Port Brewing Panzer Imperial Pils

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: European Strong Lager
San Marcos, California USA

Pour is a sparkling clear, straw-gold color with an average, brilliant white, pillowy head which is somewhat lasting and leaves some sporadic lace. Nose is very faint for a 9.5% beer; notes of cookie, tangerine, floral, white pepper, and faint biscuity notes. Flavor is similar with not much intensity; light honey and faint cookie make up the malt notes, some dusty yeast, and hops which are lemon zest, floral, lightly herbal, and lightly spicy. Palate is lightly warm, crisp, medium, lively, and somewhat round; interesting to be round and crisp. Finishes a bit offputting with some alcohol, light floral, and lingering notes of pepper and herbal hops. It was weird to have a beer with a less than moderate bitterness but so much pepper and herbal hop notes, not really something that I enjoyed. A style that seems to be very inconsistent ranging from very light, crisp strong lager-type beers, to full, very complex beers, almost ale-like due to the high OG, and this one seemed to fit somewhere on the lighter side with a more full body. I think what is really throwing me is the fact that this one is very table-strength-pils-like and I am not a big fan of that style; usually the ESL’s tend to carry more ale characteristics and more bitterness, which I like. One of my favorite breweries but not one of favorites from them. If you like pilsners, this one is literally just a stronger version.

Date: August 20, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: South Bay Drugs, San Diego
Appearance: hazy orange, fine off white head, streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet and spicy aroma, candy sweetness, touch of fruityness, lots of spicyness
Flavor: sweet spicy orange flavor, citrus enhanced by the malt sweetness, lots of peppery spicyness, light bitterness
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

courtesy of tpd975. Shared at a pool right by the Gulf of Mexico. Cheers to that! Pours dark brown, thin white head. Aroma roasted malts, plenty of good grain/cereal, dough in the nose. Flavor, plenty of malts and grains, sweet palate. Hops remained subtle. That’s the way I picture a real EU strong lager. Rest of the notes are lost somewhere in the pool.

Pours clear golden, with a one-finger cream-colored head, good and lasting lacing. Earthy hop aroma, almost vegetal, with caramel and biscuit notes. Medium body, velvety, crisp and lightly dry. Big earthy, farmyard character to the flavor, with toffee, herbs, grass, and citrus. Lasting medium bitter finish. I’m all for funky beer, but seems like a defect in a lager, even a big burly lager like this. I wonder if the bottle (purchased yesterday) was starting to spoil.

bottle. light haze, straw pour with thin frothy lasting white head. light bready aroma with lemon and corn. up front bitterness. funky, corn, hoppy. strange lingering sweetness. big.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy dull pastel yellow with a pin stripe of white foam at the top. Aroma: Lemon zest and dry bready malt. Taste: Light honeysuckle and lemon drop sweetness, finishing with a bold spicy bitter hop. Mouthfeel: Thick and full bodied. Not sticky nor syrupy. Overall: Wow. I’ve been scared to try a beer close to this style. I did not like Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner, and I’m not a huge fan of classic pilsner. This beer is fucking magnificent. Bold yet balanced.

Served cold from bottle. Faint aroma of pilsner malts and bread notes. Sweet, slightly metallic, sort of IPA-ish. Not overly impressive, but not bad either.

Bottle. Faint haze, yellow color, small white head, little structure. Nose: sweaty corn, kitchen sink mold, wet notebook paper... not a good start. Harsh bite across the middle, rough malt texture, twangy and syrupy, too thick, trying to do too much. Finishes cloyingly sweet and oily. Not a fan.