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Sam Adams did not found the Boston Beer Company or its signature drink, Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Jim Koch did. The man will do anything to spread the gospel of beer. Maybe you've seen him getting dunked into a vat of beer on those TV commercials? He is devoted to making serious, and often unusual, brews. And his latest concoction, Hallertau Imperial Pilsner, is a hop bomb that will please fans of bitter IPAs -- and likely scare the bejesus out of lagerheads.
Koch treats hops like winemakers treat grapes. He flies to Germany every year to sample the latest Bavarian crops. This beer uses hops from the Hallertau region. The label warns that this beer offers "an intense hops experience." The color alone suggests this ain't no lite beer. It pours a cloudy orange-amber hue, the frothy head dying down quickly. Immense aromas of hoppy bitterness and citrus fill the air before your nose gets anywhere near a glass. The goal of a beer like this is to deliver as much hop-fueled oomph as possible, but with reasonable balance -- usually provided by the sweetness of the malt. With an alcohol level of 8.8 percent by volume and its daunting hoppiness, it's hard to call Hallertau Imperial Pilsner balanced. But for certain palates (you like broccoli rabe, tonic water or dark chocolate?), this is a taste of heaven.
-- James Oliver Cury
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