Jun 7, 2011

Karl Strauss Whislter Imperial Pilsner Redux

This is a review of a promotional sample received from the brewery.

Last Summer I received a tasty Imperial Pilsner from Karl Strauss Brewing. Nearly a year later, a package containing a beer of the same name arrived at my door step, but with a difference.

The 2011 version of Whistler Imperial Pilsner has a slightly reformulated recipe than its predecessor. The base of Pale and Moravian malts and Saaz hops are still core to the beer, but the brewery has decided to up the ante a bit in terms of the beer’s hop profile. For the most part, the beer is nearly identical to the original recipe — both share 7.5% ABV and 65 IBU specs.

The increased hop component hasn’t really changed the nature of this beer all that much at all, though it does have slightly more pronounced spice and pine notes. The end result is a more pronounced imperial character to an already tasty beer.

Karl Strauss Whistler photo
Revamped Whistler recipe in action.

Appearance

A golden amber in color, the beer looks like I remember it looking. The large white cap faded to a thin ring and patchy lacing.

Aroma

The beer still has plenty of biscuity malt and an “imperial” sweetness to it. The hops have a wonderfully spicy, peppery kick with a touch of pine resin.

Taste

Compared to my notes from last year, this beer is nearly identical. It starts off with a light sweetness and biscuity malts before slowly and smoothly shifting to a well balanced hop presence. The hops have a more dominant role in the finish as a spicy and slight bitterness linger nicely. I wouldn’t say that the beer is vastly different from last year, but I do like the increase in pepper and pine notes. The 7.5% ABV is still masked well.

Overall

I think I’ve stated enough in this review that the beer hasn’t really been altered too drastically. The increased amount of Saaz hops to the recipe deliver a more pronounced hop character that is fairly subtle — I had to actively compare it to last year’s notes. Karl Strauss have done a wonderful job on improving a really good beer without messing with it’s original character.

Rating: 4/5

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