Morimoto Imperial Pilsner - Rogue Ales

RoyalT

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance – Incredibly deep and hazy orange in color with a beautiful, pure white head that showed good retention and left some nice lacing.

Smell – Equal balance of malt and hops. The malt base provides the classic Pils aroma and the strong, complex hops tell us who brewed this ale.

Taste – This is a mouthful. I can pick up the classic Pils flavors, but then comes the huge Rogue hops and equally large malt balance. What a mix! The malts sweeten up in the middle and even turn a little buttery.

Mouthfeel – This was awesome. This is on the heavy side of medium-bodied and is exceptionally smooth and creamy. The finish is dry with a touch of bitterness.

Drinkability – I sucked this down like a wino on his last bottle of MD 20/20.

Comments – This came in a really cool 26 ounce painted ceramic bottle.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2004 04:48:49 | More by RoyalT

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Out of a bottle, Extreme Beer Fest 2004...

Thickish pour with a marmalade color. Head is scant and thinnish but leaves a lot of dotty laces. Very nice malt, lightly bready with a shortbread feel and honey sweetness. Some sense of an orangey quality that transitions into a sparkling and very well-done hopiness. Light nutmeg sensations. Very close to perfectly balanced. While straying away from a Pilsner in many ways, lagering seems to make this "Imperial" brew plenty easy to quaff, despite respectable alcohol. Rogue does another fine beer with this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2004 17:36:42 | More by ADR

BierReise

Florida

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Great painted ceramic bottle that was capped yet has a swing top attached as well. Poured a slightly hazy bright gold with a huge head that settled down to a not so huge head. Aroma reminds me of a Wit style with wheat malt and yeast in the nose. Maybe it's my imagination though. Also detect quite a bit of hops in the aroma and sweetness from the malt as well. This aroma is a big and bold one to be sure. I wasn't sure what an Imperial Pilsner would be like, but now it makes sense to me with the latest trend in super charged styles. Just double up on malt and hops and you've got an Imperial-fill in the blank brew. Body is really full and smooth. Flavor is also a strong one with sweet malt leading the way along with some hops blending in. This is a big beer and if you like big bold beers such as the Imperial class, you will like this one for sure. It's not a to style pils and doesn't claim to be one either. Enjoy it for what it is.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2004 21:19:38 | More by BierReise

stegmakk

New York

3.63/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy pale stra gold color...head was big and white and left quickly. Some lacing but not great.
Aroma was actually soft. Floral/citru mixed in with bready smell...not bad...not great.
Taste was the best part of this beer. sweet malt more of the bready taste bitter finish...
Mouthfeel was slick. Nothing amazing but good
Drinkability...well it was a good tasting beer. However for the price, I'll stick with other brews. Not worth the cash. I wonder if it was in a regular glass bottle instead of a ceramic swingtop if it would be cheaper. Then I might consider it. Maybe.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2004 00:30:07 | More by stegmakk

leeenglewood

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours cloudy golden color with a white head that laces the glass. Earthy smell of hops with a twinge of grain round out the nose. Tastes malty sweet with a strong earthy-spicy hop / grainy malt mixture coming out to tantalize the pallet. Upon second tasting is a much more complex beer then my initial first taste. No alcoholic flavors permeate and thus is extremely drinkable while you can still stand. The cool bottle is just a bonus and I wish this beer was available in standard packaging and also be available to other markets.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2004 04:02:01 | More by leeenglewood

aracauna

Georgia

3.7/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice deep golden body with some cascading bubbles. The head average size, bright white and lasted a reasonable amount of time. Good lacing. Sweet, slightly grassy aroma, a bit of pine, but mostly noble hop aromas. Sandy malt flavor, but not dry. Easy drinking given the size of the beer. A little fruit (almost like apricots or peaches.) Tasty, but there's something missing almost.

Serving type: on-tap

11-30-2003 02:53:17 | More by aracauna

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

White ceramic bomber, capped, but supplied with a swing top. A pale gold body, topped by a hefty, bubbly white head which starts out at about four fingers, and very slowly drops, leaving excellent lacing. Nose has some grass, a dash of lemon, and a hint of grapefruit. Taste starts off with a solid, sweet malty base, which gradually dissolves, as the hops slowly rise, zombie like, as the beer moves on, and envelope the month with a cleansing sand-blast that is both tingly and earthy. Mouthfeel is smooth and almost creamy, as the beer rolls over your tongue like a rising ocean tide. Drinkablity is simply too good. This beautiful bottle is emptying far too soon.

At $12.99 for 26 oz., it is not a beer I could make a habit of, but I heartily recommend everyone picking up at least one. And assuming the price is at least partially effected by the bottle, I would gladly welcome more conventional packaging in exchange for a lower price. Great bottle yes, but great beer is it's own reward.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2003 07:09:21 | More by RonfromJersey

tommarino

Pennsylvania

3.15/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

cool bottle, bought a case (6 bottles) for $54 at a PA distributor. Was stamped Oct 15th on the box (brew date??). This was a very good beer but it's more like a bitter then a pilsner. It has a nice malt flavor and the yeast of a good pilsner but way overhopped for this style. I was surprised just how bitter (and good) it was. if you don't like hoppy beers I wouldn't recommend this. I like it.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2003 14:22:10 | More by tommarino

francisweizen

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer came in a way-cool re-sealable, ceramic 750ml bottle with japanese writing and iron chef Morimoto's signature on it. It poured out a dark golden colour with a very bleach white head. The aroma was very hoppy, citric, and yet still quite malty. This really smelled like a hopped up, high octance version of a classic czech pilsener such as budvar or pilsner urquell. The taste was definately unique, but still very "pilsner-ish". This beer tasted heavily of fresh, citric hops and heavy background malts. It was very well balanced. The mouthfeel was not too thick or cloying and the drinkability was quite excellent...

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2003 00:35:47 | More by francisweizen

avylover

Virginia

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A pilsner. Not something i'm into normally but this is different. "Imperial" means alot here. I was apprehensive about picking this up at $12 a 22oz (in the cool resealable growler). But the wife's approval and a tip from TinusTime I picked this up. So here we go....

Pours out a hazy straw color with golden highlights. The white head started out big & thick, and now leaves a good lacing on my glass. Aroma is nice & fruity, with a yeasty breadiness not unlike a tripel. Taste starts off sweet, with some citousy hops coming in there along with an alcohol kick. Good light malty base to keep this full & thick. Very welcome bitter finish after the malt & citrous front end, nice & dry. Like most rogue products, quite drinkable, but the taste of alcohol tends to put one off a bit.

Very impressive, and NOW I HAVE GROWLER!

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2003 01:43:02 | More by avylover

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

It comes in a cool white stopper-style bottle with Iron Chef, Morimoto's signature and Japanese writing and artwork on the side. It pours a hazy brassy gold with a creamy white head. A biscuity cracker-like malt houses a lemony bitterness. Orange peel and a lightly astringent taste linger in the background. A slightly tart quinine-like effervescence makes for an unusual mouthfeel. This brew only sweetens a little as it warms. Warming alcohol can be noticed throughout. Thanks to Genaro for bringing this back from Newport, OR.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2003 02:17:30 | More by BeerResearcher

TinusTime

Virginia

4.35/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Sample was 22oz cerami swing top bottle. Pours a nice light blonde with a pillowy white foam head. The head lingers nicely and laces well down the side of the glass. The smell is crisp with the floral sents of the hops. The taste echos the smell, crisp pilsner bite. But if a regular pilsner bites like a dachshund this think is a doberman. Malts and Hops are notched up to the breaking point.. But never give in. This is one impressive beer. Smooth drinking and well balanced. One could drink this for days, except for that pesky 8.8abv. One of the best Rogue products ive had. plus it comes in that handy dandy resealable bottle, which could be used for left over beer from 750s or 22s.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2003 18:49:55 | More by TinusTime

queenboadicea

Virginia

4.38/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presented in a 750 ml ceramic silkscreened bottle with resealable top. The color is an attractive pale straw yellow with a large fluffy white head, and heavy lacing that bands the inside of the glass. Might be my imagination, but the aroma smells almost...ceramic! Wonder if it's the packaging. As for the taste...imagine a regular old pilsner...on steroids. Everything is more pronounced, but still balanced. More hop, more malt...yet it remains relatively true to the style. There's a nice fruit character to the malt. The hops predominate on the finish, but are not overpowering. I'm intrigued by this beer, since it's the first non-ale I've had from Rogue. Not sure if it's worth the pricetag, but an intriguing brew and definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2003 01:50:15 | More by queenboadicea

alexgash

Connecticut

4.83/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had this at the Stone 7th Anniversary drunkfest. This might have been my favorite of the fest (perhaps tied with Speedway Stout). I really liked this beer. I can't wait until they bottle this! Poured a brilliant golden with a big white head. Smell is mostly Saaz hops but sweet malts detectable. Taste is sweeter than your Prima pils up front--good malt presence--but a perfect dose of Saaz hops smoothly takes over along with an almost fruity element as well. Very interesting and unbelievably drinkable for an 8.8% abv beer. Awesome.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2003 17:10:13 | More by alexgash

jcalabre

California

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I had this on draft at Stone's 7th anniversary party.
Appearance: It's cloudy orange/yellow colored with a modest head.
Flavor: It feels thick and buttery on the tongue. It has a hoppy taste with some maltiness thrown in.
All in all, it's quite nice.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2003 00:45:34 | More by jcalabre