North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

12oz bottle. Black and opaque. Head was not thick and dissipated quickly. I absolutely didn’t taste the alcohol despite it being 9%. I got more of a coffee taste than a chocolate taste out of it, but it was quite good overall. I wouldn’t put this in my favorite stout list, but it is much better than anything one can normally get in my part of Alabama.

From a 12 oz bottle, poured into a small lager glass. Not the ideal glass for this baby, but what the hey! Pours as black as the ace of spades. Appears lightly carbonated, not a big head on this pour. My best stout to date. Not an actual coffee or chocolate stout, but very full bodied. Well roasted malt evokes both coffee and chocolate flavors. The alcohol is evident, but not intrusive. Mmm, mmm, good!

Bouteille de 12 oz. Arômes de chocolat noir et de café. Belle robe noire, légèrement translucide, belle mousse moka qui tient bien. Moyennement ronde en bouche, des notes puissantes de chocolat noir et de cacao sont accompagnées d’une touche de café. Finale assez sèche de cacao et belle amertume de houblon. L’alcool demeure bien dissimulé. Une bonne Imperial Stout.

Pours from the bottle black black black with a tan head that gives way a spiderweb lacing. Chocolate, coffee, dried fruits, subtle alcohol and tobacco. The carbonation bites your tongue and leaves a milk chocolate film in your mouth. Tastes like espresso, chocolate milk, and boooooooze. Subtle warming alcohol finish. Mmmm mmm good.

Black pour with a nice full tan head. Good looking lacing. Some chocolate covered dark fruit on the aroma, nothing extraordinary. Flavor is sweet up front with roasted malt and alcohol, accompanied by mild carbonation. This leads to dark chocolate bittnerness and a slightly warm finish. Medium-full body with low carbonation and a little alcohol warmth. Good beer. Nothing remarkable.

From a bottle into a pint glass. Pours with an inch of thick gray/brown head which dissipates but never really goes away. Very thick and oily. Scent is of burnt coffee and licorice with hops as an overtone. The taste is very much burnt coffee and licorice and a good amount of hops, especially for a RIS. The alcohol is very noticeable as is the burn. The licorice is very powerful almost mediciney. In fact it’s very mediciney to the point of annoyance. Couple this with the alcohol burn and it’s not one of my favorite stouts. I’d drink again, but only if someone else was buying.

This is one of the most complex brews that I’ve tried. Toffee, Java, Malt, Licorice candy, Chocolate, and the bitterness of hops are all present here. Very nice thick/chewy mouthfeel...should be consuming it with a spoon. Oily black colour with a thin nut coloured head. This is truly fit for a Russian Czar.

From the bottle. Pours a late night black with a small creamy head. Aroma of thick carmalized malts. Flavors of carmel and molasses. Coats your mouth with its thick and creamy texture. Its more of a meal than a drink and I loved it.