North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Oh my goodness! Wonderful heavy aromas of coffee and fruits. Excellent presentation when poured into a wine goblet---great rocky head. Drink this one slow and enjoy. Will really warm you up!

OK so I’ve used the words ’rich’ and complex cavalierly before. This is the first beer I’ve had to rival drinking Guinness in a pub on St Pats in my imagination. A heady brandy-like flavour and something else that I can only liken to the pleasant sensation of a fine cigar. Wow. You get the post cigar feeling of genuine well being, too. A tuly magical beer and the finest imperial I’ve ever been in the same room with.

A tremendous ’big’ stout. great aroma of coffee, chocolate and molasses. opaque dark brown with purple highlights. great smooth taste. lots of malt here with a warming alcohol presence. the hop finish has enough bitterness to balance the malt sweetness.

Coffee, charcoal and brandy aromas; opaque brown color and a low foamz head. Very intense, bitter tastes - tabacco, espresso, licorice. Thick body and a full mouth. The alcohol kicks it up a notch. Maybe too bitter? I don’t think so. Not for the weak at heart.

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.

I enjoyed this beer to it’s extreme last night, and I don’t think that I can say anything else that has not already been said. I had it a little warm (@ 69 deg.), but all that really did to the taste was dry out the roasty flavor a little (which is not too bad...for me!) and the alcohol was a little more apparent. But even at the temp. that I had it at, it still was a world-class redition of an Imperial, and was the most balanced Imperial that I had to date. Exceptional, and highly recommended!

Wow! This tastes likes several beers made into one. (In a good way) First distict flavors of hops, followed by a sweet malty flavor, followed by a chocolate/coffee flavor, followed by a slight smoky flavor. Unbelievable!

Deep, dark chocolate, coffee aroma with hints of citrus. Warming on the palate. Well balanced between the roasted bitterness, malt body sweetness and cleansing hop bite at the end.