Beer, Beer, Beer

This is the title of a classic old Irish Drinking Song. Simple song, simpler times. A oade to beer.

I chose an Irish drinking song today because tomorrow, my Michigan State Spartans take on the Fightin' and hopefully Losin') Irish of Notre dame.

But my beer is far from Irish. My beer of choice for today is Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner 2005 Harvest.

This is a fantastic...simply amazing...American Double Pilsner style of brew. This brew has 110 IBUs...enough bitterness to serve as an adequate metaphor for a particularly nasty divorce. But the extreme, nearly-reckless amounts of hops here are well-balanced by an underlying thick, sugary sweetness akin to the Golden Monkey I reviewed a few weeks ago (Belgian Strong Dark Ale).

It pours a cloudy, hazy burnt orange color like a wheat ale, but instead of the haze coming from wheat protein, it is in this cae literally particles of hops because they used so many.

I smelled citrus up front, fading to a pleasant floral with an undelying spice throughout. Tantilizing indeed.

Big huge creamy mouthfeel, thick and chewy like a stout. Lively carbonation for as thick as the beer is.

Sublime is the taste indeed. A big spiciness..almost peppery...comes up front with a huge alcoholic warmth. Next up are the sweet, bready malts, followed by juicy ripe citrus fruits. Throughout all of this is a massive profile of aggressive hops. Every word I can think of to describe hops are there: leafy, oily, resiny, coarse, piney, floral, herbal, citrus...all of it. At the end, this earthy, musky flavor creeps in but doesn't linger, as all the hops keep the tongue clean and ready for the next quaff.

All in all, this is an amazing beer from the guys I would expect if from. What is truly remarkable is that this is a pilsner...you know, like Miller, Bud, etc. A Pilsner. Huge.

Drag up a chair and spin me a tale of beer.