North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Draft. A bit harsh, but decent. Pours dark brown with brown head. Sweet creamy aroma. Lots of chocolate and roast flavors. Medium body with low carbonation. The relatively low price for a decent imperial stout bumps this up a few points.

Thanks for sharing Derek! Much appreciated. Opaque black, finger if mocha head. Minute lacing. Dark, bitter chocolate aroma profile, roasted coffee beans, anise, with a mild hop presence. Licorice, toffee chocolate, bitters, milky, smooth mouthfeel. High medium body, silky mouthfeel, with great balance. Highly drinkable. Thanks again Hyde!

(Bottle, thanks to Thaichile)Pours black brown with no head. Smell: Chocolate. Alcohol. Salty. Sharp smell. Oily, minty. Taste: You can feel the alcohol both in the numness in your mouth and the warming feeling in your chest. Dark chocolate. Big bitterness. Long aftertaste. Licuorice. Second try (Bottle) Madeira-ish vineous, full roasted with oily notes in aroma with lots of dark fruits, dark chocolate ice cream and coffee. Heavy salty liquorice and some menthole. Very salty, tary flavour with some smokey notes. Both dry, roasted and sweet. Dark bitter chocolate. Rather liquorice-ish. Tones of hops in both the aroma and the flavour Big body. Very, very nice.Rating number three (Bottle) Pours dark brown to black with light brown head. The aroma is roasted with a complex dark fruit/dark berry spectra of bitter cocoa/dark chocolate, caramel, raisins, plums, black berries and earth. Vinous with notes of port. Also medium notes of salt liquorice The hop profile is more toned down after one year of ageing but there is still some tones of citrus and resin. Undertones of melon, pear, tar and asphalt. The flavour is of tar, dark salty liquorice, coffee, bitter cocoa, touch of dark chocolate and dark syrup/molasses. The mouthfeel is fat, light oily with a great balance between sweet, acid, bitter and roasted. Roasted and fruity aftertaste. Near full bodied.

bottle. Pours pitch solid black with a dark tan head. Upon closer inspection, I can detect the deep ruby hues around the edges. The aroma is gigantic roasted coffee. The mouth is chewy and full of espresso with some residual alcohol burn and some dark cacao notes. This is not an easy drinking beer. It’s a beer that will kick the drinker’s ass and dominate his palate.

In my early drinking days, this was at the top of the heap. And while my tastes have changed somewhat, the quality of Old Raspy hasn’t. Still one of the better stouts on the market and WELL worth the time and money to hunt it down and enjoy. Creamy and roasty goodness thru and thru. This one will stick your ribs if that’s possible. It don’t take much of these to fill you up. This brings back many fond memories. I hope it does the same for you.

Draft at Zeno’s. Aroma is pretty sweet with a generous head to it that went away quickly. Dark as night stout that keeps almost zero head. Flavor is both fantastic and uncharacteristic at the same time if you can believe it. Very Drinkable! A very good imperial stout ! Cheers!

$1.69/bottle at Holiday Wine Cellar. Great sweet burnt caramel aroma. Small, but creamy head with lacing that hangs onto the glass. Dark, dark color. This beer taught me to love the word imperial. I was obcessed with it once, then stopped liking it, now I love it again. Great smell.

Bottled (New Beer Distributers, NYC). Very dark brown coloured, beautiful lasting brown head. Complex aroma, chocolate, coffee, malts, liquorice, some lactic notes even. Bitter flavour, some dark fruits arise. Alcohol remains largely unnoticed. Lasting bitter and dry finish, which evolves long after you’ve taken the last sip. Everything an imperial stout should be. Fantastic stuff.