Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: European Strong Lager
Newport, Oregon USA

The 22 ounce bottle poured a clear light orange-amber colored beverage with a modest sized white frothy head that was partially lasting and left good lacing on the glass. Be careful pouring ... this one is bottle conditioned. The aroma presents a crisp floral hop presence initially while underneath there lurks a subtle sense of roast malt, leather and nuts. The body is a mouth full and the carbonation is lively while the texture is smooth, creamy and inviting. The flavor starts out lightly bitter and grows to become a bit intense in the middle then fades toward the end of the long finish. There is a nice alcohol warmth in the chest at the end as well.

Dense, cloudy, glowing orange body. Moderate, pure white head that settles to a thin film with a rim. Ample legs reveal thickness, and give way to patchy ribbons of lacing. The aroma shows big, toasty and buttery malts with significant floral hop presence. Honey adds good balance to the nose, completing a simple, yet impressive scent profile. Flavors are heavily toasty, with creamy, buttery toffee malts and significant hoppy bitterness. Again, a few drops of honey save the day and make everything right. Medium-full body that is somewhat sticky and ever so slightly cloying. Bitter, floral hoppy finish. Well crafted brew, and an excellent representative of the style.

Nov. 2005 - I really like this one. Typically I don’t think of pilsners among my fav style, but if done right, these things hit the spot. Nice strong sweet aroma jumped from the glass. Beer poured slightly darker than some other pils, with nice head and lacing. Flavor was a lot sweeter than other pilsners, but nicely so. Probably my fav Rogue to date. Well done!

Pours a dirty golden color with a small white creamy head. Aroma shows some grass, hay, pepper, cookie dough, white chocolate, and a slight flowery or perfume-like quality. A lot going on for one malt and one hop. Taste is earthy, peppery, slightly bitter, with a bit of white chocolate sweetness and some unmistakable pilsner funk. Finishes with plenty of earthy hop flavor, some slight citrus flavors, and a nice flavorful bitter grassy earthy aftertaste. Despite the small head, the beer was well carbonated and felt medium to slightly thick. Creamy enough, but kinda light on the tongue, which a nice nod to regular pilsners. Good stuff.

Had to buy it just casue of the bottle; I’ve never seen a bottle that looks even remotely like this one. Pours an ultra-hazy gold with a large, sudsy white head. Aroma is of floral hops, lager yeast and sweet grain, pear/apple and a bit of must with some alcohol coming through. The flavour is hoppy, sweet and slightly vinous. The finish is bitter hopps that come across as slightly metalic. I also taste an earthy citrus, like lemon grass, which probably comes from the hops used. The palate is very full for the slyle and is oily and slick.

A) This is probably the coolest bottle I have. Worth it for that alone. B) Last time I had an imperial pils (DFH Golden Shower), I ended that night by yakking all over. Those two things seemed to balance each other out, leading me to like this beer but not love it. I can’t really explain it any better than that.

Name: Imperial Pilsner
Date: 10/29/1999
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Sandy Springs

golden yellow, strong sweet but hoppy aroma, slight alcohol hint, big bitter hop flavor, light body but lots of complex flavor, long lingering bitter finish

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Score: **4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Bottle. Light grain notes for the malt, moderate notes of flowers and pine for the hops, and leather for the yeast with apple and white wine in the background. Head is frothy white, mostly lasting and has excellent lacing. Color is a murky amber. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic then finishes lightly acidic and moderately bitter. Palate is very nice, medium bodied, oily in texture with soft carbonation. Another nice offering from Rogue.