Imperial Stout’s Russian Return

On June 15th 2011, a 60-foot round-the-world racing yacht named the Thermopylae Clipper tied up at St Petersburg after a five week voyage from Britain. Onboard were a collection of UK brewers and beer historians, and in the ship’s hold was a cargo of a particular dark beer – Imperial Russian Stout. This arrival marked the first export of the beer to Russia for over a century, but to get a better grasp of what made this such a special journey, here’s a little bit of history.

Stout is a dark English ale that first became popular around the mid-18th century. It was originally a name given to stronger Porters – Porters being another type of dark English ale from the 1720s. However, as Stout Porters became more popular, the ‘Porter’ was dropped and ‘Stout’ came to be seen as a new and distinct type of ale.

The most popular style is Irish Stout, of which Guinness is its most famous brand, but after that, Imperial Stout is probably the next best known type. Imperial Stout’s peak of renown came during the second half of the 18th century when it was a favoured tipple of Catherine the Great of Russia. She claimed to be able to down as much Stout as any Englishman – quite a boast considering its high alcohol content (necessary to avoid freezing during the cold voyage from England via the Baltic Sea). Thrale’s Brewery in Southwark, London, exported vast quantities to Catherine’s court, and henceforth Imperial Stout also became known as Russian Imperial Stout (or Imperial Russian Stout).

But this success didn’t last. The Napoleonic War did its best to interrupt the trade routes when warships regularly blockaded the Baltic Sea. After the war another problem arose when the Russian’s levied huge excise duties on imports.

One way around this problem was to establish an Imperial Stout brewery in Russia itself, and this happened in Estonia (then part of Russia) with the opening of the Tartu brewery. Unfortunately, the final nail in the coffin of Russia’s love for Imperial Stout came when Russian Soldiers sacked the brewery in 1917, before the German army destroyed the site a year later.

Now, considering the rich history and strong relationship that British Stout brewers and Russian consumers once enjoyed, it becomes clearer why the docking of the Thermopylae Clipper at St Petersburg was such a notable event. When the British brewers disembarked, they made straight for the Baltika Brewery and, alongside local brewery workers, started mixing up a symbolic batch of Imperial Russian Stout.

The clipper’s cargo of Stout was also unloaded and tastings got underway at the Baltika brewery and at an English-style pub where local Russians were once again impressed with this once ubiquitous dark ale.

The hope is, of course, that exports of Russian Imperial Stout can again start flowing east from British breweries. And even though there are no more Catherine the Greats to champion the cause, judging by the success of the recent beer tastings in St Petersburg, there’s every chance that Russians will again fall in love with this muscular and heady brew.

achieven’t forget that for a really delicious pint, you should insist that your local bar sustains clean beer lines. One of the best ways to achieve this is with an automated beer line cleaning system (see CellarBright for a good example), which will ensure that beer tastes 100% fresh, 100% of the time.