Brewery: North Coast Brewing Company
ABV: 9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown
This beer was recommended to me by Nate. Hopefully it passes the test.
Old Rasputin is a solid black colored beer with deep ruby highlights at the edges when held up to a light. You can already tell that this is a serious stout. It pours with a light head that fades pretty quickly but still leaves a heavy lacing behind. There is a great aroma of roasted coffee and maybe chocolate and alcohol. If the taste matches up to its aroma, this is going to be a big-drinking beer.
First off, I would recommend pouring this beer and then giving it a couple minutes to mellow out. It comes off very strong at first, but after it warms a bit it gets much more flavorful. There is a strong roasted flavor here with both coffee and chocolate present. The sweetness of the chocolate and malt is in the front, and the bitterness of the coffee is in the back of each sip. Definitely a beer to sip slowly and enjoy. There's a medium (for a stout) amount of carbonation and a light aftertaste of coffee.
Final thought - Unlike some other imperial stouts as of late, Old Rasputin manages to pack a big alcoholic beer into an easily drinkable beverage that doesn't seem like someone spiked your drink. Even though it's very strong, it's quite enjoyable. Well done, Nate.
-Jon
No comments:
Post a Comment