Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

Bottle from a trade with someone off RB. Very hazy orange gold with thick cream head. Big heavy sherbert green hop aroma. Big leafy hop aroma. I mean, wow. That is an intense hop experience. Difficult to say what the base beer is as it is just so strangled and dominated by the hop. Yeah, a really interesting beer. But seriously, just too many hops. It is a pilsner? No. I don’t know what to say. Yes, I love tons of hop, so yes, it brings a massive smile to my face. But as a balanced, well made beer? Just too much. Too hoppy? Yes.

12oz brewery fresh before Jan 08. Pours a very hazy amber orange color with a dense one finger off white head that laced to the bottom. Aroma is the breath of the hop gods. Even after months of sitting in the store the citus and floral aromas of the hops are intense and green, like opening a package of hops for brewing. Flavor is almost all hops. Citrus, earth tones, and green hops dominate the sense of taste, yet the bitterness is very slight. The sweet maltyness it seems you have to wait for while the hops take a slight break in the long lingering finish. Light med body, soft mild carb, almost syrupy texture, and dry hoppy feel. This is probably a little out of "style", but one of the best beers I have ever drank and it seems to age very well.

Bottle from 4 pack 08’. Pours a ruddy orange amber with nice bone white head. Cirus and floral hops abound in the nose. Bitter and thin bodied. Hops explode in this. Interesting brew.

So I forgot to rate this...don’t know how because I poured it next to Bell’s Hopslam and compared that way. Its tough to compare the beer to something like Hopslam but oh well. Aroma is strong hops, earthy notes of pine mostly, and also in there are lemons, floral and malt. Appearance is top notch, a nice semi-cloudy orange-red with an off white head. Flavor is hops, then afterthoughts of pine, malt, and lemons. Palate is thin bodied but with a nice bitter kick. Enjoyable, will buy and drink more.

Nice straw color with a little haze. Not much of a head - little lacy (maybe my glass is dirty). Smells of hops and malt. Strong hop flavor and nice bite. Malt tries to balance with flavor and aftertaste. Little bit more than medium mouth feel. A bit warming alcohol after taste. Keep forgetting this isn’t an Imperial IPA.

Why doesn’t Sam Adams make more beers like this? Definitely their best offering that I’ve ever had. Incredible hop aroma, flavor, and bite. Earthy notes of grass and hay but just enough malt sweetness, body, and alcohol to back it up.

Thick cloudy amber color with a tall soapy head. Powerful aroma of hops with excellent lacing. Lots of hops in the taste. Bitter but with a nice sweet balance. Best Sam Adams I’ve ever had.

(Bottle at Salhojankadun Pub on 2008-07-26) Pale amber. Hazy. Big bubbly lightly tan head. Hops and alcohol in nose. Full-bodied dryish palate with some alcohol, quite little carbonation. Hops,resin, alcohol and salty liquorice. Long-lasting taste. The bitterness isn’t too overwhelming. Very strong-bodied. Impressive pils.