<p>The first Imperial Stout was made by Thrale's Brewery to export to the Russian royalty, it had high alcoholic content so that it could survive the trip gracefully <a href="http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/home/news/courage-imperial-russian-stout" rel="noreferrer">[1]</a>. Since then Imperial has been used as a prefix to signify beers which are of higher alcohol volume than their normal variants, and luckily they're no longer just for Russian royalty.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-21T21:05:40.863Z
You might also be interested in our [homebrewing site's response to a similar question](http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/949/what-does-imperial-mean-with-regards-to-beer-style).
Kasra Rahjerdi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-21T21:04:54.250Z
2014-01-22T00:26:46.840Z
2014-01-22T00:26:46.840Z
Kasra Rahjerdi
<p>The term "imperial" generally means "strong", as in having a higher ABV.  You may also find "Imperial IPAs" (aka IIPAs, or sometimes Double or Triple IPAs), and again, they are boosting the alcohol content.  The actual ingredients (hops, or oatmeal, as per your example) do not come into play, except to balance the flavors against the malt.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-21T21:02:16.327Z
2014-01-21T21:02:16.327Z
object88
<p>My local growler shop regularly has a variety of stouts on tap, of which I usually pick Imperial. </p>

<p>What, specifically, distinguishes an Imperial stout from other kinds of stouts (say a regular stout, an oatmeal stout etc)?</p>

<imperal-stout>
What specific characteristics distinguish an imperial stout from other kinds of stouts?
wax eagle
# What specific characteristics distinguish an imperial stout from other kinds of stouts?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-21)

My local growler shop regularly has a variety of stouts on tap, of which I usually pick Imperial.

What, specifically, distinguishes an Imperial stout from other kinds of stouts (say a regular stout, an oatmeal stout etc)?

**Tags:** imperal-stout


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-01-21. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

The first Imperial Stout was made by Thrale's Brewery to export to the Russian royalty, it had high alcoholic content so that it could survive the trip gracefully [[1]](http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/home/news/courage-imperial-russian-stout). Since then Imperial has been used as a prefix to signify beers which are of higher alcohol volume than their normal variants, and luckily they're no longer just for Russian royalty.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You might also be interested in our [homebrewing site's response to a similar question](http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/949/what-does-imperial-mean-with-regards-to-beer-style).  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-01-21. Score: 5

The term "imperial" generally means "strong", as in having a higher ABV. You may also find "Imperial IPAs" (aka IIPAs, or sometimes Double or Triple IPAs), and again, they are boosting the alcohol content. The actual ingredients (hops, or oatmeal, as per your example) do not come into play, except to balance the flavors against the malt.


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