Exit 14 Imperial Pilsner
Flying Fish Brewing Company

11/17/19...malted gold, thick foam. Cascades out of the bottle and then settles on top. Pale straw nose. Hay and grains. Bitter first pils taste. Heavy. Light sweetness balances it out. Overall the hopped up prevails.

Appearance: pours a golden yellow color with a 1/2" head. Some mild lace develops.

Smell: some malts, citrus, and a hint of a floral note.

Taste: grainy malt, some spicy rye, pepper, lemon zest, and some floral bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Crisp throughout. Slightly dry late.

Overall: a slower sipping pilsner that has a nice flavor profile.

It seems like the first several imperial pilseners I had were good-to-excellent, but then the last few have been mediocre-to-awful. So I've shied away from the style for the past several years. But this was reasonably priced, and Flying Fish know what they're doing, so let's give it a try:

Pours like an American pils. Light yellow, fizzy, with a small white head.

Smells like the impy pils I used to love. Firm, boozy grain with a robust, but not overwhelming, combination of European and American hops. The best comparison I got is the aroma from Rogue's old Morimoto, only this has a more interesting hop profile.

Tastes firm. A little aggressively alcoholic, for the first couple sips. As I grow accustom to it, complexities come out: hay, honey, and American pils malt start things off, moving into a middle of thick yeast, finishing lightly peppery with a truly wonderful combination of European and American citrus hops. The absence of nobel hops is conspicuous, and led to some initial misgivings, but I soon realized that was meant primarily as an *American* impy pils, and as such it does a great a job.

 

Golden yellow in color with excellent clarity. Poured with thick, billowy, soapy white foam with moderate retention. Medium pilsner malt aroma with light bready notes. Medium light earthy, herbal hop aroma. Medium light bodied with medium, assertive, but soft carbonation.
Boozy warmth through the middle and a light creamy feel near the finish. Medium malt flavors and herbal hop flavors throughout. Medium high hop bitterness through the middle with boozy notes near the end. Finished semi-dryly with a lingering herbal hop bitterness and a pleasant booziness. A well balanced pilsner with well concealed, unoffensive booziness.

 

 

**
10/09/16

Bottle to "hard rock" glass.

LOOK: yellow, big white head, mostly fades, but a small head remains.
AROMA: grains, wheat, 'merica.
TASTE: Lemon, grasses, grains.
FEEL: light body, good carbonation.

An homage to the old Budweiser plant in Newark, and this has more character than Bud, but not much more.

Good for what it is.
**

 

 

On the docket: 750 mL bottle of Flying Fish Brewing Co.’s Exit 14 Imperial Pilsner

Poured into: Pilsner glass

S: Honey gold highlights in a crystal-clear body supports a tight white head. Dense, thick and sudsy. Tiny bubbles levitate toward the top. Lacing is bandy and consistent, pointing to freshness.

A: Subtle mint, spice and mellow citrus and a hint of melon complete a pleasant mélange of hoppy aromas, bolstered by doughy malt.

T: An initial show of sweetness quickly fades to showcase a bitterness that conjures up images of arugula and endive. To counter the bitterness are flavors of forest berries and spice. The malt gives a cracker and dough maltiness. Its finish is dry and chalky, with a long bitter finish of pine.

F: Light, crisp and proficient at masking the 8.5% abv.

O: Bold, bracing, bitter. Excellent hop component and capable of being used in place of dry champagne and dry sparkling white wine alongside rich smoked meat and shrimp cocktail. Even after it warms, the alcohol is well-masked. Lovers of bone-dry Double IPAs should enjoy this.

Suggested food pairing: chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce, Pâté, sweet oysters

I like the nod to the huge Budweiser bottling factory near this exit.

25 oz bottle poured into Belgian ale glass

L: Big foamy head with long retention, leaves lacing and a cap and ring. Beer is a clear amber and you can see carbonation bubbles.

S: Lots of Pils malt, yeast, little bit of floral.

T: Pilsner, rye, and wheat malts, alternating a bit between sweet and sour. Centennial hops add some bitterness and you catch both peppery and floral notes.

F: Light to medium body, medium carbonation. Good construction and balance is OK.

O: Nice little craft ode to Budweiser.

 

The look of this brew is very nice. Clear golden in color with a 1/2" white head that lasts. Smell is bright hoppy. Taste is crisp and slightly hoppy (bitterness). Crisp mouthfeel, good for a pilsner. Overall another good one from Flying Fish.