North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Date: 07/07/1996
Mode: Bottle
Source: total beverage, DC

black, thin tan head, strong sweet chocolate aroma with lots of essters very rich flavor, lots of chocolate, touch of roasted malts, sharp ester aftertaste with just a bit of bitterness tap (nitro): very creamy, subdued roasted character, slight warm esters in the finish
-------- /> Date: 11/16/2002
Score: ii+
Words: blind

Ruby, big tan head, roasted malt aroma, creamy body, lots of roasted flavor, hint of malt based bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 08/20/2005
Mode: nitro
Source: brick store

black, thin tan head, thick lace, light roasted aroma with nice sweet vanilla and ripe fruits, super creamy body, big roasted flavor, hints of fruity sweetness, lots of bitterness in the finish but not the offensive malt bitterness so often associated with such a beverage with this much roasted malt
-------- /> Date: 02/23/2005
Vintage: 1995 vintage

very winey aroma, chocolate becomes prominant, no hops or bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 02/10/2008
Vintage: 1996

lots of sherry in the aroma and flavor, dark chocolate melds well with the sherry and dark fruits, oxidation is present but not too distracting

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.2/5.0
Score: ***4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Relatively black with a nice thick head. Nose is a mix of sugars and roast, with some burnt plum and citrusy hop. Flavour - well balanced, with lush sugars, rich hops, just-right roastiness, a little bit of burned fruit, and a shot of late alcoholic warmth. The body is thick and sugary. Complex, enjoyable, and very well-balanced.

Draught at Hop Devil, NYC, 2007-01-01, 7-5-10-5-18=45
Dark color; persistent creamy head. Aroma of roasted malt, delicate, a bit yeasty. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and velvety, good malt, sweetness, not oily, caramel and good roasted malt, a powerful hopping that cannot overwhelm the malt. The final has hop, a lot of caramel and some sweet liquorice. Incredibly pleasant to drink.

Bottle, 2003-12-04, 9-5-10-5-18=47
Brown color, brown thin creamy head. Strong aroma: chocolate, roasted malt, light coffee, dust, liquorice, hop, very light cheesy ammonia. Flows in my mouth like velvety malt ambrosia. Harmonious fugue of roasted malt, malty sweetness, liquorice, caramel, hops, nuts, wallnuts and roasted nuts. Long final, a lot of coffee.

Pours black with medium brown head. Aroma has coffee, chocolate and roasted notes. Sweet roasted flavor with hints of liquerice, coffee and chocolate. Finnishes bitter.

Tasting Notes from Fall 2000: Very good on draught. Strong, alcohol noticeable. Good heartiness, with coffee overtones.

Bottle at Collins Pub, Seattle. very clean smokey dark intense malt aroma. Lovely aroma actually. Intense woody malts in mouth. It’s just so intense, crazy beer. In fact it is too much. Drying finish from all those hops. 3.8/5.0 Rerate, bottle from Barley Wine, Copenhagen. Definite coffee presence in aroma. Some hop is there. Not a heavy impty stout, some vinous dark fruits plums and damsons. Enormously drinkable vinous, good hops. Good coffee and especially good choc. Actually superb choc.

Bottled 12oz (BB 12/2006)
Black as a night, small expresso head. Aroma of cold coffee. Roasted, cold coffee in the flavor. Alcohol, hops in the finish. Long bitter aftertaste.

This black stout has a moderate head, that is golden-brown and creamy. The aroma has notes of dark roasted malt, fruits, coffee and alcohol. The flavour has a nice "bite", and yet it’s wonderfully mellow and smooth. The notes are light sweetness, coffee, licorice, bitter chocolate, fruit, smoke. The notes develop nicely throughout the whole experience and the bitterness is just right. It’s a truly fantastic stout, that I look forward to storing and re-sampling. This beer was worthy to be my rating # 500, and the date was May 30 2005!!