Budweiser likes to think it is the King of Beers. Well, the folks that make it do, anyway. I doubt that beers can really think for themselves. Kings aren’t the only form of royalty, however. In Russia, the emperors called themselves Czars, and they developed a connection of their own to beer before the last of them, Nicholas II, was overthrown by the communists in 1917.

Before their demise, the Czars were fond of stout. But not just any stout, mind you. The stout they liked was called Imperial Stout, and it was as big and bold a beer as mother Russia is a country. That said, Imperial Stout wasn’t brewed in Russia, but in England, especially made there for the Czars. And just as the British fortified India Pale Ale with extra hops for the long ocean voyage to India, so too did they brew a bigger and more robust stout for the journey across the Baltics to Moscow and Petersburg.

Imperial stout has a much higher original gravity than most stouts, and it also has more hops. Truly, this is a beer fit for a czar, but luckily today you don’t have to be a czar to enjoy it. All you need to do is pop the cap off a bottle of Rogue Imperial Stout and you too can live like royalty.

On January 13th of 1998 I wrote this about Rogue Imperial Stout:

This is a BIG beer in a LITTLE bottle. While visiting my father in New Jersey for Thanksgiving, I picked up several bottles of this potent brew. It was bottled in 1996, but that's not a problem since Rogue recommends aging the stuff for a year anyway.

Rogue's Imperial Stout is thick and syrupy. It isn't heavily carbonated, but it does have a huge nose bursting with licorice notes. The palate is extremely intense, strong licorice notes combine with chocolate, coffee, peach, and a _lot_ of alcohol. The finish has a lot of hops for an aged beer, I'd love to sample it young to see just how hoppy it is initially (87.5 IBU's according to the bottle). A truly wonderful beer indeed.

Rogue’s Imperial Stout is an over-the-top beer loaded with flavor. This is a true enthusiasts’ beer, and it certainly ranks right up there with the very best of the Imperials being brewed in America today. Ingredients are as follows, according to Rogue:

Rogue Imperial Stout, considered the high end of stouts, is made of 2-row Great Western Harrington & Klages, Hugh Baird XLT-80, Black, Munich and Chocolate Malts; Willamette, Cascade and Chinook hops; rolled oats; and two secret ingredients.

The original gravity is in the vicinity of an amazing 1.1, and bitterness is listed as 87.5 IBUs. This is, to be sure, a big beer.

Rogue suggests that you age the beer for at least a year before drinking. I took notes on some aged Rogue Imperial several yeas back:

Rogue's Imperial Stout is thick and syrupy. It isn't heavily carbonated, but it does have a huge nose bursting with licorice notes. The palate is extremely intense, strong licorice notes combine with chocolate, coffee, peach, and a lot_ of alcohol. The finish has a lot of hops for an aged beer, I'd love to sample it young to see just how hoppy it is initially (87.5 IBU's according to the bottle). A truly wonderful beer indeed.

As big as Rogue Imperial Stout is, for a long time it was sold in itty bitty seven ounce bottles for about $2.99 each. Today, though, Rogue is selling it in twelve-ounce bottles. My most recent sample the other night was on draft, though, and it was absolutely incredible.

Fresh on tap, Rogue Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a light creamy tan head and a very intense mocha and licorice nose. The palate is huge, very smooth and full in mouthfeel with an almost oily texture to it. Flavors of bittersweet cocoa, very roasty espresso, and licorice all compete with a permeating bitterness. In the finish, a formidable roasted barley bitterness combines with the huge minty-grassy hop bitterness to leave a lasting impression upon the palate. An impressive alcohol warmth is definitely present in the finish too.

More malt, more hops, and more alcohol than your average stout: Rogue Imperial has it all. Definitely not for the timid.

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