Imperial Invasion

I mentioned in my last video, Imperial Stout was brewed in England for the Imperial court of Queen Catherine II in Russia.  That was a long time ago, nowadays anyone can enjoy the dark royal brew.  If you've never tried it before; the taste could be compared to a strong flavored coffee drink from your favorite over priced gourmet coffee place.  Imperial Stout is not for the faint of heart!  It can be between 8 and 15% alcohol.  Think of that for a minute - drinking a single Imperial Stout would be like drinking 3 or 4 American "Lite" beers.  They tend to be big on dark, rich flavors.  Lots of roasty, toasty tastes - espresso, toasted caramel, dark chocolate, toffee, and currants are typical flavor profiles you can find.  Many breweries offset the dark and bitter flavors with sweet flavors like cherries or raspberries. 

When most people think of stout, they think of the stout - Guinness.  Like there are many different styles of beer; there are differnt styles of stout. 

Dry Stout - Not a lot of carbonation, a thick, long lasting head, some bitterness, virtually no hop aroma.  Guinness is a good representation of this style.

Sweet Stout - or milk stout tends to have a taste of lightly roasted coffee - Young's Double Chocolate Stout is a good example of this style.

Foreign Stout - A more hop flavored stout created specially for export, tend to have higher alcohol content.  Lion Stout from Sri Lanka is a great example of foreign stout.