It’s Thanksgiving again, time to celebrate the abundant autumn harvest. But when you’re carving the turkey this year, don’t thank The Maker just for squash and maize. Raise a glass to the bumper crop of hops as well.

Each year, Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch travels to Bavaria’s Hallertau region, long renowned for its Noble hops, to hand-select the best and freshest examples of the Hallertau Mittelfruh variety for his beers. This fall, he’s decided to craft a limited-edition brew that showcases the ingredient’s flavor and aroma. So he tossed "enormous, almost reckless" quantities of hops into the kettle, and got to work. The result is unlike anything Boston Beer Company has ever brewed: a mouth-puckering hop-head’s heaven.

The Imperial Pilsner is a seldom-seen style. Even though it’s a lager, it’s similar in effect to an über-hoppy ale like a double IPA. Poured into a pilsner glass, cloudy and orange-gold, it exudes a heavy hops presence before giving forth a penetrating piney/grassy/citrusy aroma. The hops, while never overpowering or out of whack compared to the restrained malt character, own this beer. Smooth and almost creamy, this a bracing and bitter brew, weighing in at a whopping 110 International Bitterness Units. (At 8.8 percent ABV, it’s potent, too.)

Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner can hold its own with your regal Thanksgiving repast, and with all kinds of hearty food as the nights grow longer and colder.

Available for $4.99 for a 24-ounce bottle at better area liquor stores.