North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Solid RIS. Dark cola appearance and texture with a minimal tan head. caramel, dark chocolate and roasty notes. Definitely worth revisiting.

Pours, dark black with an inch of creamy off white head. Laces nicely throughout the glass, all the way down. Smell, is of roasted malts, & coffee. Mouth feel is medium. Taste is strong on coffee notes but has enough of a hoppy bite to keep from cloying. One of the best beers I’ve ever had. Will drink again & again.

Little head, but good lacing. Dark beer. The taste was of chocolate with a grain taste and a bit of alcohol feel.

12 oz. bottle into English pint at The Winking Lizard (they didn’t have any more snifters). Pours almost black with a nice finger and a half of tan head. Wonderful coffee, malt, and hops aromas. The taste is pleasantly malty and a little bitter from the hops with undertones of bitter chocolate, fresh coffee, and dried fruit. The alcohol is hidden well. Very good.

Smells of coffee, malt, and hops. Great aroma. A little too carbonated IMO. Taste just like it smells, but more hop than expected. Also something else there.. maybe raisins.

Bottled. Loads of salty and sweet notes in the aroma. Chocolate flavour. Full bodied, full body makes you not think about the high booze. hop aroma, salty finish

This beer was one of my early favorites after I started going online to look at reviews for beer. It’s a dark, dark brown and has a head that’s a bit lighter than ideal, but it still looks good. The nose is full of chocolate with some coffee, malt and other complexity. Chocolate comes through strongly in the flavor. There’s really a lot going on, more than I’m able to describe accurately, anyway. There is some sweetness, a lot of malt, some coffee and some hoppiness. It’s a good RIS, which puts it beyond my relatively undeveloped descriptive capabilities. The mouthfeel is fairly smooth with good carbonation. The drinkability is high, and the beer has a nice dry finish to complement its complex flavors. It’s a really great stout with a lot going on and a smooth feel. New Review: bottle aged around a year. Madeira/sherry notes have already begun to develop. Also, some wet cardboard. Still good, but I’d say the beer loses something as the hops drop away. Further out, more interesting fruit notes may develop.

Fifth and final sample at the North Coast beer dinner at Teller’s. Pours a dark opaque brown, near black, with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, and hops. Flavor of roast, coffee, dark fruits, chocolate, and some hops late. Full-bodied, smooth, rich and robust. Roasty, bitter finish. Dark chocolaty cream mouthfeel. Nothing unexpected for a Russian imperial stout, but this one does a fantastic job of delivering the style in good form.