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Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #43: Imperial Pilsner

It's Sunday night, and I'm excited!  I normally wouldn't be so excited for a Sunday night, because Sunday means tomorrow is Monday, and Monday is work.  But this Sunday night is different, because in one week, my wife Kerry and I are going to Maine for a vacation!  We can't wait to go up there, relax, see some sights, and bring home some good beer!  I think we'll also be visiting Atlantic Brewing Company near Bar Harbor.  

My third beer review in the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 2012 release is the Imperial Pilsner.  Imperial Pilsner is a style I don't have have much experience with.  A few years ago I tried Dogfish Head's My Antonia, and I remember enjoying it, so I have high hopes for this beer!

This was the description on the back of the bottle: "Packing a big hop-forward punch and bright crisp finish, this golden pilsner features a hearty dose of "sticky," resinous Crystal and Pacifica dry hops, which balance the light-bodied yet complex malt backbone."



I poured the beer into my Ithaca Beer Co. glass.  It was a gorgeous golden color with a finger width head.  The aroma was full of sweet malt, hay, grass and hops.  It tasted of sweet malt, with a slight hop bitterness.  Very earthy.  There was a light to medium mouthfeel.  Overall, this was an incredibly drinkable pilsner that was full of flavor.  You could definitely drink a few of these in a session, however at 5.6%, it is not quite a "session beer."  I don't really understand why it's an "Imperial" Pilsner either, maybe something to do with amount of hops and/or malt that was added.  A solid edition to the Beer Camp series!

Have you had this beer?  What did you think?  Feel free to use the comments below!


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