Dec 22, 2008

Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner

While I’m a big stout/porter fan, I do have a fondness in my heart for the pilsner. They were and I suppose still are the beer style of choice (Beck’s, St. Pauli Girl, Carlsburg) that could be found in my parents’ fridge. The German variety was essentially my introduction to beer, stealing my first sips from the old man’s bottles growing up.

While I don’t drink them as much any more, I am a big fan of what breweries like Lagunitas and Brooklyn have done for the style’s varieties and it’s always nice to find something special like this Imperial Pilsner from Sam Adams. Perhaps I should be stocking the fridge with more pilsners in future.

Beer Label: Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner

Appearance

The Hallertau pours a golden yellow in color with a massive light orange head that took quite some time to settle and begin to fade.

Aroma

As expected, this one has a fairly large hop presence, but is far from a “hop bomb.” There’s a nice citrus presence that plays well with the hops and a bit of a piny character, as well.

Taste

I’m not sure that I would classify this as an “intense hop experience” as the label purports, but it does have a strong hop flavor. There’s a good deal of sweetness to complement the decent hop bitterness that rounds out the beer in the finish. The citrus (grapefruit, lemon) are there also along with a little malt presence, but both play more of a backing roll to the hops.

Overall

This is one full bodied pilsner if ever there was one. It’s sweetness compliments the hop bitterness making for a smooth, yet crisp glass of beer. I enjoyed sipping on this beer over the course of a quiet afternoon at home and look forward to doing so again in the near future — a tasty, tasty brew.

Rating: 4/5

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