Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

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

Ceramic bottle. Cloudy orangish gold w/ very active carbonation, medium off while/yellow head. Sweet hoppy nose, bready and citrusy with a hint of bananas. Good aroma, but somewhat weak. Not as bitter as I expected, comes off as more sweet than bitter, but finishes bitter and floral. Balance is outstanding however, and the result in a highly drinkable beer that I am almost positive I will try again, even at the steep price of $12/bottle.

Tastes like a highly hopped traditional pilsner. Has the characteristic golden color of a pilsner, also fairly carbonated. Taste has a crisp hoppy bite at the end. Worth a try, but too expensive for what you get.

Pours hazy orange golden and a foamy white head. Malt, fruit and hop aroma with a cheesy tone. Bitter hoppy and fruity in the flavor with some herby cheesy notes, good bitter end. Soft and smooth, thick mouthfeel. A very extreme pilsner (of course). Thanks for sharing Christian!

(02.24.06) 750 ml white ceramic bottle purchased from Liquid solutions.com. 8.8% ABV. Pours hazy golden yellow hazy with soft carbonation. Average head with good legs and lacing. Sweet cracker malt in the nose. Full bodied beer that starts with light malt sweetness and cracker malt flavors and light hop flavor. Finishes dry with malty fade, light hop bitterness and corn aftertaste. Smooth and flavorable. Well balanced with edge toward maltiness. Excellent, drinkable imperial pilsner.

This is rare opportunity to taste unfiltered strong lager. Orange hue with rather average head on top. Aroma-Plenty of hop character supported by solid malt base behind; alcohol well hidden. Full bodied as 18-stka (18 Plato) should be. The idea of having unfiltered strong lager is good one, helped with its texture making softer and smoother. Solid hop character. Well balanced. Very good one.

Bottle (650ml). Shared with DougShoemaker, Radek, "R" and others - my bottle. Poured bubbly, cloudy orange with a decent fizzy white head. Very hoppy aroma - apricot and grapefruit hops, slightly funky, slightly sour grains, very crisp and juicy - this is a pilsner? where have you been??!!!! Taste is very bitter and juicy - again with the tart apricot and grapefruit hopiness, decent sweet malt, but mostly this is about a long clean bitter finish. Great stuff, a robust, fruity, hoppy pils - who’d have thunk it. Really cool bottle too - that’s worth an extra point ...

Unlike the Sam Adams imperial pilsner, this really is a pilsner. Not bad, but I truly loved the extraordinary, unjustifiable hoppiness of the Sam. This is sort of like a Czech pilsner on steriods. High alcohol, maybe not quite enough carbonation. Beautiful, cloudy golden with a huge white head, looking more like a Belgian than a Czech beer. Malt, floral hops, bitter hops, and alcohol all in perfect balance. A really nice beer. There is a fruity taste as well ... some of the other reviewers called it pear. Should be extra points for the bottle too. Really good, but simply not a masterpiece. // Rerated. The ceramic bottles are awful. Under-carbonated, no head, reduces both mouth feel and appearance.

On tap at Collins Pub REAL Stong Beer Festival. 3 tasters/$6. Nice golden color with minimal head. Strong pils aroma. Very crisp beer...very smooth and a bit yeasty. Good hops, but pretty malty and alcoholic on the finish. Quite bubbly. Good stuff.