Imperial – Borrowed from Old French imperial, from Latin imperiālis (“of the empire or emperor, imperial”), from imperium (“empire, imperial government”) + -ālis, from imperō (“command, order”), from im- (“form of in”) + parō (“prepare, arrange; intend”).
and specifically in the context of beer:
Imperial is a term until recently reserved for beers specially made for the crowned heads of Europe, but now borrowed by American craft brewers and made unfortunately vague. When used to describe beer, the word “imperial” is now becoming widely used to mean “stronger than usual.”
Some things would be better off unimperialized – as Põhjala’s Imperial Ginie, an “imperial gose” proves. Neither the north of 10 ABV nor aging in gin barrels has done this poor gose much good. Boozy, with a rotgut gin aftertaste and none of the genre’s low-key mineralness in the mix.
Imperial altbier was a tad better, though.
FI: Keisarillisuuden tavoittelu on mennyt ylettömyyksiin.
brewnardo 