North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Bottle @ Mallaskukko, Turku, Finland. Pours pitch black with a long lasting light brown head and pretty lacing. Roasted aroma of chocolate, coffee and liquorice, maybe some vanilla. Full mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Coffee, lots of dark chocolate, some liquorice and roasted malt in the flavor. Overall this imperial stout is fine; full and complex. Everything you want from an imperial stout.

Really a very fine impy. Oily dark brown pour , with one finger mocha crown. Very smoky roasty aroma. First taste on the tongue is acidity, followed by dark burnt chocolate, and loads of coffee roast. Finish is all hop, with mild chocolate bitterness. This is probably the first Impy Stout I’ve had that comes full bore with the hop, but not so much as to ruin your palate. Aggressive but balanced; will buy again.

Incredible! Pours a thick dark brown/black with a fluffy medium brown head that slowly descends the glass. Very rich with roasted, slightly burnt malts and sweet chocolate, give this brew an advantage over black lagers, stouts and porters of the same caliber.

Pours black with light brownish head. Nose dark almost burnt roast. Flavor hits hard, smoked roasted malt, hops are evident. Dark Chocolate/coffee/chared. This ones a hard hitter. Very good. Reminds of a lot of ten fidy.

Poured a blackish color with a tan head. Aroma was really smokey and lots of bitter burnt coffee grinds. Flavor was also very burnt, reminds me alot of founders breakfast stout. I woiuld prefer something a bit more sweet and chocolate like, but still a pretty good beer.

Black color and pours with a fairly thick head that settles down to a thin layer rather quickly. The aroma is coffee, molasses, and some alcohol fumes but it’s not that strong of a scent. Roasty malty flavor and lots of molasses with some notes of strong black coffee and dark chocolate as well. Long-lasting bitter finish with some alcohol showing. Tastes a touch flat or thin. Pretty solid beer but I do think it’s over-rated.

One of the darkest pours I’ve ever seen, thick and heavy with a medium brown head. Massive hits of coffee beans and bitter chocolate with just a slight hint of the alcohol buried beneath it all. How I miss my youthful days when I used to regularly drink four of these a night. Probably the most pleasant drunk I’ve ever had. Your beer drinking life is not complete if you’ve never had this one. Also Rasputin’s beard is a hero to mine, just saying.

So glad I gave this beer a second chance. You really have to drink this beer at almost room temperature to truly appreciate its complexities. The beer pours an opaque black/ruby with a dark brown head with no lacing. Aroma is a lot of coffee and toasted malts. Flavor is heavy coffee and hops. This beer is creamy and soft but thick on the palate. Gets bigger as it unfolds.