[Al Equihua]

What does it taste like?  Taste is the ultimate qualifier, not the recipe.  Style guides define styles by taste, not recipe.

That said you could call it imperial.

I'd name it Big Bad Leroy Brown.

it tastes great, a little bit of alcohol presence of course than normal, not to much and it was well fermented at 63-65 F for 18 days

Not bad at all!

[ynotbrusum]

Glad you like it.  One of my commercial favorites like that is the Indian Brown by Dogfish Head.  Just my humble opinion, of course...

[weithman5]

i understand the thought of boosted alcohol in the imperials and that is what most marketed probably are but i don't like the terminology.

is an imperial bock a dopplebock or eisbock"
or an imperial scotch heavy just a strong scotch ale?

[The Professor]

i understand the thought of boosted alcohol in the imperials and that is what most marketed probably are but i don't like the terminology.

is an imperial bock a dopplebock or eisbock"
or an imperial scotch heavy just a strong scotch ale?

Good examples!  'Imperial Scotch Heavy' is a particularly funny example of how silly it's all becoming.

The way I see it, "Imperial" as just a descriptive name which seems to have become a code word for "over the top ABV".  Beyond that, it has little connection to historical use of the term as it relates to beer.
Nowadays, it's really nothing more than a marketing term (kind of like what the term "craft" has more or less become). 

When the first "Imperial Session Beer" rears it's ugly head, maybe I'll just switch to wine.   

[morticaixavier]

i understand the thought of boosted alcohol in the imperials and that is what most marketed probably are but i don't like the terminology.

is an imperial bock a dopplebock or eisbock"
or an imperial scotch heavy just a strong scotch ale?

wouldn't an eisbock be a bock that was frozen and concentrated? how abotu a dopplestickebock?

[ynotbrusum]

When the first "Imperial Session Beer" rears it's ugly head, maybe I'll just switch to wine.   

What kind of wine would you like that to be?  AB just recently announced a Platinum Bud Light at something like 6.2% ABV.

 

[dzlater]

It's fit for a king. 

[The Professor]

When the first "Imperial Session Beer" rears it's ugly head, maybe I'll just switch to wine.   

What kind of wine would you like that to be?  AB just recently announced a Platinum Bud Light at something like 6.2% ABV.

 

A nice full bodied Malbec will do, thanks!
 

[pinnah]

The "Imperial Mild" always sounded a bit odd to me.

[gymrat]

Where imperial came from out of Wikipedia

 Imperial stout

Imperial stout, also known as "Russian imperial stout" or "imperial Russian stout," is a strong dark beer or stout in the style that was brewed in the 18th century by Thrale's brewery in London, England

for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. [8] In 1781 the brewery changed hands and the beer became known as Barclay Perkins Imperial Brown Stout. When the brewery was taken over by Courage the beer was renamed Courage Imperial Russian

Stout. [9] It has a high alcohol content - nine or ten percent abv is common.

[gymrat]

Imperial stout was not hopped up. It was not designed for long voyages on the sea like IPAs. It was hopped up in alcohol to ne worthy of the Russian heads of state. That is where the term "imperial" came from. Now it is just a marketing term.

[bo]

It just means that you only get about 8 tenths of a gallon when you buy it.

[andyjr]

From what I've read/researched, if we're talking IPA's an American IPA's gonna be way more bitter.  It's generally a higher hopped IPA.  Imperial is that higher hopped but also has a higher alcohol content and malt which balances it better.  That's why people who don't like American might like Imperials.

[gymrat]

From what I've read/researched, if we're talking IPA's an American IPA's gonna be way more bitter.  It's generally a higher hopped IPA.  Imperial is that higher hopped but also has a higher alcohol content and malt which balances it better.  That's why people who don't like American might like Imperials.

Original topic was imperials not IPAs. Imperials were not holly beers. Originally they were a stout with amped up ABV brewed especially for the Russian hierchy. Again look at what I copied and pasted from Wikipedia. Now imperial is a marketing term usually just meaning the beer is high ABV for the style.

[gymrat]

Hoppy not holly. Damn I hate auto correct.