Rogue has always been one of my favorite brewers and this beer is one that I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on. I need to thank Adam Hudak and Stephanie Suratos for providing me with this brew.
Let’s get to the website, rogueales.com, and see what kind of information we can find on the Morimoto Imperial Pilsner.
Golden in color with a dry hop floral aroma and intense hop bitterness supported by a big malty backbone which culminates into a hedonistic mouthful.
I’m ready. How ’bout you guys?
This brew comes in a 25.4 oz., very cool looking, ceramic bottle and it has an ABV of around 8.8%.
It poured a hazy, golden orange color with a white head of average size. It was very smooth, somewhat creamy, soft and tight. The retention time was rather good and the lacing was sturdy with patches left on the sides after tilts and sips.
The nose started with a reasonable amount of tropical fruit citrus. Hints of flowers, pine and grass. A very clean smelling brew. After it was allowed to sit and warm a touch, an easy essence of bread, biscuits and straw began to overtake the aroma. Some type of spice hid underneath for more elaboration. By the end of the drink only a faint trace of the hops remained as the bready malts had pretty much taken over. That’s not a bad thing either. I enjoyed it quite well.
The taste was very similar to the fragrance in that it started with quite a bit of citrus. Savors of pineapple, grapefruit and other tropical fruits. Again, quite floral and piny with some spicy compliments. Very sweet and bitter. The bready/biscuit malts and grassy components gradually started to move in for the kill after the brew got closer to room temperature, but I still thught it tasted mightly fine. The bitterness seemed to remain constant throughout and overall, it was significantly stronger in the taste than the aroma.
The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Very dry, sticky and smooth with a little bit of a spicy bite. A very nice amount of carbonation was to be had and a solid dose of flavor was left covering the palate long after each sip.
I’ll tell ya. I’m not normally a huge fan of Pilsners, but this beer was very good. I liked it a lot. I realize that it’s been bumped up quite a bit from a normal Pilsner, so that could be swaying me a tad, however it was still able to reatain some of that classic Pilsner bready malt and grassiness. I would have no problem picking this thing up on a regular basis I tell ya. I would suggest that you do the same if you can obtain it. It has a nice aroma, a full flavor and the ease of drink is outstanding. I had no trouble working my way through this bottle. I sped through it rather quickly. The Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner could be had at anytime of the year in my opinion, yet Spring seems to me to be the optimal time to enjoy this beverage. Be sure to let me know what you think of it if you’ve had it.
Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.
Until next time. Cheers.
Score: 4.15 out of 5
Grade: A-
Sud Savant
May 16, 2012 at 8:43 pm
I dig the new Morimoto bottle! Hopefully, the beer is an improvement as well. I had the Morimoto Soba Ale and it was disappointing. This gives me hope.
Sud Savant
May 16, 2012 at 8:43 pm
I dig the new Morimoto bottle! Hopefully, the beer is an improvement as well. I had the Morimoto Soba Ale and it was disappointing. This gives me hope.
Scott Shrewsberry
May 17, 2012 at 2:54 am
Sud Savant,
You may think otherwise, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to hear your opinion.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott Shrewsberry
May 17, 2012 at 2:54 am
Sud Savant,
You may think otherwise, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to hear your opinion.
Cheers,
Scott
Rogue Ales (@RogueAles)
May 17, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for the shout out and review. Rock n Rogue
Rogue Ales (@RogueAles)
May 17, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for the shout out and review. Rock n Rogue
Scott Shrewsberry
May 18, 2012 at 1:44 am
Rogue Ales,
No problem guys!!! Thanks so much for checking out the review. That means a lot to me to know that you took a few minutes to check out my blog. Keep up the great work and keep churning out those great beers.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott Shrewsberry
May 18, 2012 at 1:44 am
Rogue Ales,
No problem guys!!! Thanks so much for checking out the review. That means a lot to me to know that you took a few minutes to check out my blog. Keep up the great work and keep churning out those great beers.
Cheers,
Scott