What Our Panel Thought
Aroma: Citrus hops—more orange rind than pure grapefruit. Big spicy hops redolent of pineapple and mango. More American than noble hops character. Some toasted caramel malt sweetness. Little to no sulfur or esters.
Flavor: Huge hops-forward flavor with plenty of malt to back it up. A bit raw or grassy with alcohol in the aftertaste. Bitterness is assertive and barely tames the alcohol burn, but there’s enough malt sweetness to carry it. Clean with no esters.
Overall: Sticky, resinous hop flavor overpowers this beer—it’s a hop bomb that finishes hot. Unique and very tasty, this offers a lot of complexity and a clean fermentation profile.
What the Brewers Say
Lager yeast is a perfectly clean canvas for showcasing the beauty and aroma of hops. This is why To Øl presents “Brown Paper Bag,” an 8.5% Imperial Pilsner brewed with melanoidin and caramel malts to give the pilsner yeast some backbone and to smooth out the Mosaic, Citra, and Amarillo hops.
