Old Rasputin

Brewed By: North Coast Brewing

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9%

IBU: 75

This beer’s reputation precedes itself, so I don’t know how much information I can provide you that you don’t know. Unless of course you’ve never had one, in which case you should stop reading this blog and go to your local beer store so you can enjoy one while you read about it!

Russian Imperial Stouts (RIS) came about from the Barclay Brewery in London in the 18^th century. Peter the Great of Russia became a fan of stouts during his trip to England and requested that some be sent to him in Russia. The first attempt was a failure because the beer spoiled before ever reaching him. So the brewery added alcohol and hops to try and make the beer last longer and created the first RIS.

Lets get into this one!

Look – Pitch black. Had a nice one and a half finger width of dark khaki head that sticks around for a good while.

Smell – Heavy roasted malt aroma with a decent amount of chocolate nose. You can just smell that this is going to be a solid, heavy beer with a lot of hops

Taste – It’s hard to tell what hit me first. There was a strong hop bitterness that had no intention of dissipating. Roasted malts sit on the palate while hints of coffee also become apparent. The biggest thing that surprised was still how solidly bitter this beer was without being too overwhelming. The taste lingers after every drink of this beer.

Conclusion – This is everything an RIS should be (and perhaps a little more). Throughout the entire glass, every drink stayed complex and never got boring, which is an immediate sign for me that this is a quality beer. After 5 minutes I could still taste hints of the hops and malt on my palate; definitely not for the light beer drinker.

I give this beer my first A!

For those who haven’t tried anything by North Coast, I suggest visiting THIS SITE and finding a style that interests you and finding it. I can almost guarantee it will be worth it from this brewery!

On a side note, I am going to try to increase my number of “Followers.” So if you are reading this, please click “Follow” on the left side of the screen and suggest this page to your friends. Thanks!

Happy Drinking!