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Old Rasputin
North Coast Brewing Co.
- From:
- North Coast Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #88 - ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 95
Ranked #1,245 - Avg:
- 4.3 | pDev: 10.23%
- Reviews:
- 4,001
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Tuesday at 09:30 PM
- Added:
- Jan 18, 2001
- Wants:
- 702
- Gots:
- 3,412
Produced in the tradition of 18th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia’s Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It’s a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DeeMented:
Reviewed by DeeMented from Wisconsin
4.5/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a glass beer mug.
The beer poured a dark, rich black that refused to let any light through. The head was thick and tan. It looked like it was going to pour with a thin head, but it kept growing after the pour, until it peaked all thick and frothy. All manner of lacing followed it down.
It's going to sound strange, but this beer smelled as dark as it looked. Strong toasted, (almost burned), malts dominated, but there was a hint of licorice, a bit of coffee, and a bit of chocolate that all merged together, so the nose was different for each sniff.
The mouthfeel wasn't as heavy as it looked. It was carbonated well enough to lighten it up. Kind of a medium feel.
The taste followed the complexity of the nose. It began with the sweet, toasted malts, and finished with more of a hops/coffee bitterness than I expected. Don't read that as a bad thing. The finish left me feeling warm and flushed. There was a lingering scorched chocolate flavor that lingered after the bitterness faded.
As it warmed, the flavors harmonized a bit more, but the hops bite always dominated the finish.
A good, big beer, this is made for sipping slowly. I've found it pairs quite nicely with warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Oct 14, 2009The beer poured a dark, rich black that refused to let any light through. The head was thick and tan. It looked like it was going to pour with a thin head, but it kept growing after the pour, until it peaked all thick and frothy. All manner of lacing followed it down.
It's going to sound strange, but this beer smelled as dark as it looked. Strong toasted, (almost burned), malts dominated, but there was a hint of licorice, a bit of coffee, and a bit of chocolate that all merged together, so the nose was different for each sniff.
The mouthfeel wasn't as heavy as it looked. It was carbonated well enough to lighten it up. Kind of a medium feel.
The taste followed the complexity of the nose. It began with the sweet, toasted malts, and finished with more of a hops/coffee bitterness than I expected. Don't read that as a bad thing. The finish left me feeling warm and flushed. There was a lingering scorched chocolate flavor that lingered after the bitterness faded.
As it warmed, the flavors harmonized a bit more, but the hops bite always dominated the finish.
A good, big beer, this is made for sipping slowly. I've found it pairs quite nicely with warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Lexluthor33 from New York
4.83/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.83/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Dark brown color with a mocha colored head and lace.
aroma of chocolate, cocoa, malts, coffee hints galore.
taste was sweet with a mild bitter finish and it had the chocolate with the roasted malts and coffee to boot.
A really enjoyable beer that was great from start to finish.
This ages well, but I would say three to five years max.
Feb 27, 2024aroma of chocolate, cocoa, malts, coffee hints galore.
taste was sweet with a mild bitter finish and it had the chocolate with the roasted malts and coffee to boot.
A really enjoyable beer that was great from start to finish.
This ages well, but I would say three to five years max.
Reviewed by LagerMan_US from Maine
4.59/5 rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.59/5 rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
If you like stout - this one is top shelf.
All the signature, and creative, flavors of a complex stout delicately combined.
It's notably refined, especially given the high alcohol content.
Feb 22, 2024All the signature, and creative, flavors of a complex stout delicately combined.
It's notably refined, especially given the high alcohol content.
Reviewed by chrisiswhothisis from California
4.56/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.56/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a thick, mousse-y, tan head; stays persistent.
Chocolate malt, coffee aroma.
Tastes of dark chocolate malt; almost no sweetness. Leans heavy on the bitterness of the dark malts.
Thick, bitter stout. Perfectly on style. Finishes dry.
The epitome of a Russian Imperial Stout.
Feb 20, 2024Chocolate malt, coffee aroma.
Tastes of dark chocolate malt; almost no sweetness. Leans heavy on the bitterness of the dark malts.
Thick, bitter stout. Perfectly on style. Finishes dry.
The epitome of a Russian Imperial Stout.
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois
4.28/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
poured from a 12oz bottle into a SP BBT23 snifter. pours near- black but gathers in the glass a shiny black with almost two fingers of dark khaki colored foam. foam fades away but never fully disappears leaving a thick collar around the rim of the glass and a thin film across the top of the black liquid. cocoa powder, day-old gas station coffee, pine, pine sap and possibly even some citrus. taste is more pine, resin, light chocolate, coffee grounds and very light tobacco. i’m not so sure there isn’t an orange peel thing going on from the hops buts faint. thick mouthfeel but it has a nice brush of carbonation in the finish. really good stuff. i’ve had this before but it’s been 10-12 years at least. nice to revisit as this is about as classic as it gets with craft RIS’s and for glad to see this holds up over time. there is so much to appreciate in this beer.
Jan 09, 2024Reviewed by walser from New York
3.98/5 rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.98/5 rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From AJ's Beer Warehouse in Rochester, NY. - a beer goldmine. 4 mo old can, out of wine glass. Lasting off white head, burgundy black color, very smooth mouth feel. Slippery notes of fig, cola and fading citrus. Very nice beer.
Dec 30, 2023Reviewed by QuietlyJudgingYou
4.69/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.69/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Appearance: Black with a thin ring of brown colored foam.
Smell: Dark chocolate, coffee beans, brown sugar, tangy, earthy.
Taste: Sourdough bread up front, quickly shifts to a coffee flavor, lots of charred malt make up most of the body, bittersweet chocolate on the finish. Sweetness is a tad lower than the bitterness. Leans more toward a charred taste than sweet.
Feel: Full bodied, well carbonated, a little oily with very little alcohol warmth in the back of the throat.
Overall: True to style and delicious. Possibly my favorite stout.
Opinion: As it continues to get more difficult to find a stout that isn't dominated by adjuncts or bourbon barrel flavors Old Rasputin continues to shine as a well made no gimmicks stout.
Dec 23, 2023Smell: Dark chocolate, coffee beans, brown sugar, tangy, earthy.
Taste: Sourdough bread up front, quickly shifts to a coffee flavor, lots of charred malt make up most of the body, bittersweet chocolate on the finish. Sweetness is a tad lower than the bitterness. Leans more toward a charred taste than sweet.
Feel: Full bodied, well carbonated, a little oily with very little alcohol warmth in the back of the throat.
Overall: True to style and delicious. Possibly my favorite stout.
Opinion: As it continues to get more difficult to find a stout that isn't dominated by adjuncts or bourbon barrel flavors Old Rasputin continues to shine as a well made no gimmicks stout.
Reviewed by BGDrock from Canada (ON)
4.38/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.38/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Just about a pitch black body, a rich espresso foam head, dense with good retention of several minutes.
Aroma is mild, of dark roast chocolate, dark cherry (black forest cake), a hint of black licorice.
Wonderfully pure roast malt flavour, rich with deep dark cocoa and bold dark roast coffee, a touch of milkly sweetness balancing it out the restrained bitterness; in the finish it's like a mocha gelato, with some nuttiness; very fine carbonation and medium body lends a sumptuous silky feel; low residual sweetness for the style, which I often find cloying.
An ode to roast malt, it's beautifully balanced and surprising quaffable. A very pure example of the style.
Dec 10, 2023Aroma is mild, of dark roast chocolate, dark cherry (black forest cake), a hint of black licorice.
Wonderfully pure roast malt flavour, rich with deep dark cocoa and bold dark roast coffee, a touch of milkly sweetness balancing it out the restrained bitterness; in the finish it's like a mocha gelato, with some nuttiness; very fine carbonation and medium body lends a sumptuous silky feel; low residual sweetness for the style, which I often find cloying.
An ode to roast malt, it's beautifully balanced and surprising quaffable. A very pure example of the style.
Rated by tbumnnc
4.81/5 rDev +11.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.81/5 rDev +11.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
A creamy, caramel, coffee blend with a balanced and smooth finish. My rating: 4.75.
Dec 02, 2023Rated by wiggibow from Nebraska
5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This is everything I want a beer. Beautiful.
Dec 02, 2023Rated by Seanc59 from North Carolina
5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This is a complete evening beverage Full flavored and loaded with body. Fine craftsmanship at its best.
Nov 15, 2023
Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
95 out of
100 with
13107 ratings
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