"Belgian Imperial Stout" style question

By the way, De Struise Brouwers brew an imperial stout named Black Albert, and label it as a Belgian Royal Stout. Albert is the name of our previous king...

 

"Marketing" and "historical" are not opposed terms. Beer packaging and words on a label are marketing. "Russian Imperial stout" was likely not in use as a term in the period you describe... but was used as a marketing term later. A good example is the advert below from 1934... which was for a beer that wasn't even referred to as Russian Imperial Stout in the brewer's books, but rather, Imperial Brown Stout.

 

You are correct. I was only referring to the historical background for the marketing of Russian Imperial Stouts, as opposed to the lack of it for 'Belgian Imperial Stout'.

 

Was it Weyerbacher?

 

Except, "Russian Imperial" is redundant... probably another American craft brewing overblown tag.

I met an old English guy at the Chicago Real Ale Festival pub crawl many years ago who asked me why we had to double up the name, "It's Russian, or it's Imperial, doesn't need to be both."

That profound thinking has stuck with me.

Even still, if old Cat hadn't been so hot for the style, it would have never been called Russian Stout, so @zid is right -- the breweries started a marketing trend for sales.

 

Dec 20, 2001... your inaugural day at BA.

Time flies.

 

Weyerbacher's Tiny is labeled similarly, and is under American Imperial Stout
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/56274/

 

I'll call it whatever the brewer says it is even if I disagree with the brewer's assessment.

 

Was it brewed in Belgium, or the US? If the latter, I vote American Imperial Stout (infected).