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Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner 3.72 957

Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner

Percentile
96
overall

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
9573.73/5.03.72/5.0Special8.8%99.2Lager 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.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 Hopistotle420 (1178), Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/513/20
Nov 14, 2005  
Hazy orange amber hue. Small sticky off white head. Grapefruit nose. Pretty one dimensional. Lots of stinky resinous hops, juicy, earthy, pine, dirty dirty hop juice. Light toasty malts, big burly bitterness. Stinky.


 RichJ7 (1175), Cullman, Alabama, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/516/20
Feb 11, 2008  
Cloudy orange/gold in colr with a half-inch fluffy white head. Nice Hallertau hop nose, piney and citrusy. Flavor is hop heavy but smooth, balanced very well with the malt character. makes me wish Sam Adams brewed Imperial styles exclusively. Very good.


 jcr (1175), Jasper, Indiana, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 20, 2005  
What this beer lacks in aroma, it more than makes up for in flavor. This beer is all about hops. The aroma reveals little about the hop flavor — notes of citrus and flowers and spice. But the flavor, from the bitter beginning to end, is filled with fresh, carbonated grapefruit juicewith touches of lemon. Then there’s the sweet malt backbone that doesn’t overtake the hops, but provides a solid base for the bitter bite. The alcohol is apparent but not overwhelming.


 troyc (1175), Lubbock, Texas, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/514/20
Oct 28, 2007  
(Bottle) Pours a light amber color with a small, dense white head. Fragrant hop aroma. Taste is similar. Very hoppy and somewhat bitter as well. Some alcoholic notes. A pretty good beer, but could be a little less one-dimensional in my opinion.


 glkaiser (1171), Seattle, Washington, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/105/57/103/515/20
Oct 8, 2007  
Beautiful cloudy dark gold with medium head. Spicy hop aroma is fairly subtle. The spicy bitterness hits you immediately in the taste. Pretty damn hoppy. Very bitter finish. Just enough malt to let you know there is something other than hops in it. You can definitely taste the uniqueness of the Hallertau spicy hops.


 dm9831 (1167), Monee, Illinois, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/103/57/103/515/20
Nov 17, 2008  
golden body, fluffy white head, not much lacing. nose is musty grain, but rather airy. flvor is sweet grain, offset nicely by a hoppy bitterness. muth-feel is a little frizzy, lightly bitter, dry finish. i rather enjoyed this beer.


 IMtheOptimator (1161), Bethel, Connecticut, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Nov 15, 2005  
Poured an effervescent dark gold with a greamy off-white head. Huge citrus hop aroma with a big sticky cinnamon candy malt undertone. Taste comes right at you with a huge hop kick, a powerful mixture of grapefruit and pine smacking you right in the face. Waiting for corn and alcohol to come out, as they usually do in this style of beer, but only the smallest drop of alcohol sweetness is able to penetrate this solid brick wall of hop flavor. The alcohol finally manages to sneak itself into your senses, but only by warming your stomach. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish with this... IIPL? But as a lover of big beers and hops, I can put style aside and say unequivocally that this is my favorite Sam Adams concoction to date.


 porterhouse (1158), Alna, Maine, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/517/20
Feb 18, 2006  
(24 oz. bottle, "2005 Harvest", best before 1/06, from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/maine/portland/ target=blank>Downeast Beverage Co.) Pours a cloudy orange/amber, very thick orange-biege head. Aroma is a little milder than expected - citrusy, hoppy, some caramel later in glass. Kind of sloppy foamy lacing. Mouthfeel is full and smooth. Taste is strong, but not sharp, bitterness overlaying mild caramel/butterscotch maltiness. Probably the highest amount of bitterness I’ve tasted in a lager. A relief there isn’t the sharp sweetness of some of the hop monster IPA’s for example. No alcohol apparency, it creeps up on you. Bitterness, full-body, some caramel malt, and big ABV kick about sums it up. Nice job Sam.



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