Days of the Beer, August 4

The beer for today is Cucapá Imperial Stout.

On August 4, 1924. diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union were established.

I'm not exactly sure what that means, but whenever I think of relations with Russia, I think of Imperial Stouts. There don't seem to be many Imperial Stouts made in Mexico. The only one I've found so far is from Cerveceria de Baja California, Cucapá Brewing Company.

The stout is in very limited distribution, and probably isn't available right now. The reviews for it on Ratebeer and Beer Advocate place it mostly at a bar called O'Briens.

Now for a beer lesson on Imperial Stouts.

Imperial Stouts, also Russian Imperial Stout, or Imperial Russian Stouts, are normally a strong, black, thick, kitchen sink of the brewery beers. They are normally pitch black, and the foam will normally be a darker murky brown color. They can have smokey, chocolatey, coffee, toffee, vanilla smells. They can feel like molasses or syrup; or like a chocolate milk on the tongue. There can be huge varieties in the taste from one bottle to the next or even from one sip to the next. All the smells, plus dried darker fruits (raisin, prune), some hops bitterness, dark chocolates, and espresso. They will usually coat the tongue and leave a pleasant aftertaste. Some are very thick and it's somewhat difficult to drink several in a night.

Some of the more popular Russian Imperial Stouts are: Bells Expedition; Stone Imperial Russian Stout; Three Floyds Dark Lord; Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout; Victory Storm King; North Coast Old Rasputin; Founders Breakfast Stout; and AleSmith Speedway Stout to name a few.

The story behind the style is that they were originally brewed in Great Britain and sent to the courts of the Russian Czars. Because the beer had to travel across very cold areas, it was brewed with a higher level of alcohol to prevent freezing. Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia was a huge fan of the style.

So if you can find it, in honor of those relations that started 84 years ago, have one of the only Mexican Imperial Stouts.