Strong ale
Imperial Stout
Enormous, black and layered: dark fruit, chocolate, coffee and molasses over a warming alcohol base. Ages for years and usually needs to.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.075 - 1.115
1.075 - 1.115
Final gravity
1.018 - 1.030
1.018 - 1.030
Bitterness
50 IBU - 90 IBU
50 IBU - 90 IBU
Colour
30 SRM - 40 SRM
30 SRM - 40 SRM
Alcohol
8% - 12%
8% - 12%
Colour also 59-79 EBC
What goes wrong
Under-oxygenating the wort. At this gravity yeast health decides everything, and a stalled imperial stout is a very expensive mistake.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
Plan a batch to these numbers.