and would better showcase the Hallertau) if the Imperial nonsense were dropped. Or at least if the beer were less imperialized. As it stands, this tastes like an American Strong Ale and doesn’t resemble a Pilsener in the least. Better attenuation, less crystal and a smaller overall grainbill would make this a more attractive beer for me. As it stands, it gets lost in the shuffle with other imperialized nonsense. Disappointing, because I love Hallertauer Mittelfrüh.

(Bottle) Hazy, dark golden colour with lasting, frothy, beige head. Fruity, hoppy nose with notes of dried apricots, grapefruit, bread and a touch of alcohol. Fruity, malty, hoppy taste with dried apricots, grapefruit and pine needles. Bready malt with some ryvita. Long, dry, bitter finish with just a touch of alcohol. Slightly above medium body, drier than expected. Very hoppy but still well balanced. Very nice. Impressive!

tastes like an ipa - a really freakin good ipa, maybe a little cleaner - tangerine grapefruit caramel is right with the grapefruit aftertaste too - a little grassy - sweetness / hoppiness is in great balance (cuz it is pretty sweet) I wish I could tell the dif between hop varieties better, and really notice the hallertau! After a while, when it gets warmer, it becomes too sweet - oh well

Pours almost like a nice Hefe-Weizen: cloudy straw color with generous, thick white head that retains well w/ nice lace. Nose has a delightful grapefruit/tangerine citrus core. Somewhat prickly too, but good. Palate is medium bodied and isn’t as "extreme" as I was expecting for an Imp Pils. Finish is crisp, dry, and reveals more of the fresh hop vine funk that is sooo yummy.

Bottle: Pours deep orange, slightly hazy, nice off-white head. Aroma is super heavy in floral and citrus hops, almost soapy, with great spice notes. The flavour is exceptional - this is the IPA of lagers with tremendous hopping just assaulting the taste buds alongside a very rich malt backing. It’s not terribly complex but it doesn’t need to be, this is a shock for me and probably the single best, most flavourful lager I’ve ever poured down my gullet.

Dark yellow almost orange with a head that lasted the whole way down. The first smell from the bottle is an amazing dose of hops. The second smell from the glass is just as glorious. Jim Koch is speaking the truth when he touts the amount of hops because the nose is amazing. Fruity, grassy, floral hops and then the taste is more hops and a nice malty backbone with some caramel flavor. This is unlike any pilsner I have ever had but the smell is so beautiful and the taste is delicious. This beer is hoppier than many IPA’s I have had but doesn’t have much bitterness to speak of which I believe is noted on the carton. This has completely upset what I thought I knew about Sam Adam’s. I have had several of their beers but nothing even comes close to this. The 8.8 ABV is undetectable to the taste at first but a little astringent on my tongue halfway through. Top notch and every bit as hoppy as claimed on the label, hopheads should love this. I will now proceed to give Sam Adams lineup a second look, well done. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-17-2007 16:09:37