marksahara (79), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 17/20 |
Jan 15, 2008 12 oz. bottle - 2007 vintage. Aroma is intensely saturated with citrus and floral hops, with a slight background of malt. Pours a hazy goldenrod with ~2 fingers worth of generously white fluffy crown, good retention and lacing. Flavour is significantly and intensely hoppy all the way through the taste with an immense malt backbone. There are some underlying roasty tones in the malt, which provide some balance to the monster hop bitterness. I am a hophead and I never knew Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops could be that bitter and provide that much hop flavour in a beer. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, somewhat viscous and resinous, with moderate to spritely carbonation, enhancing the hop spiciness. Finish is very crisp, leaving a hoppy aroma in the mouth with a lingering bitterness that slowly dissipates. This is by far the best Sam Adams brew I have ever had, but it is definitely a sipper. I am going to experiment by cellaring a beer from this year’s vintage to see how it develops by next year - I predict the roasted malt tones to emerge and the hop bitterness to subside a bit, so we’ll see. Too bad this is not available year-round. It is a bit pricey but I don’t mind spending $2.50 per bottle each year to drink this on special occasions - this is definitely my beer version of a champagne.
 biznizness (934), Mooresville, North Carolina, USA
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 |
Jan 15, 2008 Gotta love a lager as bold as this one. Here’s to bold lagers. I wish I could get my hands on a bottle of the 2005 version for my collection.
JFURYCAT (791), East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 |
Jan 14, 2008 This one really delivers the hallertau hops which hit me in a perfume-like shield which makes other pilsners seem so small because they lack the potency and aroma that this one has. There is a realm of floral citrus bouquet and malty tones to restrain the hoppy blast which makes this a more balanced beer despite the exuberence. A clean crisp dry palate accompanies the flavors. I’m thinking favorite Sam Adams beer.
Beershine (2686), Hue, Vietnam
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Jan 14, 2008 Updated: Feb 14, 2009Pours hazy and with a solid depth of color. Gorgeous. Nose is hallertau to the max, so straightforward and endlessly delightful. Resinous. Phenolic. Also apricot. The overall intensity combined with quaffability makes this entirely enjoyable.
gotohelunc (473), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 14/20 |
Jan 14, 2008 Bottle. Hazy orange, small white head. Flavor and aroma are both very similar to many IPAs with a lot of hoppy bitterness, citrus, grapefruit, and peppery spice. There’s an interesting, clean mouthfeel. Finishes remarkably smooth for a 9% alcohol lager.
Swalden28 (1446), McKinney, Texas, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Jan 13, 2008 Updated: Oct 28, 2008RE-Rate/ 10/28/2008:
Pours a very nice looking hazy deep gold with great thick off-white head that lays a thick layer of lacing.
Very nice floral aroma with some berry or orange. Flavor hits pretty hard, very sweet malt then the strong hop flavor sneaks up on you, very piney, with a strong bitter.....Overall impression, hoppy, very hoppy.....this is a sipper.
First Rating:
’’I am not a fan of this beer...Im not a hop head but had to give it a try. Pourd a great clear color with excellent head retention, laced the glass. Smell was pretty good as well. Now comes the taste....Yep, strong hop flavor, very strong...Only slight bitterness as well which I like. I didn’t finish the beer, it was just too much for me.’’
santos999 (318), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| 2.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 4/10 | 2/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 12/20 |
Jan 12, 2008 I had the first run of this back in 05 and loved it. I don’t know if it’s my tastes that have changed, or the beer, but I don’t like it as much. The smell is straight cat piss. The taste is surprisingly malty, with caramel sweet notes, and tons of citrus and piney hop flavors. Very full mouthfeel. While this is a decent brew, you’d be a fool to call it a (Imperial) Pilsner. Tastes more like a beefed up Steam beer that anything else. Whatever.
TheBeerBaron (219), Florida, USA
| 2.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 2/5 | 5/10 | 3/5 | 8/20 |
Jan 12, 2008 Yellow hue but extremely murky and cloudy - scary looking and not in a good exciting way. Medium white head, no carbonation in the murk. Aroma is very pleasing, butter and floral. For a "superhop" it is strangely not dominated with the smell of grass one would expect. Well, if I didn’t really smell the hops, I sure do taste ’em! Way in front of any other flavor and stays there throughout. The malt is not strong enough to survive the onslaught even water is hard to discern. A positive is the masking of the high alcohol, but that level of hops would mask about anything. If you like superhop style, you can have my share, its way over the top and to me not entirely enjoyable. At least I tried.
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