Imperial????

[metalbrewer]

I have wondered this for a while now, what makes a imperial porter imperial or ipa or stout? What does the imperial mean??

 

[weirdboy]

It means higher gravity and usually higher IBUs since you need more IBUs to balance higher gravity.

 

[jaycount]

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style13.php#1f

Per BJCP, higher gravity and higher IBUs for an imperial stout.

Same deal more or less for an IIPA

 

[twelvelookslikex]

Another name for a double. I think of an Imperial as like double the taste of a regular beer

 

[metalbrewer]

Oh ok so just stronger than the beers standard gravity range

 

[JefeTheVol]

"Imperial", as a term, was derived from a strong stout(Russian Imperial Stout) brewed in England as a gift to Catherine the Great of Russia (which at the time was an Empire). IIRC. It was reportedly brewed to a higher gravity to withstand the Russian cold, although that might be more rumor than fact. "Imperial" is now colloquially referred to any style of beer brewed to higher gravity/IBU that doesn't have a category already.
-Jefe-