Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Rogue Ales

Morimoto Imperial PilsnerMorimoto Imperial Pilsner
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From:
Rogue Ales
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Imperial Pilsner
Ranked #2
ABV:
8.8%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,174
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 11.17%
Reviews:
341
Ratings:
585
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 05, 2022
Added:
Aug 24, 2003
Wants:
  85
Gots:
  51
4 Ingredients:
Malts: 100% French Pilsner.
Hops: 100% Sterling.
Yeast & Water: Czech Pils Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water.

18º PLATO
74 IBU
80 AA
16º Lovibond
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Osiris9588:
Photo of Osiris9588
Reviewed by Osiris9588 from Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
.75 litre ceramic bottle with a flip top. Pours a cloudy pale yellow color. The white head forms into a stiff two-finger cap with good retention.

The aroma is filled with fruit, orange, apple and banana, and raw grain, as well as offerring notes of dry hops and floral accents--as well as some sublte spice and sulfer. The flavor follows the aroma.

The mouth is complex and well balanced, the hops providing a nice contrast to the fruit and grain. Low carbonation makes it very velvety. Very drinkable. Overall, a very tasty, well rounded pils with a personality of its own.
Dec 23, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of JohnniEMc
Reviewed by JohnniEMc from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
They're not exactly the same, as the ABV is listed on these bottles as 8.15%. The art work on the two twelve ounce brown bottles is nearly identical to what is presented here. When emptied into a clear glass liter mug, a mildly hazy yellow-amber liquid displays. The head is stark white, reasonably sized and enduring. There's some nice malt, a bit of hoppiness and a hint of alcohol to the aroma. Initially, it's sweeter than most Pilsners, likely because of the level of alcohol. But, by midstream, it delivers that nice almost nutty Pilsner flavor, then transitions to bitter and dry. Yes, this much alcohol is tasted, but not to a great detriment. It assists with the bittering and drying finish. The mouthfeel is smooth for the style and adequate for the delivery of this much hopping and alcohol. Most in this style are poundable delights. It is not recommended that this one be consumed very quickly, after all, it lives up to the Imperial designation. This is a lager that should make ale lovers happy, or at least satisfied.
Jun 05, 2022
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle

I was pretty confident this was an old bottle from like 2015 just lying around in their Astoria taproom, but it actually looks like this is still active on their webpage! No bottling date, but it might still be good.

Pours a small finger of white head into my Pilsner glass. Retention is quite good, and the head settles into a creamy base. Initial lacing looks pretty nice. Body is pale yellow, mostly clear, with a huge amount of bubbles coming up. Looks quite good so far.

Nose is pretty heavily lemon forward, ever so slightly floral, with a sourdough malt backbone. Not much in the way of sweetness at first, there is a pretty dry narrative. However as it opens up, nice notes of bread and honey come through, along with a touch of sweetness. This goes through quite a few iterations in not a lot of time, I’m not exactly sure where it lands, but it’s intriguing.

Definitely a full flavor. Starts off with a large and peculiar malt presence; at first it seems like that could be revealing the unknown and potentially old age, but I think it’s just the imperial nature. Definitely some sugars, slight notes of honey, significant lemon, baked bread in the background. Once these flavors start coming in, the malt profile clarifies and cleans up a little bit. This is pretty damn good, and very unique.

Mouthfeel is also a pleasant surprise - it has the moderate and firm hop bitterness that I expected, but the malty sweetness makes for a much more balanced beer than I was expecting - which is needed. Body is not heavy, but it is assertive for a pilsner. Carbonation is on the lower end, but holding up well considering the amount of nucleation. Overall a lovely mouthfeel.

Drinkability is very nice considering the ABV and some of the more assertive flavors here.

The appearance turned out lovely, the head was very creamy and lasted longer than it should have. The lacing was extremely thick all the way down.

Overall a great, flavorful Pilsner. The bready notes really came out as the beer warmed and that only improved things.
Mar 03, 2022
Photo of Troy-Hawaii
Reviewed by Troy-Hawaii from Hawaii

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bought a single 12oz bottle $2.99 Young's
hard to read bottle date. Sometime in 2021 so less than a year old.
Smell of wheat
Golden color, slightly hazy
Medium mouthfeel
Medium carbonation
Tastes of citrus, wheat, malt. Some sweetness upfront, then a light bitterness finish. Sort of like a pilsner with concentrated flavors amped up.
Jan 14, 2022
Photo of nelsonracite
Rated by nelsonracite from New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Looks light gold. Smells like a pilsner. Taste like yeast with a funky aftertaste. overall its an average pilsner.
Dec 24, 2021
Photo of BubbleBobble
Reviewed by BubbleBobble from New York

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a slightly hazy light orange, minimal head formation, a bit of visible carbonation; eventually settles out to viscous clarity. Really coats the glass as its swirled around. Nose is light pine and orange juice with deeper maltier notes of spicy brown bread. As it warms, those spice notes become sharper as the alcohol begins to come through. Taste is balanced between the two elements, though the mild alcohol heat tilts things toward fruity black pepper. Mouthfeel is extremely thick and heavy which helps in terms of pacing given the ABV.
Nov 20, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Jul 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by shigg85 from Japan

Jun 25, 2021
 
Rated: 4.99 by Imperial_Zero78 from Nevada

Feb 19, 2021
 
Rated: 4.37 by crazyspicychef from Pennsylvania

Feb 17, 2021
 
Rated: 3.81 by WillieMoe from Massachusetts

Jul 17, 2019
Photo of KooVee
Reviewed by KooVee from Finland

4.3/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle, bb 02/19.

Light golden colour -- light because nothing but pilsner and acidulated malts (latter one would guess due to the 'coastal water' profile). No carabohemian here. Nice regular Pilsner foam.

Aroma adds to the standard Bohemian profile a suprising strong orange note. It is not actually that specific but it is floral and citric and to me it is closest to orange. A bit of smokiness too but that seems to transform into herbal notes after the first minute or so. Naturally, as the beer warms, alcohol (8.8% after all and besides hops little to hide behind) starts to push through.

Taste is smooth for strength. The said floral citric notes, together with initially formidable bitterness one starts to get used to quite quickly. Apparently this is the Sterling hop, one I am not otherwise familiar with. A version of Saaz, bred for mildew resistance. Looking at the family tree, the citric notes that Saaz does not possess might come from Cascade, herbal character might be just the amount -- when you brew Saaz to this amount (74 IBU), it takes on herbal notes in my experience.. the 'spicyness' is not really spice, it is strong herbs in moderation. Otherwise good drinkability especially for strength.

Could just as well be called a Double IPL with the hopping rate. I am thinking of running this against DIPAs in blind tasting. A very nice example of a lazily coined style 'Imperial Pilsner'. The hopping is too strong for that really and what is wrong with the classic Czech categorization which extends close to this range ... build from there instead.
Dec 31, 2018
 
Rated: 3.38 by RPM3334 from South Carolina

Dec 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.91 by zotzot from Vermont

Nov 06, 2018
Photo of robotic_being
Rated by robotic_being from Illinois

3.99/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
$30 ceramic bottle bought at Morimoto restaurant in Orlando, FL. Malty mix of spicy hops and semi floral citrus notes. Very flavorful!
Nov 02, 2018
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
A grassy and floral pilsner, especially on the smell, where the taste is has some wheaty yeast and malts to balance with, not overly bitter. Nice full body while not becoming overly heady or bready. Hint of corn sweetness on the finish, but not in a bad way. Pairs well with seafood
Sep 29, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by soundaurora from Pennsylvania

Sep 25, 2018
Photo of NastyNorseman
Reviewed by NastyNorseman from New York

4.17/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Yellow-gold in appearance. Foamy white head with layered lacing. Nice peppery grassy flaver with complementary malt. Czech yeast shines this. This imperial pilsner gets better as you drink it.
Jul 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.87 by R_Kole from Canada (AB)

Jun 10, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by einman from Minnesota

May 08, 2018
Morimoto Imperial Pilsner from Rogue Ales
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 585 ratings