Splice the Mainbrace: Heavy Seas Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest

The Clipper City Brewing Company of Baltimore, MD over the years has brewed some truly outstanding beers. This brewery has done a bit of a metamorphosis over the years and its products are now know as the Heavy Seas Beer, though the brewery is still officially Clipper City Brewing. Heavy Seas was at one time the line of specialty beers that Clipper City brewed, but has now become the name of their "fleets" of beer. Now a very pirate themed brewery, Heavy Seas offers three lines of brews:The Clipper Fleet, The Pyrate Fleet, and The Mutiny Fleet.

The Mutiny Fleet line of beers are the biggest and boldest of the Heavy Seas offerings, and they have been very impressive to say the least. Coming in at 8% abv or better, and marketed in 22 oz bombers, these are beers that can be aged and are seasonal releases, only available for a short period of time. I have enjoyed all the beers of the Mutiny Fleet, and one of their most impressive is Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest Lager.

The whole "imperial" thing in American brewing has become a bit over done in my opinion, but in this case I must say it really works. Clipper City brews a beer that for years was called Baltomarzhon, which later became know as Marzhon. That beer is now known as Heavy Seas Marzen and is one of the most authentic, delicious, domestic examples of the style. Prosit! is a bigger, bolder, beefed up example of that truly exceptional beer.

Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest Lager pours to a beautiful, bright, deep chestnut color, with a thick, creamy, white head, and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is just fantastic with big aromas, of light toast, nuts, and sweet malt aroma and light grassy hop aromas. The palate is polished and full on the tongue, with big malt flavors. Lots of good toasty and nutty malt flavors glide over the tongue on a very smooth, drinkable body. Prosit finishes with more good toasty and nutty malt aromas, then ends with just the right amount of grassy hop bitterness to balance this beer out.

This is a fantastic example of marzen, just amplified. Very smooth, very round, and dangerously drinkable for a beer of 8% abv. It is hefty enough to stand up to a hearty German meal, but smooth and drinkable enough that you could easily knock back a liter or two of this one. So in that regard, beware because Prosit! packs quite a punch. Available for a limited time only in 22 oz bottles and on draught, this beer is one well worth seeking out. Fresh this beer is outstanding, and that is how I enjoy drinking it. It would be interesting to see how this one would age, so you might want to put a bottle or two in the cellar and re-visit it in a year or so. For more information visit: http://www.hsbeer.com/