North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

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

Very high carbonation dark coffee flavor with a definate alcohol taste.With a strong after taste that last’s awhile a definate beer to try again a little pricy at $5/bottle

Dark as expected of an imperial stout. Chocolatey aroma, but also of noxious ether. This potent brew is rich in chocolate malts, but poorly masks its alcohol content. Way too astringent for this beer to be enjoyable to me. Re-rated. I have enjoyed this on tap a couple of times and it has definitely grown on me. A solid imperial stout that packs some uumph.

ReRate-bottle-aged almost 1 year. pours a deep brown hue (yes, this beer was not black-i could see quite a bit of light through it) with awesome lacing. Unfortuately, for me to really like an imperial’s appearance, i HAS to be pitch black. Aromas of woody hops, char, dark chocolate, roast, mocha kinda like coca puffs with a sliglty vineous twang. Big vanilla/char/roasted flavors with a long very long char finish. Flavors are huge, but the body sufferes somewhat from thinness. A top 50? thats arguable. A damn quality stout, definately (this tends to lean towards an imperial porter kinda IMO) Tastes awesome as a black and tan with FFF Alpha King

Finally time to rate Ol Raspy. Pitch black, tan creamy head. Nose of some citrus fruits, expresso, bitter chocolate, with added vinous notes to boot. Rich flavors of dark roasted coffee and cream, citric fruit, grapes, and bittersweet chocolate. Full bodied, soft carbonation, tangy dry finish. When in doubt, I can always turn to my friend Ol Raspy in a pinch. Great stuff!

12 oz. bottle from Holiday. Poured very dark brown/black. Nice tan head that left very lasting lacing. Aromas were dark cherry and caramel. Flavors added coffee, chocolate, and an intensly bitter finish. Very good.

It pours a deep oak coloured body with decent lacing all the way down. It almost tastes like a rich cappucino, except the head isn’t as frothy. Aromas of some sort of coffee drink, mocha, smoke. Mouthfeel is full and cremay with noticeable oak. Finishes slightly bitter with caramel notes.

A nice full, thick imp stout. Loads of coffee flavor. Didn’t have the richness of lingering sweetness of some imp stouts, which was a disappointment, but still a very tasty and rewarding beer.

Pours very dark brown with a persistent khaki head. Good lacing, too. The aroma wasn’t that great, but there was a nice smooth palate. Flavor is mostly bitter chocolate, some coffee, and a hoppy finish. The alcohol is much less present than one would expect from 9%. Good beer, but I do wish it had a touch more complexity.