North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

A near perect Imperial Stout. Just when I thought I had enough impy stouts this winter, North Coast comes along and proves me wrong. Beautiful black pour with a thin creamy tan head. Aroma was malty and sweet. Taste was heavy coffee with roasted malt and hints of chocolate with a pleasant strong bitter aftertaste. Thick and creamy mouthfeel.

Deep chocolate and ruddy pour. Quickly diminishing light brown head, with light lacing. Wafts of chocolate even before the glass is taken to the nose, unfortunately alcohol dominates the true aroma. Very strong roasted coffee flavor, backed with black current and bittersweet chocolate. Alcohol isn’t overwhelming in the nose or on the palate. Leaves delectable burnt malt aftertaste. A little watery for an Imperial Stout in my opinion.

Very dark pour, black, almost opaque with little head. Roast malts and some fruit stand out the most in the nose. Grape or plum is what I'm getting the most. The flavor is where this gets complex. Lots of roast malts, coffee, grape/raisin that finishes with a hearty bitterness. Pretty big body, but it's not too cloying or syrupy. Oily palate makes this a damn fine Impy stout

Pours a nice dark black with a tan head. Aroma is chocolate and hoppy. Flavor is milky, chocolatly and molasses. Everything has a very roasted flavor that warms as it goes down. Alcohol is felt as a spicy bite on the tounge. Good beer for sipping with a nice cigar.

A real winner from North Coast Brewing Co. This Imperial Russian Stout pours like the thickest, dark roast, black coffee imaginable, yet still produces a small light brown head. The aroma continues the coffee theme – reminiscent of a cup of french roast with bitter bakers chocolate melted into it and a lemon squeezed in for good measure. The flavor is a high alcohol chocolate-coffee jubilee - thick rich roasted malts, balanced by fruity, citrus hops bringing just a suggestion of raspberry into the mix. Mouth-feel is begins with a syrupy texture yielding quickly to a lush, creaminess as the carbonation explodes onto the tongue then quickly recedes. The alcohol is prominent but not over-powering and warms me deeply, inside and out. I find that this wonderful brew like its namesake, refuses to die quickly, but lingers ominously and powerfully in my memory. I am a believer in the magic of Rasputin.

355ml bottle. Totally black body with a nice brown head. Strong aroma, dry fruit, roasted malt, pleasant aroma hops (liquorice). Complex flavor, sweet, malt, chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Long, strong, alcoholic aftertaste. Great stuff!

Nice dense, brown head which setles nicely. Excellent aroma that is a little winey with hint of coffee, black cherry and dark chocolate. Color is an intense, deep brown/mahagony. Flavor is very rich with coffee, dark chocolate and roasted malts. A slight bitterness in the finish offsets the dark malts in the body. Nice alcohol warming which tingles on the tongue. A top quality imperial stout

Nice black body. Aromas of roasted malts/coffee/tobacco. Full flavor malts/coffee and a little chocolate.