Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: European Strong Lager
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Pours a very murky orange/gold with little head. Has a strong citrus and hop smell. Tastes similar, a bit over the top in the citrus department. If the floral hop flavor I pick up on were stronger, this would be great. Finished very bitter. Nice.

12oz - Golden pour, thick, light tan head, nice looking beer. Bright, floral hops on nose, bitter and punishing palate. Lots o’hops. Nice

Poured a slightly cloudy orange and brown with a nice thick off-white head that showed good persistence and provided decent lacing. The aroma was malt, light citrus, wheat along with some spicy, piney hops. The flavor had a strong wheat body that was cut with light sweet citrus fruit before the spicy, pine hops come crashing down on top of you. Decent mouthfeel and a ridiculously dry finish. Not terrible, but the spicy dry hoppiness overwhelmed all the other components in this one.

12 oz. bottle labeled as Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. Consumed on 12-12-07. Wonderful, floral, hoppy aroma. Rose pedal, peach, apricot, hamentashen, marmalade, nutmeg, and whipped cream scents. Aroma reminiscent of that of a barley wine or strong Belgian golden ale. Long, lingering smell that refuses to be overpowered by the flavor. One of the most pleasant aromas I’ve ever encountered. Pours an orange-tinted gold. Mostly clear but some haze and cloudiness. Moderate to large amount of bubbling. Large amount of uneven, fluffy, off-white head with tight bubbles. Produces extensive, thick, fluffy lacing. The initial taste is quite sweet, with the finish very dry. Light colored pitted fruit, powdered sugar, butter pecan ice cream, and tropical fruit popsicle flavors. Alcohol evident in the taste. Tastes much like a double IPA. This is a stronger, maltier, and hoppier Continental-style pilsner, like a pilsner on steroids. The dryness is more characteristic of a Czech pilsner than a Bavarian. Long, extremely dry aftertaste, perhaps the longest and driest finish that I have ever experienced. Medium body (thick by lager standards). Syrupy, oily, lively, and soft in the palate. Has a classic lager crispness. Easy to drink. I’m counting the dryness toward the palate instead of the flavor, which contributes to the fact that I’m giving the palate a perfect score and the flavor merely a good score. Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner is a superb beer. It surpasses Black Lager as my favorite Boston Brewing Company product. Honestly, I probably should have rated it even more highly. It seems as though it would hold up well to multiple tastings, though I’ve tried it only once. I’d like to see more breweries making this style of beer.

12 oz bottle-2007 version. Dark yellow pour that looks like a hefeweizen. Small thick white head. Nose of major hops-like an IIPA. Tastes like an IPA-damn strange . Nice malt background at the finish. I like this one but it really defies the description of a lager.

12 oz split with dpjuart. Great deep golden color with a thick white head. Excellent hop character across the board. Hits you at the beginning and end with a lot of citrus and the florals to a lesser extent. Definitely a solid Sam Adams.

Bottle sampled. Pours a hazy golden color with a small white head. Very hoppy bitter malty aroma with notes of grapefruit. Malty sweet flavor of caramel/toffee, citrus, floral hops, and some spiceness with a dry and warming finish.

2007 Release - I was not overly impressed with the pour. While the off-white head was somewhat substantial, it diminished rather quickly and retained little lacing. The beer itself was a brassy copper and cloudy similar to a hefe. I got citrus and molasses in the aroma - a favorable IPA combo in my book. First taste is definitely an explosion of intense citrus whetted by a caramel sweetness. A wonderfully bitter initial finish is accentuated by the lively carbonation. My lasting impression was of black pepper. Full bodied and slightly syrupy in the mouth feel, I truly enjoyed this beer!