Rock Bottom Chicago Anniversary Imperial

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.

I agree with Cornfield...this is more of an IPL. This lager has very good qualities, a nice deep color with great aromatic hop scents. The grapefruit smell and lemon seem to combine perfectly with the malt counterpart. This beer is full of PNW hops, I’m sure most comming from Cascade and Chinook hops. This beer bursts with hops, even in the aftertaste....great finish full of bitterness...makes you want another sip. Too bad you can only purchase off tap.

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.

On tap at RB Chicago as Imperial Pilsner. Pale golden colour with a fully lasting frothy white head. Fruity, lightly herbal aroma. Crisp grainy and cereal malt flavours with a juicy, herbal, and alcohol bitter finish. Light to medium bodied, juicy. I like.

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.