North Coast Old Rasputin Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

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

500ml bottle, XII, from once upon a vine south. pours a slightly oily black witha half-inch dark beige head that quickly disapates leaving a nice ring of lace. aroma is excellent with dark chocolate, fudge, cold coffee, and roasted malt notes backed by big, oakey bourbon, mild vanilla, licroice, and hints of coconut and smoked wood. flavor is wonderful as well and follows the aroma beautifully with sweet chocolate, roast coffee beans, and mild toffee malts up front backed by huge, woody bourbon and vanilla notes with hints of dark fruits and smoke/ash. palate is medium bodied and maybe just a tad thinner than most bourbon barrel impys with a wonderful, oaked bourbon finish. overall, a top notch example of bourbon barrel aging that need not be at such a high price point.

bottle shared with kegbear. Very good malt, vanilla smell. The initial taste is some chocolate with definite vanilla cream coming out in the finish. Incredibly smooth. This is a very solid beer!

Bottle from Dilly Deli. Poured black color with an average creamy creamy brown head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy roasted malt, chocolate, bourbon, woody and small alcohol aroma. Medium to full body with a rich smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy roasted sweet chocolate cream flavor with a medium to heavy sweet smooth finish of moderate to long duration. Another standout brew.

Had an Old Rasputin side by side by an Old Rasputin XII.... Head is darker tan than the original, aroma of bourbon is apparent in the XII.... Flavor is strongly alcoholic, with an infusion of bourbon... You should have seen my girlfriends face, she said she would have rather taken a shot of tequila and gotten it over with... I think it is incredibly complex, bourbon, roasted malts, dark chocolate, prunes, and oak... Probably could only have one... Nice

Bottle from ditmier, I think. This is the XII. Pours black as night with typical rasputin head that dissipates. Nose is vanilla, oak, milk chocolate. On taste, it packs a wallop. Tons of rich vanilla and roasty notes, the bourbon certainly comes through, but in a mostly refined way. Pretty hot as well. This is some pretty gnarly stuff and I dig it. Excellent.

Pours almost opaque black with a tannish/brown head. Aroma has the coffee, chocolate qualities common to most RIS, but there is definite wood, bourbon, and vanilla on the nose as well. The flavor is very balanced and smooth for such a big beer. There is a lot going on in the flavor, very complex, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, whiskey, wood, molassas, roasty,a little smoky even. There are some RIS that I prefer oak aging and some that I prefer their regular versions, I must say that I love both the regular Old Rasputin and the bourbon barrel aged. The only knock is how ridiculously expensive it is. Hoppin Frog BORIS and Great Lakes Blackout are both roughly twice as much barrel aged, this was 4 times as much. A great one time try, but the cost will prevent me from purchasing again.

Tenth Anniversary bottle, 750mL. Sampled at the ORF release. Woah. Pours jet black, fairly still. Aroma is huge bourbon, spicy rum, wood, big mellowed out booziness. Chocolate, licorice, and vanilla peek out from under the massive barrel presence. Taste is very smooth from the aging. Lots of deep caramels, aged bourbon, rich sweetness, dates, raisins, chocolate ganache, warming alcohol. Viscous. Oily. Really fantastic but not outstanding when compared to the other BA impys from the tasting.

XII Anniv. 500 ml bottle via trade with tytoanderso - Pours a dark brown color with a two finger thick tan head that lasts. Light lacing. Aroma is roasted malt, faint coffee, dark esters, light chocolate, light oak/bourbon, and a hint of vanilla. Nice? Flavor is roasted malt, chocolate, a bit of esters, vanilla, and oak/bourbon. The bourbon lingers a bit on the palate. The only knock I have on this beer is that it’s just a little thinner than I excepted. Still, a damn fine beer. Thanks Tyler.