North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

I wanted to try this for the longest time and finally got the chance. Pours beautifully from the tap. Looks a great deal like Guinness. Medium sized off-white head that was very dense. Black as death and not a powerful nose. Some chocolate notes. Flavor is sweet with roasted chocolate notes. Very smooth and lightly carbonated. Surprisingly not as full bodied as I expected. Alcohol was unnoticeable. This is the best Imperial stout I’ve ever had and probably the best beer overall.

Pours a pitch black color with a surprisingly small creamy colored head. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate best describe the scent. Taste can be described as coffeeish, dark chocolates and slightly oaked bourbon. I go back and forth between this and Storm King as to which is my favorite imperial stout. An excellent beer !!

The guy on the bottle almost appears to be giving you the "loser" sign until you look closer. This is not a loser’s beer. Pours dark and thick like oil. Decent khaki head. Smells like smoke and coffee. The taste lingers and lingers. It took me almost an hour to chew this beer down. I love the toasted malts with just enough hops to balance it. Amazing beer. I’m glad I still have three to go.

Pours a thick, syrupy black. Great malt flavor with a slight bitterness on the finish. Can't taste the alcohol at all. One of the best!!

Poured a Jet Black Colour into a Snifter with almost no head forming. The Aroma was of sweet molasses. WOW! My mouth was assaulted with an astringent alcohol and hop blast that set against the backdrop of sugar and malt was quite new and interesting. This one is a lovely brew destined to become an Amercian Classic.

Pours black, minor head. Flavors of chocolate, coffee, caramel, with a pleasant hop bitterness that creates an excellent texture. Aroma of coffee and chocolate.

Holy Cow! Where has this one been hiding. Poured nearly black with a huge light brown head that you could eat with a spoon. You could search the world for great Imperial Stouts and this one is made right here in my backyard in Northern California. Massive nose of roasted malts, chocolate, yeasts and fruit, among others. Flavor is all of the above with hops now showing up. Mouthfeel is like a rich syrup, and you can sense the alcohol. Down the pipe it is good to the very last drop and never bitter. This is the standard all other Imperial Stouts should aspire to measure up to. Not just, good, but great. Update: I wondered if this would be better if it warmed up some.. Conclusion. No difference. Warm or cold, this stuff is incredible.

This has a really great mouth feel with a chocolatey malt flavor and a nice hop finish. There is a slight alcohol sweetness to it, but fairly mild considering the alcohol content. One of the best stouts I’ve ever had.