Black Forest Imperial Pilsner

Brewed by Black Forest Brew Haus
Style: European Strong Lager
Farmingdale, New York USA

Quite a good beer! Cloudy (ie - unfiltered) golden yellow body, nice frothy head. Very pleasant and easy to drink despite the higher alcohol content. Very well-balanced, with a good amount of malts and a refreshing, yet subdued hoppiness.

Pours a solid golden with a bit of white head. Aroma is spicy and citrus with quite a bit of lemon. Flavor is similar with a bit heavier emphasis on the orange and much more spice. There is a finishing level of bitterness which manages to give it a great amount of balance. It is very, very hard to believe that this is 8.5 ABV. If you haven’t had this yet, go get it now because it won’t last long.

All I can do is pretty much reiterate what Eugene has said about this beer - nice cloudy pour, with quite a frothy head - beautiful, full nose, loaded with sweet floral character and a nice, fresh hop profile - I, too, would not have guessed the ABV - it just seems like a nicely hopped, full-bodied, hearty pils - the floral characteristics combine perfectly with the hops, and the medium sweetness adds a honey-like quality that compliments the flower flavors well - one of the better "imperial pilsners" I’ve had.

Growler from Brewpub: Pours a rich golden color with a slight haze and a creamy white head. The aroma is a nice crisp and spicy German hop character with some mild orange peel fruitiness and some doughy character. The body has a nice thick velvety carbonation. Has a near perfect Pilsener profile. The body has a rich bready malt base with a very subtle sweetness. The German hops give it a great balancing spicy zest, which is mildly orangey and peppery. The finish has the perfect amount of zesty bitterness to make it dangerously drinkable. Just damn delicious, with no evidence of the high alcohol content. An outstanding Pilsener!

Pours a nice yellowish gold with a decent lasting white head. You can tell there is a shitload of hops because the beer almost looks like it has a green tint. Aroma is very herbal and grassy- lots of green continental earthy and floral hops- clean and just refreshign with a lot of pilsner dougy malts as well. Good doughy malt flavor with a nice clean hop flaovr and bitterness, lightly minty, floral and lgiht grassiness- good clean spicy bitterness in the end with more earth and some dirty yeasty character. Great impy pils.

Tap at the brewpub. Aroma of lemon, floral hops, biscuit malt. Flavor has heaps of that biscuit malt with a nectar-like quality, maybe some honey, increasingly leafy, almost herbal bitterness leading to some resin in the finish. Full-bodied, but remains nearly as drinkable as a regular pils. Out of a small sample size, the first so-called "Imperial Pilsner" I’ve had that actually tasted like a Pilsner made bigger, as opposed to a completely different style of lager. Nice stuff.

Was at the brewpub to try the Smoked Cherry Dunkelweisse and the Smoked Hefe was kicked. As I am sitting there enjoying my beer the bartender throws me a sample of something and says Imperial Pilsner (this is one of the few times writing notes in a brewpub pays off). So I enter this as a Pilsner for now, though these types seem to usually go into Euopean Strong Lager categories. The reason: if I didnt know what I was drinking I would think this is just a good, malty, thick pilsner. Pretty much its just a slightly thicker, a more cloudy yellow, and slightly more hopped version of their regular pils. I mean nothing in the category of a DFH Golden Shower. Cannot see through the beer at all. Nice thick head. Aroma and taste have a good lemon aspect. A good subtle hop character of some sort, nothing too strong and nothing American. A meduim-low bitterness. Would never guess 8.5 alcohol.

Growler filled at Black Forest. Pours a hazy gold with a moderate linen white head that lasted until mid-glass and left partial lace. The aroma is pleasant with spice, orange, and doughy malt. The flavor is very nice with a solid dose of bready malt with some spicy hops and just a bit of orange. The mouthfeel is somewhat creamy, somewhat resinous. Medium-full bodied. The alcohol is very well hidden with no sign of it whatsoever. A very enjoyable imperial pils.