De Molen Rasputin

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen
Style: Imperial Stout
Bodegraven, Netherlands

750ml bottle, brewed May 15, 2008 and bottled June 03, 2008, bottle number 012 of 380 for this batch. Consumed in January 2010. Pours a dark burgundy color with bronze highlights and a an ultra smooth head of light brown foam. The froth holds strong for a good while, leaving behind a sudsy wash that mostly rejoins the body. Aromas kick off with sweet pipe tobacco, rustic leather, and caramelized brown sugar, showing quite sweet and earthy. Secondary waves of toffee, cocoa, fig, and vanilla bean lend further sweetness, while hints of powdered milk and doughy Belgian yeast further divert the profile from my definition of imperial stout. Flavors are largely fruity, showing lots of raisins, figs, and dates. There is a quad-like fruitiness amongst the requisite cocoa and burnt toffee, reminding me of Struise Black Albert, only not as put together. Though it’s mainly sweet, there is a bit of earthy hop character on the back end. It’s also slightly woody, showing vanilla on the finish. Medium-full bodied and sticky, the palate shows warm and sits heavy, coating the mouth in sugars. Alcohol asserts itself at the end. Though this is interesting, it’s not really my thing. Certainly not an imperial stout as I’ve come to know them, this is more of a Belgian style strong ale in my opinion.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a small beige head. Roasted aroma with notes of coffee, fruits and dark chocolate. The flavour is roasted malt, coffee, fruits, chocolate and some sweetness. Slightly bitter aftertaste, medium-bodied.

My bottle [750ml] shared with HogTownHarry, garthicus, GregClow, jerc & mabel -- c/o madmitch76. Bottle #74, 2008 vintage. Pours a murky dark orange-brown with an average size diminishing creamy beige head. Decent lacing. Aroma of roasted malt, plenty of green hops, light chocolate and coffee -- quite hoppy, I like it. Nice flavour is roasty and hoppy along with chocolate, coffee and some light alcohol. Dry finish. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Quite good, a very enjoyable beer -- maybe not quite on style but who cares when it’s this good?

750mL bottle courtesy of bu11zeye poured into a snifter. Pours very light for an impy stout, a dark mahogany in the glass that shows copper through the edges. There is a huge billowy beige head that shows excellent retention and lacing, making up for the lighter color. The aroma is very sweet for the style, almost fruity, with dark fruits mixed in with the dark roasted malts and chocolate. I’m also getting some licorice, vanilla and caramel. The taste seems to be more chocolaty than the aroma though the dark roasted malts still support everything else. Again, more fruits than the normal stout - raisins, figs, grapes even, almost Belgian in it’s stylings. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied for an RIS with strong carbonation and teetering between Belgian dark and RIS in terms of feel. This is definitely a good beer, a cross between a Belgian ale and an RIS which makes insanely drinkable for an RIS but probably lighter in the body than I expected. Still, if not held to a certain style, it’s a great beer.

(bottle at RSRIZZO’s winter gathering on 1/13/10; Bottle #1, provided by RSRIZZO). Dark brown color. Small tan head. Sweet malt and raisin aroma. Sweet raisin and date flavor. Avg duration. Light alcohol finish. Slick/creamy texture. Soft to moderate carbonation. Spare lacing.

Medium brown hazy look with a small brown head. Aroma of piney hops with some smooth chocolate and honney notes. Flavor is very smooth aswell with sweet honney like sweetness along with some quite salty liquirice and a hop bitter finish. Very nice though quite different from what i expected

Very dark with a beige head. Nice aroma. Taste complex of coffee, chocolate, hop, malt and ending with coffee bitterness. Medium palate. A nice beer and easy to drink.

Bottle. Dark brown with a big beige head. The smell is nice with notes of roasted coffee, malts, yeast and dried fruits. Quite estery smell for a stout. The flavor is fairly sweet with prominent malty aromas and notes of dried fruits. Lots of complimentary bitterness, mostly in the form of roasted coffee. Notes of chocolate as well. The finish is mildly bitter with mild spicy notes and roasted malts. Medium body with relatively lively carbonation. Easy on the palate and very drinkable. A really good stout, clearly in the Belgian tradition (what ever that is).