Rock Bottom Chicago Anniversary Imperial

Brewed by Rock Bottom Chicago
Style: European Strong Lager
Chicago, Illinois USA

My idea of a good lager, hopped out the wazoo. Good looking, a golden yellow body with tight bubbling and a big frothy head. Nice lacing. It took a while for this beer to warm up enough so that I could enjoy the aroma of grapefruit, lemon zest, pine, and wildflowers. A bit of the sweet pale malt squeaks through in the flavor, but mostly it’s a pleasurably lop-sided hop bomb, with a huge wave of bitterness (to which some earthy and grassy elements have been added) from start to finish. A good IPL - Imperpial Pale Lager!

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Earlier Rating: 12/4/2006 Total Score: 3.9
On tap at the brewpub as 11th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner and with an ABV of 6.8%, not the posted 8%. But I won’t dispute (although I feel the first posting for this year should have been entered as a new brew). This is not a Pilsener as named. This is not a European Strong Lager as posted. This is an IPL, an India Pale Lager. It pours a clear straw color with a creamy sustained head that laces in sheets. The aroma is seriously strong with the hops, delivering scents of grapefruit, pine, and lemon zest over a sweet bready malt. Forget the malts in the flavor. This is about some serious hop bitterness, solid PNW hop tastes chewing away at the tongue. The finish is a prolonged, sharp citric bitterness, a delight for this hop-head.

The current menu description for this 6.8% lager reads thusly:
Back by popular demand and to celebrate another year of good friends and great beer, this Pilsner is brewed with loads of German Pilsner malt and bigger loads of Pacific Northwest hops. A malty and straw-colored lager with aromas of citrus and tropical fruit.

In other words,
This is a new beer, people!
...but I’ve been slammed down on things like this before....

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Golden pils with a thin white head. Pleasant saaz hops in aroma with light malt. In mouth, very pleasing czech style, with floral and resinous hops, reminding me of Cerna Hora in Mtl. Rich bodied. excellent pils. On tap at RB, Nov. 12, 2005.

On tap at RB Chicago. Poured clear medium golden with a medium cap of creamy white head... some nice lacing ensued. Heavy and well-blended aroma of bready malts, floral hoppage, and lemon zest primarily. Flavor had lemon and alcohol laced throughout.. solid sweet bread & pils malt base, floral bitterness.. tacky lemon and floral bitter finish. Bitterness and alcohol notes were somewhat sharp and it could’ve flowed better toward the back-end.. but very good overall!

Draught at the brew pub. Clear gold color with a white head that laced the glass. Attractive aroma of citrusy hops with distinct grapefruit and lime accented by occasional whiffs of what I suppose are Saaz hops. Hop flavor is also prominent, again primarily citrusy. There is also a light hop bitterness that is well balanced by a fresh malty cereal grain flavor. Great beer.

Very clear, lightish yellow. Is this really an imperial pilsner as they claim? Dry, little dimensionality. Germany hoppiness, moderately bitter finish, fizzy tingly, very brewpub-ish. (on tap at brewpub on Labor Day weekend).

on tap at the brewpub. pours semi-hazed golden with white head. nose is very fruity and piney hops, pretty hoppy nose. flavor is fruity and bubblegummy, very hoppy but not bitter enough to balance it. a subtle toffee malt back bone. finish is clean and refreshing. i like it, but not quite bitter enough.

Clear, golden body with a fluffy layer of foam sitting atop. Cool, hoppy nose that is in ways very reminiscent of a great pilsener. Strong, noble hop character, earthy floral perfume, but also pine resin, grapefruit juice, lemon zest, dry biscuits, grassy hay and yeasty, whole-grain bread. A nice, crisp, clean body with a soft, but active, carbonation. Crisp, hoppy bitterness with a nice bite. I’m not sure what the alcohol on this is, but I would imagine it’s fairly high. That comes based on the way I felt after a few pints, not because you can taste it at all. The biscuity malt is robust enough to handle all of the hops and is never lost. The blend of hops that seems to include Saaz and American C-style hops is rather unique. Obivously, this is a rather large departure from the traditional Pils style, but it’s still damn tasty. A fine anniversary offering.

Draught: Clear yellow gold, with a wonderful stream of tiny bubbles feeding a bright white, fluffy head. Wonderful sweet hop aroma with fresh grains and cereal, lemon rinds and grass. Great carbonation, not fizzy, but still lively on the tongue. Biscuity and pale malts are a solid match for the fresh hop flavours, balancing this into a wonderful beer. I particularly enjoyed the long, clean hop finish laced with all the citrus character encompassed in this solid brew.