North Coast Old Rasputin Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

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

Pours black with a small tan head. Big aroma of bourbon, wood, smoke, chocolate. Nice flavor, a little bit of an alcohol burn.

Bottle as Rasputin XII. Pitch black with a large head. Strong bourbon aroma, plenty of roasted chocolate and a bit of piney hops. The bourbon does actually mellow out a bit in the flavor. Still blatantly obvious, but not bombastic. Pine and spicy hops are somewhat muted. Lots of roasted barley, giving some chocolate and coffee notes. Big alcoholic burn. A little thin bodied. Really rockin, but I can’t wait to see this in a year or two.

Bottle at CCB BA BS release. Poured a dark oily black. Nose was bourbon, vanilla, wood, roasted malt, sweet caramel and hints of coffee and chocolate. Flavor was roasty malt, booze, dark grains, coffee, whiskey, cherries and oak. Nice full mouthfeel.

Split this bottle with my brother at The Flying Saucer, Raleigh, NC. We both had a huge expectations for this as we both are big fans of the original stout. The bottle was served a bit too cold, for starters, and the nose was not nearly as aromatic as I had expected. Upon first sip, the taste had a wallop of incredible power. Slamming my taste buds with a wave of deep flavours...chocolate, cacao, figs, and lots of alcohol which left a nice hot burn on the tongue. The finish was extremely dry, but long lasting and complex. Would have been damn near perfect if the body was bigger. The mid-bodied feel just didn’t suit the big powerful flavours on parade here. Other than that, thoroughly enjoyable.

Purchased (2) XII Anniversary bottle from whole foods. One for tonight, one for next year. Unlike other bourbon barrel aged ales, this RIS has enough rich complexity not to be completely transformed. It pours opaque black/brown with a tan head. Medium full bodied stout with notes of charred malts and vanilla, caramel, leather, chocolate, and oak. The palette is all bourbon and vanilla with a dark fruit that I can’t put my finger on, and a roasted malt coffee tinge. The alcohol doesn’t make it’s presence known until the very end. Brilliant!

Bottle from City Beer. Nose is rife with hot bourbon, wood, chocolate. I was prepared to be disappointed like with BA Dec 07 but this settled into a nice thick warming chocolatey haze. The wood and bourbon melt away and the beer drinks like a liquefied brownie or barely dissolved hot cocoa mix/cocoa powder. Very pleasing to drink, but not to pay for.

The aroma screams bourbon barrel from the getgo - it’s all vanilla, oak, and bourbon (delicious!). The flavor parallels quickly with sweet malt, vanilla, touches of dark fruit, and a dry roasted malt finish. This is very much like the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout but just slightly, ever so slightly, not as good.

500 ml. Opaque black with a medium sized head that settles to a lasting half-inch of foam. Aromas of vanilla, caramel and chocolate. Flavor is Baby Ruth candy bar soaked in whiskey... mmm what a dessert. Medium body is dangerously drinkable and nicely dried by roast malt and alcohol. Yummy dessert and damn near perfect Imperial Stout.