Imperial

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shearclass

shearclass

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Yo

When the name of a beer contains the word 'Imperial', what does this mean?

I initially thought it was limited to stouts, but I've seen it in other beer names as well. What does this term mean or imply about the beer?

Cheers
 
The word comes from Russian Imperial Stouts brewed in the UK (In the 1800's)for export to Russia (a favourite of Catherine the second) i.e. brewed for the Imperial court.

These stouts were much higher in ABV than a average beer, more than 10% :cheers: :D . The american brewing industry started to use the term imperial to describe any beer that was big in character like the afore mentioned stout i.e. more of a luxury product high in ABV and Hops (IBU). Nowadays the term imperial is applied to a range of styles e.g. imperial IPA to mark it as being high in ABV and normally higher in IBU's there is no longer any connection to the export of beers to Russia!
 
Eradite beat me to it. I'd go along with what he said. It seems the Americans will tag on the word Imperial to any beer that they've made to a stronger strength than is defined by the BJCP style guidelines. Faulty but easy to understand...
 
Then you have Double IPAs just to confuse everyone.....
But there is also the alternative term 'Double' used for strong IPAs.
 
Then you have Double IPAs just to confuse everyone.....
But there is also the alternative term 'Double' used for strong IPAs.
Click to expand...

He he he, true. I've seen them called imperial IPA's too.
What's the most ridiculous "Imperial" named beer ever, anyone have some examples?
I bet there is an Imperial Mild somewhere. I've had a 7% mild before but it was just called a mild.
 
Eradite said:
The word comes from Russian Imperial Stouts brewed in the UK (In the 1800's)for export to Russia (a favourite of Catherine the second) i.e. brewed for the Imperial court.

These stouts were much higher in ABV than a average beer, more than 10% :cheers: :D .
Click to expand...

Russian Imperial Stout was brewed for export to Russia. Despite what the Courage label used to say (and the d'coq one) Catherine the Great never drank them. The first RIS sent to Russia was Barclay Perkins Brown Stout in 1832. Catherine the Great died in 1796. The reasons for the strength was twofold. Firstly it needed to keep, so was brewed strong and heavily hopped. Secondly, the high alcohol content ensured that the beer wouldn't freeze enroute to Russia via the Baltic Sea. When Russia introduced a prohibitive tariff on top-fermented imported ales, the trade dried up but was then quickly replaced with an export porter trade (using bottom-fermenting yeast), which also saw the establishment of British brewing concerns in the Baltic states. Hence, we have Baltic Porter, which is occasionally (and erroneously) referred to as Imperial Porter.

And the misnomer for Baltic Porter as Imperial Porter leads us to 'Imperial' as a catch all. It's worth noting that Gordon Strong, who chaired the writing of the BJCP 2008 Guidelines now says that he would call an Imperial IPA a Double IPA to correct this misnaming.
 
Thanks lads. So it just generally means a strong beer.

So it's nonsense then when my last kit was muntons Imperial Stout, with and alleged abv of 4.5%. I actually only achieved 4%.

Why is a double IPA called so? Is that related to the hops used, or does it just mean it is strong?
 
shearclass said:
So it's nonsense then when my last kit was muntons Imperial Stout, with and alleged abv of 4.5%. I actually only achieved 4%.
Click to expand...
Good old marketing ploy . . . bit like Deuchars IPA . . . or possibly a better example Greene King IPA . . . . when I buy an IPA I am expecting a beer at around 7% and very hoppy . . . so way am I disappointed . . . . Oh yeah they let the advertising idiots get at it :twisted:

shearclass said:
Why is a double IPA called so? Is that related to the hops used, or does it just mean it is strong?
Click to expand...
Its used to indicate a strong India pale ale . . . not imperial . . . Double IPA is the same as Imperial IPA . . .just a different advertising idiot :twisted:
 
I don't know what a mild is either. I am quite new to the real ale game, and there are a few names i don't understand. I expect that one man's mild is another man's [something else], rather than there begin clear cut definitions of the styles.
 
shearclass said:
I don't know what a mild is either. I am quite new to the real ale game, and there are a few names i don't understand. I expect that one man's mild is another man's [something else], rather than there begin clear cut definitions of the styles.
Click to expand...

Try this - http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=mild or this - http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style11.php

The style isn't clear cut, but does have some distinctiveness. Historically Mild simply meant 'fresh'. Today's milds tend to be low alcohol and light on the hops which leads some believing that this is why they have the name. Gales Festival Mild and Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby both buck this trend, but are still definitely both Mild Ales.
 

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