bierkergaard

Saturday, donning our Russian Hats with the obligatory ear flaps that made us look like Disney's Goofy, my brewing comrade and I cooked up a Russian Imperial Ale. Originally brewed by an English brewmaster for Catherine the Great, it is essentially a British Stout with a super-sized amount of dark malt and hops. For those not in the know, malt is the starch-to-sugar component that yeast consumes and the output is alcohol. The more sugar, the higher the ABV. Hops, on the other hand, are the bittering or acidic element of beer. Like a see-saw, beers are some balance between the sweet malt and the biting hops. Beers go one way or another on the spectrum typically. What is unusual about the Russian Imperial Ale it is large in both the malt and the hops. Not sure what this conveys about the national character of Russia and the Czars. My Russky hat came with a Hammer and Sickle and Russian Star emblems to adorn the front fur of the...