The latest of the Abita Select series to be served up at the local Taco Mac in Kennesaw, Georgia. Appearance: Served up a deep copper-hued body with notable clarity and topped with a thin, white head that soon settles into a ring. Smell: ASIP presents a medley of various notes: toasted breadcrusts, grainy pils malts, sugar-coated berries, brown sugar, and spicy hops giving a delicate impression of nutmeg powder. Taste: Toasty Munich and pilsner malts giving off a staunch graininess. Sweet touch of brown sugar, perhaps a hint of caramel. As with the aroma, it has a fruity berry-like character. Sterling hops yield an earthy spiciness with a decent, crackling snap of bitterness. A modest amount of hop bitterness remains for the warming finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Has a small touch of stickiness in the mouthfeel. Drinkability: The Munich malt contained within gives it a particularly toasted breadcrust taste, which doesn’t really scream "pilsner" to me. Still, for one of these hefty, heavy lagers (which always seem to be cruelly released during the dog days of summer) it’s okay.

Nice aroma. Had on tap with a side of Buffalo style Gator. Went down easy with just a slight aftertaste. Had more of a Pale Ale flavor than pilsner. Still an overall good beer.

Draft at the Bourbon House on where else-Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Dark copper and hazy. Nose is very grainy. Taste is actually a bit hot, slightly malty, and grassy. Body is full for this style. Not bad but a bit lame for #700 rating.

Draft pint at Cooter Brown’s. Pours a clear orange-gold with a finger-thick eggshell white head. Aroma of caramel malts, hops, orange citrus, brown sugar, berry fruits, and biscuit. Flavor of caramel and bready malts, sugar, citrus, hops, and tea. Medium-bodied, with above average carbonation and a malty mouthfeel. Very sweet, which was pretty unexpected for a beer called an imperial pilsener. Reminded me of some really sweet DIPAs I’ve had where the sweet, sugary, fruity, malty flavors overwhelm the hops. I guess this beer has been un-retired, temporarily at least, and possibly just for American Craft Beer Week. I saw it at both Cooter Brown’s and Avenue Pub. Give it a shot while it’s available.

On tap at the avenue pub. Pours dark gold with a medium white head. Thick mouth feel and a strong berry flavor. Nice mild citrus finish. Remarkable to find this keg of beer in 2010, unless they are making it again. Perhaps it’s in celebration of Craft Beer Week?

Date: 12/08/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta

hazy yellow, fine white head, sweet candy malt aroma with a bit of hops, thin creamy body, light finishing hops,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 4/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 8/20
Rating: 2.3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Draught at dba New Orleans - there is nothing "imperial" about this beer - I sense no difference between this and most "normal" pilseners - this by itself is not a bad thing, but this isn’t even really that good of a pilsener - smells a bit sour and grassy - thin bodied and somewhat watery - a mild sweetness and some subdued hop flavor, but other than that there isn’t much that sets this apart from something like MGD.

Thanks go out to Mike of Bon Vivant for the bottle and Andrew of Abita for sending some to him. Hand bottled. Not normally available in bottles. Gold bodied with a lively white head. Nose is subdued. Not much happening here. Light hops, grains and some cereal notes. Taste is bready malts, light hops, and thinned grassiness. Body is light with medium carbonation feel. Finishes with light grains, doughy malts, some grass and minimal hop profile. While the name needs to change to Abita Select Imperial Pilsener, I think this needs to stay in the pilsener category and NOT be moved into the European Strong Lager, which it is not. It’s an "imperial" in name only.

Skunky aroma of some hop I can’t name. Nectar yellow in color. Big hop flavors, but a good bit of malt in there too. Nice mouthfeel, but the finish is off, almost stale tasting.