Imperial Pilsners

With 0.2% alcohol!

 

This is the right answer.

 

Please tell me that it was packaged in an authentic, Stubbie bottle.

 

Possibly, (well, with Horlacher it would have been the east coast sorta-stubby with the shoulder*) but I remember it best in long neck deposit returnables. Probably around $5/cs, circa early '70s.

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I've had the occasion to sample more than a few renditions of the style over the years, but aside from the one or two examples which stand out (and would have me seeking them out for another go-round) it's not a style that I think will win over ale-lovers to the lager-lovin' side of the aisle.

This one was mentioned and I'm unsure of the release schedule for that (Stevens Point seems to throw as many new recipes at the wall as the next Craft and/or "Crafty" brewery.) patto1ro had mentioned a beer from Mahr's that I truly enjoy (when I can find it) but which misses the American Imperial Pilsner category because its ABV is too small!

All of this is merely my uninformed opinion of course, but when properly executed an Imperial Pilsner best resembles a Maibock or Helles Bock (or perhaps something in the vein of a Polish Special or Mocne -- here's one which -when fresh- is great), so rather than seek of a Craft-brewed Imperial Pilsner I'll seek out a nice, fresh Maibock instead. There are also several lagers from the Czech Republic that are strong (6.5 to 7% or-so ABV) and feature prominent hop profiles, roughly Maibock in style, which I'd suggest the OP seek out via the same "trial and error" method that I did -- it's a glorious, beery journey along the way.

When executed poorly, the style is an under-lagered, strong, hoppy mess, and seeing as how the continued focus in the American Craft Beer segment is on 'innovative use of hops', I'm sure that I've missed out on quite a few stellar Imperial Pilsners over the past few years.

P.S. I'm still waiting for Imperial Small Beer to blow-up as a style. C'mon, Craft Brewers, show us your chops!

 

St. B is a great beer, but it's actually a hellerbock. They still make it, but draft only and unfortunately it just kicked for the year

 

If you like "Imperial pilsner" that's fine but I don't regard pilsner as inferior or lacking something relative to it or any other bigger beer. I was in Prague this year and had a wonderful time drinking primarily pilsner w/ an occasional dark lager thrown in. It was glorious having pilsner that rich and fresh and all around you for $1.50/ half liter. There was an American style brewpub in town that was a nice switch up (w/ prices a bit more expensive but still cheap) but despite their quality Scotch ales and Belgian and English styles (all fresh) the pilsner experience didn't take a back seat at all. If you don't like pilsner (and Prague) you don't like beer.

 

Isn't that what this was?

* 17% alcohol - that's why it's called "liquor". At least, that's what the bartender in Chicago said. ​

 

Imperial pilsners to me aren't really pilsners, but then again there are plenty of "pilsners" that aren't really pilsners either. Prima Pils and TipoPils are two that immediately come to mind.

 

Well, the only description of this "style;" sanctioned, approved, recognized or otherwise, that I've ever seen is right here at BA:

And the Mahr's Bock falls right into that ABV.

But my real eye-roll to the whole style designation is that it's (yet another) a gimmick. Basically taking said Helles Bock recipe and hopping it up in order to "imperialize" it. As I alluded above, who has sanctioned this "style?"

Maybe it will be recognized after a while, as was DIPA, but since there's nothing greatly new and different about this hopped up Helles Bock, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

What styles are Prima Pils and TipoPils?

 

They're over-hopped and under-lagered. TipoPils, for example, is lagered for two weeks and as a result doesn't have the cleanliness or crispness of a pilsner. The intense hop profile and dry-hopping further take away from the crispness. Should probably be lagered for at least a month, and probably longer.
The same is true of Prima Pils, though I don't have any direct information on its lagering time.
They're both good beers, but they taste more like sort of clean pale ales than pilsners to me.

 

I enjoy this style once in awhile, but I have to be in the right mood for them.

Humulus, Reverb - Boulevard, My Antonia, are all great. Morimoto is pretty tasty too but kind of pricey.

 

I would suggest Rouge Morrimoto imperial pils and the Unitas tilted smile both are good but are more american styler pils with them more hoppy than a german pilsner.

 

There are many who will tell you that Prima Pils is hopped like German Pilsners were hopped 10 years ago and earlier.

I was drinking Pils in Germany 20 years ago, but I hadn't started studying styles as deeply yet, so I'm not a good source.

 

If you have the OCB, read the section on German Pilsners, as it has data showing the decline of IBUs. Some decry the dumbing down of the assertive Pilners, and there was the German TV show dealing with this.

 

Very interesting. Though I suppose half of my argument still holds true...

 

One of the interesting parts of the Conrad Seidl write-up on German Pilsner in OCD:

“In 1973 the average German Pilsner would have had a bitterness of 34 IBUs, with extreme samples going as high as 50 IBUs and the low end having only 16 IBUs. There was little change until 1985, but by 1995 the average bitterness was down to 30, and another decade it was 27. Statistics from 2008 indicate an average bitterness of 26.5 IBUs….”

“In the style guidelines for the prestigious World Beer Cup competition, German Pilsner is still defined as having 30-40 IBUs, but the German brewers themselves have allowed the snappy hop character of pilsner to erode.”

Cheers!

 

I picked up a 6 pack of 750ml at the Rogue garage sale for $30 or I might have never tasted it.
Cant wait for the next garage sale.

 

I've never had it, but Olde Hickory makes an imperial pilsner aged in chardonnay barrels called Eiraphiotes

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