Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Magic Hat Humdinger: Over the Pils

type: imperial pilner
origin: Burlington, VT
price: $10/750ml at the MH brewery
ABV: 8.1%
NSP: 6.1

Bought this a few months back on my trip to Vermont.  The bottle and packaging are awesome, bu the problem is it makes you want to save this for a "special" occasion.  Really this should be drank-up ASAP; I'm pretty sure a lager would age terribly, so don't even try it.

Shonks scoffed at the idea of an "imperial" pilsner awhile back, but what he may not yet appreciate is that they can be really good and thoroughly refreshing.  Seriously, do you understand the difference between lager and ale?  Yeast strain, and fermentation temperature.  So there's no need to turn your nose up at a beer because it's not an "ale".  Onto the beer...

For me the trick to great lagers,  Pilsners especially, is to balance a fair amount of sweetness with some tongue-buckling bitterness and without hop aromas.  This does exactly that and packs a nice ABV in with it.  If the alcohol were backed off here, the balance I need would be shot.  The flavors are simple, and clean.

This isn't my favorite beer ever, but it's damn tasty and packs a nice punch.  And right now the extra booze is kicking in so it looks like we've got a winner here.

Tilted Smile is apparently the only other imperial pilsner any of us have reviewed though, so let's get busy gents!


  1. I had Karl Strauss' a while back and remember it being surprisingly delicious and not too expensive