Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

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

12oz - Aroma is soft and sweet with loads of hops and pilsner malts, very attractive. Pours cloudy gold with a big head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is crisp and tart. A really nice and easy drinking full flavored brew.

This is the best of Sam Adams so far. Pours a hazy color in color, sort of looks like an IPA, smallish white head. Aroma is earthy, like fermenting autumn leaves. Most lagers brewed to have 8.+ ABV have a lot of sweetness left from the residual sugars. This one has some of that, but is drier than any big pilsner that I’ve had. It is pretty balanced. The finish has a linger tartness. I hope Sam Adams tries to create more beers that are as interesting as this one.

Poured a nice golden brown color with a white head which seemed to have good retention. Aroma was i mix of hops(both bitter and floral), spice and sweet malt notes. Taste was initally sweet like fruit and had a nice mx of yeast notes and spice and finish with a nice bitter-alcohol mix.

Dark orange caramel with a big thick creamy head and sticky lacing that lasted the length of the beer. Light yeast, citrus and grapefruit aroma with a big hops and citrus flavor and bitter hopy finish. GOOD BEER!

This is a nice beer. But my bias against it comes from the hype and the price tag (over $9 for a four pack). There are so many other brewers doing so much better than this. When Sam Adams does it, everyone gets excited. Without a doubt, the best Sam Adams I’ve had. Nicely hopped. It takes pilsners up a notch. But it is over-hyped.

Not what I expected from Sam Adams and a very pleasant surprise indeed ... a real craft beer. Like a translucent bead of amber with a huge light apricot colored head. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Nose of hollertau czech hops. Mouth slam of hops. Is this an IPA? Only American brewers hop to this degree of delightful insanity, but these are not west coast citrus hops but classic Europena hops ... takes some getting used to. Not much balance, as the sweet toffee and light roast malt are almost hidden under the hops. Long bitter finish and tongue coating tooth coating hoppy oils make me think of an Old Crustacean. Is more always better? No ... as it warms complexity begins to emerge. Thoughts of the Dogfish Head 120 Minute fade, to be replaced with hints of grapefruit, thoughts of a Stone Ruination. But it’s not. It’s a grand slam of classic German / Czech hops in a lager of such intensity that it approaches an IPA. Definitely something new and different. And what amazing lacing ... pity it can’t get more than 5 out of 5 for appearance. Hats off! // I served this to a group of beer company executives from a traditional mass market beer company and they could barely drink it. They recognized the hops immediately as very "Sam Adams" but the intensity was beyond anything that they could stand. I’ve since discovered that a bottle goes a long way, and I’m not sure I still have my enthusiasm for this. I do still like each of the compontents ... nose, appearnace, etc. I’m just sure that over-all it rates a 17. i mean how good can a beer be if you can’t really drink it.

12oz bottle. Pours a cloudy copper with a minimal white head. Dank hop aroma. Lots of hop and lots of malt. Did this side by side with Rogue Morimoto and tough to pick a winner. This one is more dense and robust for sure. Pretty good.

Hazy Amber pour with thick foamy head. Hops and citrus aroma. Dry and hoppy with a nice bite in the aftertaste. Very nice Pilsner.