We selected the Imperial Pils recipe as we felt it would be a great departure from all the ales and weird stuff we normally do AND, there weren't any raisins looking to jump on board.
From the moment we decided to brew this beer, I was concerned we might have an issue sourcing enough hops to make it work. We might not be Sam Adams in our hop needs but damnit this is an Imperial IPA being brewed with hops we don't normally keep around. We were fortunate and really only had to sub Domestic Hallertau for German Hallertau. We got some great German Tett and Saaz as well. The brew day went incredibly well and the beer has been lagering away for some time now.
It looks as if it is finally time to get off our duffs and package the beer. Yes, I know I promised no new beers earlier in the summer. But hey, I'm entitled to Whims and Folly from time to time. New Belgium may be bigger but they don't own Folly making meriment. The real bitch of this beer is that we can't send it to Denver to the Great American Beer Fest.
It seems that we didn't read the fine print. And by fine print, I don't mean the part that says "No Imperial Anythings." No, what I missed was the part that said Contestants in the Pro Am can only enter one beer per AHA Membership. Our dream of having four Shrago Specialty beers in Denver was dashed. It sucks. I guess I need a new pair of glasses?
Either way, we have this new beer coming out in a couple of weeks. Distribution will be quite limited. In fact, most of it probably won't even leave Southern California. I doubt we'll yield more than 200 cases. It will be on tap at the brewery for sure and growlers will most likely fly out of here. I wanted to tell the story of Panzer Imperial Pilsner today so that Julian gets credit for this beer. He needs to get off his ass and open a brewery of his own so that I can visit and talk smack. Orange County has The Bruery. Let's hope it doesn't stop there. I look forward to another 9.0% ABV beer on the wall. It's just what we need around here.
Lastly before I forget there are two more notes to post today. First is that we did launch our beers in Colorado last week. Thanks to all of you who are supporting us and your local beverage store with your buying power. It looks like Colorado will be good to us. There has been some interest in our Midwest timing. I forgot to include that we are looking at more area then just Chicago at this time. Hang on for more news at 11 about this when I can post.
Finally, High Tide is progressing along nicely. We have 80 bbls in Brite Beer tank # 2 and another 120 in Brite Tank 4 as well. We hope to transfer the beer next Monday to the bottling tank and begin that process on Tuesday- Thursday for the first bottling. My guys will kill me for this but it will be worth it. We're going to have a cask release for High Tide on Thursday September 25,2009 at O'Briens so come on out for not one but two casks that night. Bottles should be in the market starting October 1, 2008.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by beerguy101 from Newark, CA, USA who has tried this beer once. (11/17/2008 11:39:25 PM)
"Sampled on 11/17/08. This Imperial Pilsner pours a deep orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized white/beige foamy head with nice lacing. The aroma is herbal, floral, fruity and sweet. A medium to full bodied Imperial Pilsner. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are floral and a touch grapefruity. This beer is very hoppy for a pilsner, it would be hoppy for a lot of IPAs! It still has that spicy crisp character of a pilsner, but the hops just blow it out. Yet, it is fairly well balanced. Lively carbonation. Pretty much hide the 9.5% alcohol, except for a touch at the finish. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. "
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.8)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[2] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (11/5/2008 11:53:01 PM)
"Pours with a frothy, initially three finger thick, light tan colored head the is held up by a persistent carbonation. The beer is a lightly copper tinged, deep gold color that shows brilliantly clear, bright gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is definitely hop focused, though perhaps not quite as whack you in the head expressive as I thought it was going to be (and this is not necessarily a bad thing). Grassy and lightly herbal up front, the aroma finishes with a fruity tropical fruit note that is a mix of mango, kumquat, lychee and sweet orange zest. Quite a bit of cracker-like grain character contributes a nice malt profile.
Lightly sweet up front, but soon picks up a nice herbal hop note that turns towards bitter, but then piquantly fruity in the long finish. I have never had a hoppy beer get bitter and then fruity in the finish; it is quite interesting that the tropical fruit notes are what lingering on the palate. Up front the herbal hops contribute an almost peppery bite that is something a bit like arugula, with all the sharp herbal note one would expect. The fruity hop notes are also noticeable up front, it is just that they mix in with the herbal hop notes so are not quite as prominent. The hop fruit notes lean towards lychee, ripe peach, kumquat and citrus oil, but they intermix quite well with the previously mentioned herbal notes as well as hints of hemp oil, raw-herbal notes and a touch of chive.
I like that this has the crisp character and herbal hop notes of typical Pilsner, yet it has that something else in the background with the fruity hop character that is not so typical. This is definitely interesting, more quaffable than beer of this strength should be yet (which is good for something with the name Pilsner on the label) with a certain heft and definite palate presence. Not as abrasive as double IPA; I was expecting this to be more harshly hoppy, but it is not and this is quite nice. This is actually really good and I am kicking myself all the more that I somehow missed out on Tovarish at GABF."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.2)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 22oz @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint
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Review this Beer:
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(3.8)
