North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Bottle. Black colour with a light brown head. Aroma is burned , coffee, hop. Flavour is burned, coffee, hop, alcohol. bitter and coffee finish. Very nice beer.

2003 bottle at Ashleys in Ann Arbor
Deep chocolate burnt hue. Roasty/alcohol grainy aroma. Sweeter than I expected with some roasty notes swirling around in there. Less hops than I was hoping for but certainly had that rich textury raisin appeal. The coffee notes werent overpowering, which was nice, as that can sometime ruin these types. I still prefer the drier, hoppier storm king. A little bit of carb problems in the bottle, which dosent go well with the grainy alcohol taste that is detectable. I absolutely must, and will, try more. 2003 draught Very excited to try this on draft and was expecting alot. It certainly delivered. This relatively mellow imperial was delightful. One of the best mouthfeels I’ve tried. Chocolately, creamy, more like a chocolate stout. No alcohol apparent. Very low bitterness, huge creamy off white head, opaque. This was actually too sweet for my liking (though not ultra sugary, more like a salty, rich caramel), with not as much balancing hops as I would see fit, but nonetheless very very good and better than I remember (probably cuz it’s on tap).
2005 bottle consumed in January 06. More bitter, and more black cocoa, licorice and graham cracker-like malts than I remember. Seems like this stuff was a lot sweeter, before. Hmm. Complexity is probably its low point, though the texture is not quite as thick as it could be either. No sediment at the bottom of the bottle. I can see why so many like it, it just seems rather solid, if not very unique at this point.
Draught 3/23/06 at Publick House. Very lively pour produces a huge tan head, with lacing and great retention. Bitter cocoa again, black malt, dry hops bitterness works against the balance. Rich texture on draught though, very fluffy but substantial. I can’t make up my mind on this beer, but I do appreciate that it is not over the top in alcohol or malt (though alcohol is apparent).

First rating.
Sampled from 12 fl oz bottle courtesy of Marsiblursi.
Dark red color, brown head. Alcohol and chocolate scent, sweet. Strong sweet and burnt taste, burnt and coffee after taste. Warming alcohol feeling. Very big palate. Raissin taste as well. Medium high bitterness.
7/4/7/5/14=3.7

Second rating, March 10, 2007.
Bottle at The Rover, Göteborg.
Clear deep red color, big beige head. Fruity, malty and apples scent. Huge roasted malt and burnt chocolate taste. Smooth but a bit spritzy mouthfeel. High but nice bitterness.7/4/9/3/17=4.0 - Rerate (Bottled, thanks to ekstedt!) On November 14, 2008. Blind tasting. Dark brown to black color, light brown head. Sweet, roasted, hoppy scent. Sweet, bitter, roasted, coffee taste. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bitterness. 7/4/8/4/16=3.9

Yet one more rerate
2007 vintage on draught at OT, Stockholm, on January 25, 2009
Pitch black color, brown head. Smooth sweet raissin scent. Smooth, bitter, dry, sweet, chocolate, roasted taste. Dry cocoa, coffee, roasted malt aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bitterness.
9/5/9/4/18=4.5

Rerate, 2 vintages next to each other, on August 21, 2009
BB May 09: Black color, brown head. Chocolate, cocoa, malty, sweet scent. Salty, malty, harsh bitter taste. Smooth mouthfeel, high bitterness.
9/3/8/4/16=4.0
BB May 08: Black color, small brown head. Coca-cola, sweet malty, smooth scent. Smooth, chocolate, cocoa taste. Smooth mouthfeel, dry bitterness. Roasted and coffee aftertaste.
9/3/8/4/17=4.1

One of my favorite imperials right behind storm king. Possible a little more bitter. Smooth and sweet with lots of different malts used. Lots of coffee flavors from roasted barley. Worth the 4.50 at the bar.

355ml bottle (Beertopia, Nebraska) - Thanks Anna’s parents!
Practically black, healthy tight tan head, quite persistent. Roasty chocolate aroma, some pine. Pleasant carbonation, otherwise quite smooth palate. Retronasally quite fruity, some pine, ginger, and sherbet. Much of that in the taste too, but also an over-riding burntness in the taste. Very drying burntness, an almost astringent finish. Spoilt only by the fact that you get the feeling you’ve been chewing on a lump of charcoal, but otherwise very decent stout. Covers the 9% quite well, but the bitterness of the charcoal would easily cover a fair bit of booze.

(Bottle) Brown head with an opaque body. Rich and complex. Cask whiskey, port nose. Coffee, cocoa, whiskey. Excellent! (3.9/5) UPDATE: Beige head, opaque body. Nose of coffee. Cask whiskey flavour, cocoa. Carbonated, thin and fizzy. Obvious alcohol presence. (3.1/5)

Bottled. Black with a rather short, beige head. Salty aroma; licorice, juniper berries, chocolate... Really full-bodied with burnt flavour; chocolate, hazelnuts, salty and hoppy. Also some sourish fruitiness.

Black. Great balanced aroma with nuts, malt, toffee and hops. Flavor is nutty and malty with a vinous feeling. Vanilla and cream notes. Also hoppy and with a nice bitterness in the finish. Defineatly one of the best beers I have tried.