Braumeister Nr.2: Imperial Pils
Lichtenthaler Bräu

33cl brown glass swingtop with no label purchased at the brewery a few hours ago and served into a glass krug in me friend's gaff in Vienna, Austria. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average given the brewery. I believe the price was a rather high 4.90 euro. I was told that (for this batch at least) this is one of about 50 bottles.

Served cold. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: Pours a four finger wide head of white colour. Decent thickness and creaminess. Fair complexion and consistency. Retention is pretty good - about 5+ minutes. Leaves light lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes.

BODY: Hazy murky dark nontransparent copper with orange hues. Translucent. Clean; no yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible. Below average vibrance.

Appears well-carbonated. Not unique or special for a pilsner, and definitely unfiltered. I'd like a bit more clarity, but it's not off-putting. There are no obvious egregious flaws.

AROMA: Smells soapy - did this spend too long in primary? Pine, floral notes...yeah, this is way overhopped for a pilsner - imperial or not. The malts seem raw and young, and come off more like pale malts than pils malts. A Pine-Sol off note runs rampant.

If I reviewed this blind, I'd guess it was a pale ale. Definitely poorly executed for a pilsner.

No yeast character or alcohol is detectable. Which is nice; I usually anticipate unwelcome booziness in an imperial pils.

An off-putting aroma of moderate strength.

TASTE: The Pine-Sol off note is luckily quite tame, but this is definitely way over-hopped for an imperial pilsner, with ample floral hop notes as well as some pine and herbal character. The advantage of the overhopping is that the beer's ABV is much better disguised than it would have been were this a usual imperial pilsner, but then if you're going to do it this way, why brew the style at all? It boasts none of the benefits of the pilsner style, and comes off feeling more like a high-alcohol underhopped English Pale Ale. I can't find pils malts beneath the dominant hops; I'd guess pale malts were actually used, but I hope that isn't the case.

No yeast character or overt off-notes are detectable.

It's cohesive, sure, but it lacks fundamental balance and possesses no subtlety. Additionally, it's complicated and over-elaborate where it should be simple and effective - isn't that the point of the pilsner style? Intensity of flavour is way too high. Average depth and duration of flavour.

I like it in a general sense, but I appreciate it more outside style conventions than inside them. As such, it's an enjoyable style-shirking beer with a misnomer. I can't attack a beer for being mislabelled/miscategorized by the brewer. I do find it pleasant and it's a welcome break from the usual helles and pilsner schlock peddled across lesser bars in Vienna.

TEXTURE: Overcarbonated - it drags on the palate when drinking, and the bottle yielded a LOUD pop upon dislodging the swingtop. Lightly refreshing. Smooth and wet. Medium-bodied, but not too thick per se.

I like that it avoids the warm booziness that plagues so many imperial pilsners, but then it isn't really an imperial pilsner in my mind, so as a pale ale it is quite boozy.

This texture gets the job done and has no serious issues, but doesn't feel custom-tailored specifically to this beer's taste. Decently executed overall.

OVERALL: I applaud experimentation, and this is an interesting beer. But it's subpar for an imperial pilsner, and comes off more like a half-baked English Pale Ale. That said, it grows on me the more I drink it and styles aside I enjoy its flavour. I'd get it again, actually, even with its high pricetag. Lichtenthaler may be the most interesting brewery I've been to in Vienna - and I've visited 1516. Give these cats a go; I'll be keeping an eye on them. Surprisingly drinkable.

Low B-