De Molen Rasputin

750ml Caged/Corked/Waxed Brewed 14 Dec 2007 Bottled 1 Feb 2008 Batch 524 Bottle 459 Poured into my St. Bernardus Watou glass, a very nice black color, nice carbonation, very nice one-finger plus tan head, lots of nice small islands and sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some hops, dark fruit, slight toffee, some vanilla. The taste is sweet, malty, nice little touch of hops, dark fruit, slight toffee and vanilla. Medium body, the finish is dry/slightly bitter. The alcohol is hidden very well. Very drinkable, this reminds me of a BSDA/RIS hybrid, highly recommended. Thanks Christian.

75 cl bottle at Hopheads´ fourth tasting - in my garage. Bought at Ølkonsortiet, Aalborg. Bottle # 509/548. Dark brown color, moderate brown head. Aroma is sweet and dark fruit. Flavor is roasted, sweet, berries/fruit. The alcohol is very well hidden.

2008 waxed corked bottle #357 and served in Expedition snifter (who the hell waxes a cork anyway?): Pours mahogany brown with a frothy light brown head and okay lacing. The aroma has notes of toasted rye bread, sweet mocha iced coffee, Irish farm butter, maple wood, and some rose petals.

The taste is rather mundane for a "Imperial Stout of 10.7% ABV"... MY ASS!!! Sweet and fruity, smooth and malty with a hint of mineral water. Excuse me but WHAT THE F**K? This is at best an Imperial Porter or better yet a standard sweet stout. Without a doubt one of the disappointing beers I have had in 2008. It is package as something special but is completely average across the board.

The mouth feel is smooth enough but lacks the punch I expect from the genre. This is WAY OVER RATED! If this was brewed in nowhere Midwest America it would be a 3.2 beer at best. AVOID the mistake I made.

This beer was quite expensive @ $21.99 a bottle... we bought two based on the label saying they can be stored for up to 25 years. Drink one now, one maybe in 25 years! Initial flavor was creamy, sweet, and malty with a butterscotch and toffee/coffee middle and a hoppy finish with an average to long aftertaste. A slight smoky oak aroma was noticed along with a light citrus to the hop aroma. Color was very dark brown/black with large particles suspended. Head size was rather large frothy and light brown with good lacing.

Brewed on 27 March 2008, Bottled on 03 May 2008. Bought at Cracked Kettle, number 236 of 548. Deep ruby-black body with a foamy, stable beige head. Complex aroma with coffee, dark chocolate, dried fruits, dark chocolate, vanilla, liqueric perfume. Oily, dense texture and mouthfeel with flavor of dark chocolate, roasted cocoa beans and coffee, dried fruits like plum and some oak. Strong alcohol but well balanced. Dry, liqueric, roasted and long aftertaste. Delicious stout

Corked, caged and waxed bottle that was brewed on 12/14/07 and bottled on 2/1/08. This rating took place at patrick767’s Fort Wayne Locals tasting. Small beige head with good retention, no visible carbonation, opaque, fair amount of lacing, and a dark brown hue. The aroma was roasted malt, chocolate, licorice, some alcohol, and hops. The flavor was alcohol, malt, chocolate, mildly hoppy, and finishes somewhat dry. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bodied. Somewhat lacking in the flavor given the style IMO; however, worthy of a try.

Sample at J Gumbos Aug 2008 Indy tasting - 07/08 version - Aroma is vanilla and roasted chocolate malts with some brown sugar. Flavor is sweet, dry chocolate, vanilla and a touch of fruit. Palate is very clean and thin for an imperial stout. Alcohol is well hidden. Tasty but maybe a little too thin and sweet.

bottle at Ft Wayne locals tasting - Pours very dark brown with a big light tan head. The aroma is very light for the style with some roast malt and maybe some fruit in there. The chocolate roast malt flavor is moderately hopped. This brew is medium bodied and very drinkable. I wouldn’t have guessed the ABV is that high. It’s interesting, but give me a big, bold imperial stout or baltic porter instead.