North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

I found this to be an unusually highly hopped Imperial Stout. I detected a bit of hop flavoring as well. The big bodied malt flavor is of course dominant. Chewy and memorable. Luscious reddish tinted black color.

’Dark as the inside of a cow’. Large frothy chocolate head, tons of lace, a nose that simply reeks of toasted grains, chocolate, caramel. Big sweet malt start, top ’Don’t get no fuller than this’, finish is hop spicy, light to moderate carbonation, dry. Just can’t remember having a better ’Imperial than this’. A must try for all ’Lovers of the Dark side’, and if your a ’Stout’ lover, ’Baby your ship just came in’.

This is a truly outstanding beer. Very rich, very roasty, maybe a touch to hoppy for a stout. (But don’t let that turn you away, this is an excellent beer by any standard.) Think of it as the ’barley wine’ of imperial stouts. It was a bit lighter than I expected, it’s a deep red almost black color, with good clarity. I hope I can find this beer again, I was lucky enough to experience it at a local homebrewing club meeting.

Malty, fruity, roasted aroma. Very dark red-brown color. Yep, it's an Imperial, all right. The aroma is mouth-watering, but it's not quite as there as I want it to be. The flavor, on the hand, totally nails it. Bam! Oh, my Lord. The balance between the exquisite yet intense malt flavors and the hoppiness is unreal. Sweetness is almost immediately tempered by the roasty yet fruity character and the subtle but insistent hoppiness. The finish shows the most hop, with the aftertaste leaving a roasty, malty deliciousness on the palate. Not as intense as some other American micro Imperials, but that's okay, there's something to be said about the blending of elements here. It's fantastic. One of my all-time favorite beers. Just this whole concept, the name, the beer, the label... I hope I get some more of this before it gets colder out. Cheers, John!!

Wow. A very rich, sweet imperial stout with a lot of complex flavors in the malt and medium to above average hopping to top it off. Chocolate, licorice, and dark fruit contribute to the complexity of the malt. I found it amazingly smooth while still loaded with flavor and was shocked at the actual abv. Definitely a world classic in the stout category.

Rerate - Nov. 1, 2005 - 3 years old. Gets even better with age. Beautiful complexity in both the nose and the body. Awesome!! Original Rating - July 3, 2002 Very dark ruby red color, big creamy light brown head. Full, fresh aroma of chocolate, coffee and alcohol - not necessarily in that order. Body doesn’t dissapoint. Very complex, big roasted notes, finishes smooth and very bitter. Lovely.

Pours black as night with a small head that quickly fades. Huge roasted aroma. It has a creaminess that I wish more stouts had. Huge explosion of coffee/chocolate/alcohol/dark fruit flavors that keep on going minutes later. Thanks legion242!

A heady brew - fruity, coffee aroma, taste of burnt mocha, toffee, sweet malt, and licorice, with enough hops and alcohol to numb the tongue and warm the spirit.