Panzer Imperial Pilsner - Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port

RoyalT

Ohio

2.17/5  rDev -40.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance - This is a murky and unattractive orange in color with a surprisingly dull head.

Smell - The hop profile is more like a West Coast IPA than a Pils. There's also a putrid grain aroma that doesn't give me any confidence.

Taste - The hop profile is stiff and I can't figure out for the life of me what it has to do with a Pils, imperial or otherwise. The grain tastes just like it smelled unfortunately.

Mouthfeel - This is medium-bodied with some decent carbonation and a heavy-handed bitter finish.

Drinkability - OK, I know this is a big beer and it's not going to taste like a classic Pils, but this was just downright horrible and a huge disappointment from one of my favorite breweries. Stick to what you know, guys.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2009 02:05:42 | More by RoyalT

corby112

Pennsylvania

2.35/5  rDev -35.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

On tap at the Belgian Cafe

Pours a hazy cloudy bright golden yellow with a one finger frothy white head that quickly settles into a lasting ring, leaving sporadic patches of soapy lacing.

Aroma is very hoppy, especially for the style with a very strong alcohol presence as well as bready yeast, pilsner malt and some earthy grass/straw notes.

This beer is very hop forward and lingers into a bready yeasty body with a decent pilsner malt backbone. Slight earthy grass notes are followed by a very astringent strong alcohol finish. I don't really know how you could call this a pilsner. It seems like they pitched some pilsner malt into some kind of hoppy alcohol juice. Way too hoppy and too much of an alcohol presence. The body is full with some of the above mentioned bready yeast but the ABV is not masked at all. This beer is kind of a sloppy mess. They just hopped up some ingredients and slapped the word imperial on there. Avoid this one.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2009 20:20:22 | More by corby112

waltonc

Colorado

2.38/5  rDev -35%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Bottle at CBS.

A: Hazy golden color with white head, as expected.

S//T: Hops, malt, citrus. Lots of alcohol in this at 9.5 ABV. Hops are just over the top, making this a terrible beer.

M: Medium body and medium carbonation. Very good mouthfeel to back up the strong ABV and flavor.

D: I liked the first 2 fluid oz, but had to rapidly decelerate consumption after that. Excessive ABV plus hops was not very drinkable. This should be sold in 12 oz bottles, not bombers.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2008 04:53:16 | More by waltonc

jimiv73

California

2.55/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

im not too keen on this pilsner although ive heard alot of good things! i poured it off without much head being produced and the beer was good going down but the after taste really steered me away! the price is great for 26 oz i paid like 4 dollars and its a whopping 9.5% alcohol!

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2009 23:59:11 | More by jimiv73

Hojaminbag

Colorado

2.6/5  rDev -29%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I got this sucker as an extra from Mikesgroove in a nice trade. Thanks!

A really dark cloudy yellow body with about a finger of white head. Some retention and a little bit of lacing.

Not very strong aroma, very sweet.

This is really sweet. Too sweet. Some pale malts with lots of sugary sweetness. Not a lot of hops. A little boozy.

Medium bodied mouthfeel.

Not too drinkable, way too sweet. I struggled with finishing the bomber.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2008 02:39:37 | More by Hojaminbag

Oxymoron

Colorado

2.6/5  rDev -29%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Why is this a Euro Strong Lager and not a Imp Pils? Oh well, pours a semi-hazy sunny yellow color with a light orange hue throughout. A good pour leaves a fizzy head with ok retention that hides to the edge and limited lacing.

The nose is...well, off. To start there is a nice malt aroma, but it really lacks that distinct pilsner malt aroma. A almost candy like sugary nose on the backend. Some noticeable citrus and orange, which is really off for a pils. There is an off yeast note that I would call medicinal and drain/infection that really is a deterrent.

The taste is not as bad but still the off flavors really come out. The malt comes out more with some complexity but again no real distinct pils notes. Some noticeable sugary flavors that really are not on par with any lager. The citrus and orange hops come out nicely with a good bitterness backing but not really appropriate for style. Some noticeable esters, rose peddles and that medicinal flavor again. There is a minor plastic/chlorine note as well. The body is moderately big.

Overall, I guess Strong Lager is a better fit, but they labeled the beer Imp Pilsner so based off of that it really is lacking for a Pils. And to boot there are a lot of off flavors here. Very disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2008 16:55:34 | More by Oxymoron

HalfFull

California

2.8/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a deep straw/light golden color on tap into a pint glass. A brief head of white foam is offered, settling to a surface ring shortly. Offers moderate lacing/regeneration.

Deep earthy hops on the nose mingle with nondescript malts. Overall a bit bland in nature, not sure where this brew is going. Hops are light and in the background for the most part, participating more with some warming and agitation, yet never really going front and center.

Taste is rich yet simple. A gooey sweetish beer that hides its ABV rather well and finishes with a bit of oily lemon citrus. Malts are thick yet not overly complex, carbonation is light yet somehow appropriate for the structure of the beer. I paid a premium for this beer and I'm regretting it, give me a Swami's barkeep.

Decent feel though a bit towards corn syrup in body. Drinkability is unimpressive as the thick oily body surely outweighs any malt complexities or hop notes. Any sense of a 'pilsner' is remote.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-16-2009 05:37:27 | More by HalfFull

scruffwhor

Illinois

2.8/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a bright sunshine straw yellow color that has just a touch of haze. No bubbling and no head or foam to speak of. Thin fruity aroma with the dry, faintly toasted malts. The abv. adds a big splash of heat in the nose. The taste has a strong warm feel throughout the entire palate. That being said, you can get some apricots and hot, thin bread in that alcofuel heat. The finish is a slow relieving heat from the abv. Nice try from Port Brewing Co., but I expecetd a little more. Would taste better if you could drink a whole 22 oz bottle before it gets slightly warm.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

11-21-2009 05:45:35 | More by scruffwhor

DaveHS

California

2.9/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a Green Flash pint glass.

A-Pours a rusty auburn color with more than 2 inches of foamy eggshell-white head. I gave this one lots of room and a careful pour, and it still overflowed.

S-Yep, that's a pilsner. Grainy, slightly bready, not terribly interesting.

T/M-This beer hides it's 9.5% ABV well. That's the good news. Unfortunately, I can't say I appreciate this beer's hop profile. Dry, astringently bitter, unbalanced and off-putting, with a tannic quality that gets real old real fast. Tastes like a mouthful of leaves and twigs. Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation.
As it gets closer to cellar temperature, the off flavors recede, and the flavors change for the better. The dry, astringency all but disappears, leaving behind a hoppiness that is pleasant and moderately bitter, with a hint of citrus. I know this is an imperial pilsner, but it's still a pilsner. It shouldn't need to be cellar temperature to be palatable.

D- They need to rework this one before I'll touch it again. At present, it's a mixed bag.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-21-2010 02:50:43 | More by DaveHS

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

22 oz bottle from Lone Hill Liquor in Glendora.

Pours dark yellow / copper. Clear, small head, no retention, plenty of bubbles.

Aroma is Europeann hops, alcohol, and sugar.

Flavor is bitter, sweet, moderately hoppy, and real boozy. Aftertaste is very dry and hoppy.

Medium body, oily, drinkable but I wouldn't drink too much, the 10 oz I got was enough.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-23-2008 21:55:18 | More by t0rin0

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Presentation: On tap, 20oz imperial pint

Apperance: Slightly hazed dark golden beer with a creamy stark white cap which fades to a thick film...nice looking beer

Smell: Very mild malts, fairly clean aromas with just a little bit of fruitiness in the background...I was kind of surprised there wasn't a bit more in the way of hops here

Taste: Lots of alcohol and herbal/medicinal hop bitterness up front...there's some light grainy malt in the background, but the hops and the alcohol really dominate the flavor profile...this is a little bit harsh and brash quite honestly

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, both slightly prickly in alcohol and almost creamy from the high gravity at the same time.

Drinkability: One and done

Conclusion: I wasn't real impressed with this one...it's big and powerful, and it did grow on me throughout the pint as it warmed a bit and a big more malt flavor emerged, but this is a bit rough and over the top for me.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

08-30-2009 15:01:44 | More by BedetheVenerable

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle: Poured a hazy golden color lager with a small foamy head with minimal retention and some light lacing. Aroma of dry European hops with some grainy malt notes. Taste is a mix between some some dry European hops with subtle floral notes and light astringency. Malt is dominated by grainy notes and doesn't really fits well with the beer. Body is full with limited filtration and carbonation is too low for style. Not my favorite style but I still think the malt and hops were not in perfect agreement and carbonation was too low for the style.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

11-28-2009 03:43:42 | More by Phyl21ca

yemenmocha

Arizona

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beautiful appearance! Pours slight hazy golden color with thick & luscious white head. Gorgeous!

Nose has some herbal qualities, perhaps with some resemblance to skunky hops in a green glass German import.

Palate has a clean character with some dry herbal flavors. Finish is hoppy with some alcohol peeping through.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

12-12-2009 03:26:08 | More by yemenmocha

gfreed

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -18%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

My first foray into imperial pilsners, and most likely my last. Not that this was a bad beer-- it's simply that pilsners are brewed the way they are for a reason: they're light and refreshing. An imperial pilsner (this one, at least) is neither. It smells decent enough, with a bit of the lemony-orange that a regular pilsner has, but doesn't have much of a head. And it tastes decent enough, with a modicum of lemon and fizz, but not enough of either to really do the job of a pilsner. The 9.5% abv is not a huge presence; there's almost no warmth (thank goodness) and there's no scent of alcohol to speak of. The extra malt is nice, and the citrus from the extra hops is okay, but surprisingly enough there's not a lot of bite. In fact, I've had plenty of regular pilsners that packed more sting. I'll stick with those.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

04-25-2010 02:36:20 | More by gfreed

OttoBomb

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 oz. bomber poured into a Dogfish Head signature glass (October 23, 2009).

Eyes: Doesn't look great, head was thin, white with brief retention, some lacing.

Nose: Sharp hops, cut grass, corn. Ends very sweet. Hints at something good.

Tongue: Hard pine and citrus up front, the alcohol punches through afterward. A lingering bitter finish without an accompanying flavor for it.

Mouth: Heavy for the style, a thick feel after each sip.

Libation: No real feel of a 'pilsner' here, and not really a good example of the style in my opinion. The high bitterness and the 9.5% ABV make this difficult to drink in quantity. Decent but certainly not great.

I like hops, but I need balance, and I'm not sure this has it. I'm glad I sampled this, but 22 oz. is a bit large and I'd have been happier with a 12 oz. serving.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

11-15-2009 10:12:15 | More by OttoBomb

bashiba

Iowa

3.03/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a Dark funky yellow with a light sticky white head, lots of sediment.

The nose is very light with a bit of toasty grain.

The flavor is very sweet and grainy with a bit of crisp grassy hops. A bit buiscuity with a hint of alcohol and orange peel.

The mouthfeel is a bit thick and oily and a touch warming.

Overall a rather bland big beer, so over the top sweet and grainy it doesn't really have much pilsner quality to it.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-13-2010 23:08:53 | More by bashiba

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.1/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

WTF is this beer doing in the Euro Strong Lager category? In any case, thanks are due to seaoflament for this beer I was hunting for. Decanted into my Guinness pint glass

A: Pours a clear orange with a very mild haze despite my best efforts at keeping the sludge in the bottle. Solid white head with OK retention that leaves a ton of lace on the side of the glass. Quite appealing.

S: Crisp hops up front, earthy, spicy and strangely, citrus bite. The citrus note is rather unexpected but still works well. Pretty solid malt backbone with caramel and honey aromas.

T: Very strange for an imperial pils, this opens up with a ton of malt sweetness that's got honey and floral notes and almost a hint of Belgian yeast character. The citrus hops definitely do add to the strangeness of this brew. The dank, earthy hops come through on the finish and this slowly fades, leaving a spicy bite at the very end, coating the palate. All told, this is way too sweet for a pils, imperial or not.

M: While not very crisp and a good bit fuller than I'd like, the carbonation makes up for the shortcomings but not by much. There is a significant amount of hop resin character as well, that coats the palate.

D: I'm going to have a hard time finishing this.

Notes: This beer would appeal to folks who would a slight west coast malty DIPA character to their pils but as someone who thinks the Trumer, Prima and New Glarus Bohemian Pils are close to perfection, I find this a disappointing attempt at experimenting with the style.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

11-16-2008 21:15:14 | More by DefenCorps

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.1/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Poured a sluggish straw yellow with a small white head

S: Nose is corn, grain, hops

T: Corn, sweetness, plenty of hops, finishes with a sharp bitterness

M: Medium bodied, good carbonation, sweet and bitter on palate. Hops, sweetness and grain leave a big twang and bitterness on end

D: Not a fan

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

05-11-2010 02:22:06 | More by barleywinefiend

AgentZero

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Pale yellow color, not much appearance of head, no lacing. Very clear and light looking.

S - Sweet malts dominate, little bit of lemon, a bit biscuity.

T - Taste is pretty much on the nose. Lightly flavored, malty, with a touch of lemon. Very syrupy quality to the taste, kind of a farmhouse saison without as much bite.

M - Undercarbonated, syrupy-like quality, but light.

D - Pretty easy to get down, just not entirely sure I'd want to do tons of this. Not unpleasant, but won't miss this one if I don't cross it again.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

03-20-2010 19:27:48 | More by AgentZero

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Port- Panzer Pils

A- Bright clear yellow with a large frothy white heavy lacing head.
S- Lemony hay/ straw cereal grain malt with a touch of rubbing alc.
T- Sweet sugary lemony dry grassy hops with a sweet grainy hay/straw maltiness. Alc. is present throughout.
M- Sweet and dry toasty grains and hops are overpowered by the booziness.

Overall- The high alc. ruins it. Drinkable but too boozy.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-18-2009 20:35:58 | More by NJpadreFan

Halcyondays

California

3.18/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22 oz. bomber,

A: Pours a clear yellow with a full, lasting white head, excellent lacing.

S: Strong smell of hops, grass and pine.

T: Dominated by various hop elements. Grapefruit, lemon juice and an interesting mint element form a strange, interesting, but not always an appetizing mix. Malt is relatively light, with a husky grain character, but the hops are what the beer is all about, the flavours are big and powerful.

M: Solid mouthfeel with a full body, light ethanol bite.

D: An interesting new brew from Port, I don't really know what to think of it. I wasn't a huge fan of the hop character, but it has some interesting complexities and is well made, worth a pick up.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

10-21-2008 06:32:11 | More by Halcyondays

jdense

Oregon

3.18/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz. bottle from By The Bottle Vancouver WA poured into Hard Rock Pilsener glass 5.2.10.

Clear golden body, some rising carbonation, big 3 finger rocky slowly dissipating head, significant lacing. Very hoppy nose for the style, smells like PNW hops, malts overwhelmed by hoppiness. Taste is tres hoppy, spicy with a bit of noble pine, a bit of sweet malts on back end but once again subsumed by hops. Mouthfeel is full, some effervescence. Very confusing beer, not close to style, alcohol quite prevalent, at this high ABV one is enough. Too be honest, I don't get a Pilsener taste as much as I do a Imperial Pale Ale like Lompoc C-Note. Worth a try for those BAs looking for uber-hoppy pilseners.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

05-03-2010 01:30:28 | More by jdense

olympuszymurgus

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

so i've been seeing this thing around a bit at the beverage stores, but haven't been inclined to spend the money until i saw it on tap at the eastside, so why no?
when i received this cloudy yellow low carbo beer, i was not shocked, as, of course, the panz is a pils, but the cloudiness was indeed confusing. in fact, i found it completely unnecessary since the yeast should be quite settled out anyways. there was a faint aroma of what i perceived to be noble type hops and not much else, a good masking of the content within.
the flavor was light tasting, seemingly reasonable alcohol (a trick!) but overall, not very good. indeed, a friend accused the beer as assuming a false poor homebrew quality. i can only assume this to be a result of a bad combination in the recipe, or perhaps a result of the low carbonation, seemingly a persistent problem of these otherwise fine folks down in socal.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

12-08-2009 07:52:16 | More by olympuszymurgus

mithrascruor

California

3.23/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz. bottle poured into a mug.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy straw/light orange color. Nice fluffy white head with excellent retention.

Smell: Not much of an aroma here. Slightly grassy and grainy, with a hint of bitterness.

Tatse: Wow, this packs a punch (guess that's why they named it Panzer?). One of those things where there's not a whole lot going on, but you get distracted nonetheless. It has some hops and spice and lots of grasses. But after that, it gets... not quite skunky, but that's the closest single word I can think of. More like Panzer fuel dumped on weeds in the frozen Russian tundra. That, and some bitterness (and later some alcohol alcohol) persists through the finish & aftertaste. The more that I drink it, that skunky flavor also reminds me a bit of barnyard funk.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Somewhat grainy.

Drinkability: Strong alcohol? Yes, but manageable. However, combined with the flavor it is a bit much.

While there are some good things going on here, the bad parts become way too much and way too soon. Thankfully I'm fixing some food, so hopefully I can manage to finish this bottle.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

01-26-2011 02:50:22 | More by mithrascruor

ChillMike

Alabama

3.33/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a pale gold color with a smaller bright white head that goes away quite quickly.

S: Nothing too much, sort of a typical pilsner smell, grain, very faint sweet malt scent and an overtone of alcohol. Nothing special here.

T: Tastes pretty much how it smells, fairly plain, enough bitterness I suppose, hints of alcohol. I donno I suppose I was expecting more than just your typical German pilsner.

MF: Fairly light bodied beer, maybe a smidgen watery but not bad, pretty spot on for a pilsner.

D: Very drinkable beer if you like pilsners, nice on a hot summer day.

Nothing really wrong with this offering but just not a whole lot going on. I suppose I expected a little more something, it just seems as though it's a regular pilsner with added abv.

Serving type: bottle
@ Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach

08-13-2009 06:33:58 | More by ChillMike