Thumbprint Imperial Pilsner
New Glarus Brewing Company

 

12 oz can poured into a teku glass. Big, boozy, moderately bitter, citrus, and sweet malt. IMO the "imperial pilsner" style should not exist. This isn't as bad as last year's imperial radler (truly an abomination) but I wish I didn't have 3 more cans to get through. New Glarus makes some truly special beers (can't wait for the Framboise in a couple of months!) and wasting time and resources on something like this is a travesty.

I only wish I had bought a four pack instead of one can. Truly, this is a phenomenal beer.

I did take notes as I drank it so I don’t have detailed notes, but this is a near perfect beer as far as I’m concerned. Honey, bitter, floral, and a little fruity. Perfectly balanced.

Thumbprint Imperial Pilsner pours a golden color, with a small, but long-lasting lacing head. The aroma is mellow, bitter, and sweet, with a distinctly beer-like scent and golden cereal notes. The flavor is clean, a nice bitter, then a sweeter, creamy cereal note to end it. Good feel. Overall, a well-flavored pilsner, nice bitterness, and a nice sweetness.

Malty rather than grainy. On the heavy side, not very refreshing per se. Some florals, More quinine, mineral bitter finish. Carbonation somewhat fluffy. Overall, consistent start to finish. To my palate lacks cohesion and thus is a disappointment. Would not purchase again (and I generally love New Glarus).

 

Chilled. Pours a clear golden straw color with modest but persistent head. Light lace. Aroma is surprisingly mild, hints of malt with scent of hops surprisingly absent. Smooth, malty taste followed by bitterness that lingers. Alcohol shows up in the back of the throat. Mouthfeel is rich but not as velvety as I expected.

Overall, a bit of a disappointment, I was expecting more of a blond dopplebock with floral notes in the aroma balancing a candylike flavor that might do a better job of masking the 8.7% alcohol. Still, quite drinkable -- but having tried it I won't seek it out again.

 

 

12oz can. Bottom stamp is 'G055 08:56'.
Mostly clear, straw colored body, with shimmer particles. One finger of white head, and this retreats to a partial cap and high ring. Only a smattering of small lacing spots left behind.
Aroma is faint, with malt and floral/spicy hops.
Taste is bold for style, with honey sweet toasted bread malts and floral hops. Fresh and fruity from the yeast. Late bite emerges. Long lasting aftertaste stays sweet and reflects the higher ABV%.
More than medium mouthfeel. Smooth, with some syrup, for texture. Higher ABV% is evident but any burn is well hidden. Okay carbonation.
So smooth and silky to drink, and the sweetness invites rapidly spaced sips. Keep in mind the higher ABV%.

No canning date

Appearance: Pours a completely clear, light golden/yellow color with a strong white head. SRM of 6. (4.00)

Aroma: Strong aromas of pale malts, grains, yeast, and dough. Light hops and yeast emerge underneath. (3.75)

Flavor: Strong flavors of pale malts, smooth bread dough, and yeast. Alcohol shows through on the end. (3.75)

Feel: Medium-bodied, strong carbonation and yeast. Alcohol burn shows through the end mildly. (4.25)

Overall: Interesting beer and style. Drinks like a pilsner but with a slight more malt body. Some yeast and the alcohol shows slightly more. Unimaginable at 8.7%. I would think this drinks closer to 6, possibly 7. Not quite has hoppy has their original Pils. Definitely and interesting style and nuanced, but I prefer the original pilsner. Glad I tried this one though and recommend picking it up. (Rating: 3.87+)

 

Look - mostly clear with a very tad haze yellow copper with a nice white head
Smell - grainy sweet malts with a slight floral
taste - roughly the same as the smell but less sweet and replaced with a boozy slight bitterness
Feel - medium body which is great for this beer and pretty smooth with a medium light fizzy carb
Ovearll - really nice imperial pils

Bronze metal winner at the 2025 World beer cup in the Other Strong Beer category.
Look: Transparent straw/light gold body. Nice tall white head that hangs on for awhile leaving some nice sometimes thick lacing.
Smell: sweet malt, earthy/herbal, a little cracker/grain then floral.
Taste: Not as sweet as it smells. It has some sweetness but is more bitter overall. The taste follows the nose otherwise. I'm getting some mineral and grass. Starts out sweet but finish's bitter, with a lingering after taste. ABV is well hidden but you can tell its there. It tastes like an Imperial Pilsner to me.
Feel is good not thick or thin. About right for the beer. Any more thickness would be ok. but would cut down on fast drinking, good or bad?

This is a good beer. I have had other Impy pilsners that were thicker body wise and sweeter. This one would be a good hot weather thirst quencher at the cabin/lake. 4.22/5 today.

Appearance - The beer was golden with visible carbonation. It could’ve been in a commercial it looked so right.

Smell - Bitter hops and cracker malts led the way.

Taste - At the front, the beer had strong notes of pine. It was smooth and not overly sweet as some imperial styles are. It seemed to have a touch of alcohol bite in the finish. This cut into the sweetness a bit.

Mouthfeel - The yeast smoothed out the body, which was somewhat aggressively carbonated.

Overall - I found the beer to be quite enjoyable, though I wasn’t overwhelmed.

If I haven’t had it from New Glarus and I see an opportunity to purchase, I take it. Part of a 4-pack of cans, on to the beer:

As pretty as the stablemate smaller Pilsner; light golden straw color with a creamy, frothy head above which is thick and slowly drops.
The aroma is somewhat delicate for such a strong beer; some lovely floral notes in there. A strong helles bock-like malty note in there as well, hinting at the strength of the beer.

An Imperial Pilsner is an uncommon style to imperialize upon. I’m beginning to understand why, because New Glarus took their wonderful Pilsner and made it noticeably more boozy without trying to hide it. It’s like a mashup of their Pilsner with Cabin Fever helles bock, and spiked with a strong sting of alcohol from a leftover Euro strong lager. Make no mistake, it’s still a tasty little treat, but I feel the disappointment set from high expectations is similar to the anticipation of the first Duvel Draft which was noticeably different from the original. Medium-heavy bodied, gentle crispness, strong sting of hop bitterness and booze hit and linger.

New Glarus has had some success making stronger versions of a base beer, such as Spotted Cow Grand Cru. The Imperial Pilsner is fun to try and compare to the original, and while it technically hits most of the right notes, only disappoints because of my high expectations.

Appearance: Clear gold, some particles, good head.

Smell: Not a lot, some grassiness and maybe a bit of bread.

Taste: Balanced start, gives some sweetness that has the slightest bit of grape soda and an indistinct creamy note. Syrupy slick mouthfeel. Low bitterness. Finishes kind of sweet and slick.

Overall: A new thumbprint beer was available when I stopped by New Glarus, this imperial pilsner. Not a super hoppy version, no crazy boozy flavors, just an extremely drinkable 8.7% lager, which is a white buffalo for rarity.

Look- Bright and golden with a faint trail of carbonation bubbling to the top. Thick white fluffy head that dissipated rather quickly leaving a thick lacing 4.25

Smell- sweet grains 3.75

Taste- fruity esters with a sweet boozy punch. Bitter and lingers with you. Very clean. 4.00

Feel- crisp with a subtle stickiness. Lively carbonation. 4.25

Overall- Exactly what I would expect from an imperial pilsner. The alcohol bites and is the main star. Not exactly what I look for in a beer. I've not had many of this style, but it's definitely near the top. 4.25