Goku powers up and goes Super Saiyan. The Power Rangers get into their giant battle robots. And the Japanese-style rice lager from Heads of Noosa turns imperial.
In case it wasn’t obvious, this is a beefed-up version of the brewery’s flagship beer. It brings together the stunning clarity and clean fermentation profile of the original with a boosted alcohol content (from 4.5 percent up to 7.2 percent ABV)*, bigger body and more defined sweetness. Rather than a fluffy carbonation and crisp finish that invites you to sink it speedily, this imperial lager has a silkiness and lower carbonation that gives it more of a wine-like feel.
If you’ve never had an imperial pale lager before, prepare to experience something quite different from your standard sessionable smasher. You don’t smash this beer. It smashes you.**
Mick Wüst
*There’s a small irony in the fact rice lagers were originally invented as a way for Japanese brewers to pay lower taxes on their beer, but the high ABV of this brew will attract higher excise tax for HoN. And if you close your eyes when you sip this beer, you can taste notes of that irony in the upper palate.
**Look, I enjoyed this wordplay, but the beer is actually impressively smooth for its size. Just don’t go drinking a four-pack of it while you’re in the pool.
Published December 6, 2022 2022-12-06 00:00:00
