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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?  
 cfranz (261), Acton, Massachusetts, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 4, 2005  
Pours hazy orange, white head. Smells like an IPA, hoppy. Grassy and earthy taste. Bitter. 2005 Harvest. All pilseners should be this tasty.


 Doppelganger (1353), Dry County, Arkansas, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/105/515/20
Feb 9, 2009  
Slightly hazy copper (though handling before serving was a little rougher than ideal), good sticky white head. Lots of fresh herbal hop nose, hay, gentle grapeskin. Big mouthfilling pithy bitterness, but still delicate and balanced. Just a really nice, very hoppy beer.


 BeerBlockaid (538), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Mar 2, 2008  
So the brewsters over at Sammy’s are doing a mighty fine job for a near major micro brewer thing whatever they are now....super hoppy, but not offensive.. looks excellent on the pour, nice balmy head. spicy in bales of hallertau. semi sweet with a definite jump kick to the senses. Enjoyable actually with sushi..kind of a wasabi-hop adventure, and definitely not a disney ride.


 Styles (1653), Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Jul 26, 2006  
Slightly hazy orange with huge white head, good retention leaves lacing everywhere. Aroma of pine, grass adn faint citrus. Malt backing barely detectable. Flavor again various hop resins up front, although malt isn’t as big as I like, seems to be fairly well balanced. Mouthfel is creamy smooth. Well done overall.


 brstp (201), Princeton, New Jersey, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/102/516/20
Nov 1, 2007  
Bottle from City Beer Store. Deep yellow color, lots of high-contrast white bubbles, fluffy white head. Big citrus and pine hop aroma, some butter, florals. Taste has floral, grass, creamy, quite bitter piney finish. Extremely strange taste overall--seems like it’s missing something, probably the malt. More like a toned-down DIPA than anything.


 blankboy (3207), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/516/20
Dec 8, 2005    Updated: Apr 18, 2006
Rerate: Bottle shared with HogTownHarry. 2005 Harvest. Just wanted to add to my previous rating that after 5 months or so since I got this the alcohol has mellowed out a tad making for an even more pleasant beer. Bumping the flavour up a point.
Original rating: 8/4/7/3/15: 3.7
Bottle at ’December at DougShoemaker’s 2005’ -- courtesy of tupalev. Pours a hazy bubbly dark golden-orange with a small diminishing white head. The first thing you notice with the aroma is that it smells nothing like a Pilsener, it’s more like an IPA: Big, fresh citrus hops followed by sweet malt -- it smells great. The flavour, also quite hoppy with some sweet malt, has an alcohol kick to it. I found it a little unbalanced as it has a mild harshness to it, it might benefit from ageing for a while. Medium bodied. Really good, I look forward to having it again.


 MrBunn (1539), Western, Pennsylvania, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Nov 2, 2007  
Bottle. (2007 release). Pours a hazy orange with a big, cloudy head. Aromas are decidedly hoppy: pine, pineapple and grapefruit are dominant with some floral hops undercurrents. Flavor is hop heavy as well. Pine and grapefruit peel are the main draws. As it warms a bit, the malt body becomes more pronounced and it starts to balance a little better. Really enjoyable.


 Bockyhorsey (2543), Mesa, Arizona, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/105/58/103/517/20
Nov 28, 2005  
Aroma of hops. Detected a musty ordor also. Dark golden color body with large white creamy head. Head settled ti an 1/4 inch on top of beer till end. Had a bold citrus hop flavor that was more like an IPA. Best Sam Adams I’ve had so far. Left a pale citrus aftertaste on palate.



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