This Imperial Stout is known to have fulfilled the Russian Imperial order for greatness by none other than Catherine herself! Well, that may not be totally accurate. We are pretty sure however that if Catherine was around today, she would give it a scepters up. Empress Catherine is making her royal appearance in stores across Michigan today (2/5)!
Empress Catherine (8% ABV, 55 IBU) is dark and opaque with sweet aromas of molasses and black currants. Rich flavors of dark chocolate and heavy roast provide a malty balance to the pronounced bitterness in the finish.
The recipe for Empress Catherine was devised by Joe Short during his very early years of brewing. He was so fond of the stout that he dug deep into his archives to see if he could locate the original recipe to brew at Short’s. Tony Hanson and Joe successfully pieced together a recipe that seemed indicative of a beer that could have captured Joe’s affections during those early brewing years.
