North Coast Old Rasputin Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Fort Bragg, California USA

Pours a dark black brown color with a large mocha head that turns into a foam on top. Doesn’t coat the glass all that much. Nose is dark corn syrup, dark chocolate cocoa, alcohol, molasses, charred wood, and some South American coffee. Taste is flourless chocolate cake, mousse, golden grahams cereal, bourbon, and charcoal. Very well done.

Bottle shared, from iowaherkeye. Sweet bourbon aroma. Rich maltiness. Dark brown color. Sweet and boozy. Chocolate. Dry finish. Some cardboard and dust. Long duration. Good, thanks Joey.

16.9oz bottle. Pours a black body with a reddish tint. Finger-width, creamy, brown head that dissipates smoothly and slowly leaving a good amount of pretty lacing. The aroma is very sweet and moderate to heavily malted with wood, ripe dark fruits, bourbon, and chocolate. A light amount of vanilla, booze, and just a touch of roast in the background. Definitely towards the sweet, barrel-aged side of things. Flavor is sweet and malty as well. Starts out with sweet and lucious chocolates, lots of ripe fruits, a licorice hint, and a sweet bourbon. Wood, more of a fudge-chocolate, and a light vanilla come in during the middle. Finishes with a light booze and just a touch of salty, drying roasts. Lingers with a light warmth, plenty of sweetness, chocolate, bourbon-wood, and that hint of roast for a long duration. Full bodied, dense, smooth, and a flat carbonation. Overall, a really tasty impy. I love barrel aged beers, especially when the flavor of the barrel doesn’t overpower the original flavors. I can still taste the rich chocolates and dark fruits of the original Rasputin while the bourbon-wood adds another dimension. This is really impressive, if only I could make myself drop another $20 to see how this ages.

Bottle thanks to DuffManSW. Black pour with a dense tan head. Deep roast and dark chocolate with nice notes of dark fruit and big boozy bourbon. Rich chocolate flavor with hints of espresso, brown sugar, and smoky bourbon. The palate is a little thin with lots of carbonation and a hot finish.

wow, perfect aroma of subtle bourbon vanilla, perfect dark flat pourt, subtle head and quality look. wonderfull flavor of roasted background and bourbon finish, very subtle and complex, nothing too overwhelming, a perfect balance and harmony. palate is extremelypure and smooth, wonderful. overall I loved it and could not wait to get more.

[Bottle] Pours black with a finger of creamy dark tan head. Aroma is high on the bourbon, lots of oaky vanilla and coconut, bitter dark chocolate, and roasted coffee. Flavor is similar, with lots of barrel influence, but the character of the base beer is still very present in the large bittersweet roastiness. The mouthfeel has thinned out a little bit, but it really doesn’t hurt the beer. The alcohol is evident and warming, but was nice and mellow.

Bottle. Dark pour with tan head. Tastes of bourbon, wood, chocolate, coffee and vanilla. Not too sweet and well balanced.

Bottle of XII anniversary. Black pour with nice tan head. Aroma was very complex with bourbon, oak, chocolate, roasted malt, and slight hop character. Flavor is quite mellow considering the heavy aroma. Even though the flavor is mellow is is nice and drinkable considering the high abv. Very nice beer.