North Coast Old Rasputin Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

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

Thanks to UncleJedi for this sample at the sexual chocolate release! Dark brown pour with thick tan head. Big oaky aroma with some bourbon. Creamy silky mouth-feel. Flavor dominated by chocolate and bourbon. Nice warming finish which was perfect for the cold morning!

An aged X anniversary edition, courtesy BeerVirgin. Pours a very dark brown almost black color with a small tan colored head that dissipates quickly. The aroma shows a lot of bourbon, oak, and vanilla with some chocolate and roasty undertones. The flavor follows suit with chocolate, some roast, and then a good amount of woody bourbon, and oaky vanilla adding some sweetness. The alcohol is noticeable and adds some warmth. The bourbon and oak seemed to have mellow things out, which is nice. Nearly full bodied and pretty smooth on the palate with the alcohol warmth on the finish. A really nice beer that benefitted from aging.

Sampled from bottle at OT, Stockholm. On January 25, 2009
Pitch black color, brown head. Huge oak and vanialla sweet scent. Big malty and oak taste. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium high bitterness. Long alcohol and oaky vanilla aftertaste. Warmiong alcohol, quite lasting. One more year at least will work wonders.

500ml Bottle, 10th Anniversary courtesy of WeeheavySD. My 500th rating, wow that too way to long! Pours a dark brown, opaque color with a light brown head. Nose is outstanding, vanilla, bourbon, dark fruit, baby powder, woody cocoa notes deep in the background. Initial taste begins with wood, vanilla, bourbon pours over the mouth. Mid palate displays more of alcohol spiciness, black coffee, some rhine bitterness, and dark chocolate. Finish displays rich tobacco reminding me of a fine cigar,dark fruits also become apparent as the tobacco tries to hide them away, also the rhine bitterness still lingers lightly in the background. Palate duration is outstanding, head retention and spot lacing excellent. Body is medium and slight oily. Mild dry finish. Flavor is complex and extremely drinkable. Special Thanks to WeeheavySD, a generous trader!

BeerVirgin72 was remarkably kind to share this beautiful beer. This bottle was the 10th anniversary. Regular rasputin is nice, but holy shit this stuff is the BOMB! Pours black as hell. Aroma hits with dark fruit, bourbon, vanilla, wood and chocolate. Flavor is so smooth. The barrel aging certainly reduced some of the roasty and toasty notes from the beer and the body is much fuller. Flavor has lots of chocolate, bourbon, wood, vanilla and is simply amazing. Wow!

500ml bottle from davecooks, big thanks Dave. This is the 10th ann. version. Not pitch black, kind of glows, but I can’t see through it. Dark fruits make up the bulk of the aroma. Some chocolate, lots of vanilla. The bourbon was evident as well, very tasty.

X bottle!!! Bottle shared with the Otown crew at Redlight which made this already great beer better.My 650th rating!!! Poured a beautiful thick dark brown. Sweet aroma of bark, vanilla and bourbon. Flavor was SURPRISINGLY mellow! I was sooo expecting this beer to just over power me. But it did not. I did a side by side of this with the regular Old Rasputin JUST to point out the differences to my palate. THis beer was delightful. So smooth I could have probably drank the whole bottle. THe bourbon was very lightly done allowing the the great flavor of the stout to come t hrough. Nothing better than the flavors of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon! Special thanks to Aspidites for making me buy this beer while in Cali!

Bottle shared with Sparky27...Eric, you ROCK!!! Fairly mild nose, much more aggressive flavor. Smoke, firewood, and ash are followed by a touch of bourbon and Godiva chocolate. Aroma definitely has a cigar-shop quality. Fluffy khaki head sits above about as dark brown a body can get without reaching black. Creamy mouthfeel and minimal sweetness. A very well put together Imperial Stout...THANK AGAIN!!!