Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

	Percentile
	96
	overall

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

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	Seasonal	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
957	3.73/5.0	3.72/5.0	Special	8.8%	99.2	Lager glass

Commercial Description:
2005 info:This lager is made with fresh Bavarian hops, straight off the vines from the 2005 harvest in Germany, and packs an 8.8 percent alcohol content that's twice as strong as most popular beers.
Boston Beer Co. is brewing only 60,000 24-oz. bottles, which are due to begin arriving in stores in November.

2007 release info:
Yes, we're a little obsessed with hops. Every autumn for over twenty years, Jim Koch has traveled to one of the oldest hop-growing regions in the world, the Hallertau region of Bavaria in Germany, to hand-select Noble Bavarian hops, including the Hallertau Mittelfrueh variety. This special variety is considered to be one of the best in the world, prized for its unique taste and aroma. Samuel Adams® Hallertau Imperial Pilsner is a celebration of these extraordinary hops. This beer is one of the hoppiest in the world, without being overly bitter. With the first sip, you will experience an explosion of some of the world's finest hops. And we mean “explosion” in a good way. Brewed as a showcase for the hops, this bold brew highlights the spicy, citrus flavors and aromas of the Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops that are abundant in the recipe. The intense hops flavor is balanced with the slight sweetness from the malt. The brew remains pleasantly well-balanced from beginning to end, due to the quality of the hops, and continues to always be, well, "hoppy," providing hop lovers with an amazing beer drinking experience.
Available in 12oz. bottles.

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mribm (419), Hurley, New York, USA

4.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.2	8/10	4/5	9/10	4/5	17/20

Dec 14, 2007

Poured a cloudy orange color and was more like an Imperial IPA than a Pilsner. Also, why does Ratebeer.com refer to it as "A" European Strong Lager? This beer has so much hoppiness, that it is an IIPA regardless of what anybody says. My tastebuds don’t lie! By the way, I loved this beer.

punkeedo (465), San Antonio, Texas, USA

4.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.6	9/10	4/5	9/10	5/5	19/20

Dec 13, 2007 Updated: Aug 24, 2008

2007 release. I was shocked to find this at my local shop the other day. Prepare to be pounded by hops! Wow! The statement on the bottle, "an intense hop experience," is no exaggeration. Pours dark yellow with a little white head; cloudy as well. Tastes of a tasty, wheaty lager with a side dish of hops to keep you interested. Simply a wonderful drink, one of Sam Adams’ best.

Syd (892), Waconia, Minnesota, USA

3.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.9	8/10	3/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Dec 12, 2007

Bottle pours a hazy orange amber with a small clingy head with residual and fashonable lace. The aroma is grapefruit and pine forest. Wow, the flavor is sweet bread malt, grapefruit, floral, clean, brothy (like a plisner), with a really full mouth feel for a lager. The alcohol is hardly there. Cleansing this is. Would pair well with heavy food. This is well done and I love it.

SledgeJr (2960), Omaha, Nebraska, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	7/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	17/20

Dec 11, 2007

In the bottle from Beertopia. When you pour this beer, it looks just like a hefeweizen in the glass. A dense cloudy dark gold with a thick soft ice cream looking white head. intricate lacing abounds. The hop aroma is so strong that it is like sniffing ground pepper. The aroma is nowhere as intense as the flavor of this high octane potion. Big citrusy oranges at first sip. Very very strong citrus peel. The tongue is quickly deadened by the venemous sting of the hops. Residual black pepper is all that is left. The beer is just too much right now. I’m curious as to what this might be like after aging a few years to mellow the hops.

rickgordon (3285), Göteborg, Sweden

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Dec 11, 2007

Bottled. Orange colour, only light cloudy. Intense hoparoma, with citric and pine - I would never have guessed aroma hops are German. Juicy hop flavour profile and pretty light in mouthfeel, given the 8,8% abv. Still, a somewhat caramelly maltiness is present but the superb hoppiness carries this beer well from start to finish. The backbone of this beer are the hops, and there is no sign of alcohol. Bitterness perfect, according to the pilsner style, whereas the hop flavour is not, apparently.

BossHossBikes (147), Tennessee, USA

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	7/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	17/20

Dec 10, 2007

Bottle. "An Intense Hop Experience" was what I first read when I purchased this bottle. I like hops. So, I wanted to see exactly how "intense" this is. The pour is a cloudy orange with nice head formation, but quickly diminishing. The lacing is pretty weak. To the nose, there’s a sharp aroma of hops and grapefruit. As your olfactory senses adapt to the sharp aroma, subtler scents as orange become apparent. I see people use "biscuits" in their review a lot and haven’t yet encountered a beer that I could say had a biscuity aroma or flavour. However, that was the first thing I thought of as I started to sense the less sharp bouquets. As the brew hits my tongue, I’m able to instantly taste that biscuity, malty flavour mildly hiding behind some intense flavours of hops and grapefruit-like citrus. As the brew passes your tongue, for an instant you taste the mild flavours of orange and a caramelly sweetness before the bitterness quickly intensifies. The finish is dry and pretty bitter. This is utterly delicious.

blkitson (137), Westerville, Ohio, USA

3.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.1	6/10	4/5	6/10	3/5	12/20

Dec 10, 2007

I thought I’ve tried every Sam Adams ale until I found this one. Very cloudy beer in the glass. The advertisement is definitely correct - a very very hoppy beer with almost a bitter sour taste. Not my favorite Sam Adams but I’m glad I tried it.

jredmond (1027), New Jersey, USA

2.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.9	5/10	4/5	5/10	2/5	13/20

Dec 9, 2007

12 oz bottle. Body is cloudy orange. Aroma is actually weed...and hops. Taste is pretty aggressively hoppy.

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