North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

What better way to pop the Stout cherry than with Old Rasputin, pretty much the standard Imperial Stout amongst beer geeks.

Brewed By: North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack, purchased at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 9%

Like IPAs of old, traditional Russian Imperial Stouts were brewed to high gravity and hopped to high heaven so that the beer could survive long voyages. Specifically, the beer needed to go from England to the Baltic States and Russia. Imperial Stouts continue to see huge ABVs for no purpose other than to brew really awesome, extreme beer. Thanks American craft beer movement! Today's beer clocks in at 9% ABV. That is a big ABV, but not even close to pushing the envelope for Imperial Stouts.

Old Rasputin has a cult following, and is one of the Imperial Stout standards among beer geeks and craft beer drinkers. Old Rasputin is brewed by North Coast Brewing, a brewery that has been around since 1988. Today's beer has won a boatload of awards; it clocks in at 9% ABV and packs a mean 75 IBUs; and is brewed in the tradition of the 18th Century English Brewers.

Today's beer features a picture of Rasputin on the bottle, along with Russian text which looks cryptic but probably isn't (I fail language barriers). Rasputin is a Russian legend known for his occult practices, and being impossible to kill. He was also a ladies man, banging away in his spare time. Rasputin was kind of a bad ass motherfucker, so I felt like the only appropriate way to enjoy this beer is with Rasputin himself. I present today's special guest: Grigori Rasputin.

adhdJon: Greeting, Rasputin. How are you doing today?

Rasputin: Where are the assassins!?!? 

adhdJon: Umm...there are no assassins here, just me and some beer! 

Rasputin: Good. Assassins and women are my worst enemies.

adhdJon: What about women assassins?

Rasputin: Never get caught with your submarine in the Baltic sea.

adhdJon: ....So, Rasputin, what gives? According to Wikipedia you are dead? 

Rasputin: HAHAHA! You cannot kill Rasputin! In Russia, we do not use Wikipedia as a credible source.

adhdJon: Riiiight....you probably censor it.

Rasputin: Hey! We may censor our Internet, but how many countries can you buy your bride from? Eh, eh?

adhdJon: So if you are truly impossible to kill, then is all the stuff they say about your giant "National Treasure" true as well?

Rasputin: You mean my giant penis? Of course!

adhdJon: Okay. So you are hung like a horse, impossible to kill, impermeable to old age...that's an impressive resume. So, I have also heard that you are an expert authority on beer?

Rasputin's Penis? (picture not to scale)

Rasputin: Yes. I am on the bottle, aren't I?

adhdJon: Okay, that is true. So Rasputin, can you tell me what to expect from this beer?

Rasputin: This beer will put hair on chest, even on little girl!

adhdJon: Umm...but little girl shouldn't be drinking alcohol anyway, right? 

Rasputin: Not so in Russia.

adhdJon: I see....well I won't argue with you. So is this beer going to taste like alcohol? 

Rasputin: No, no! Imperial Stout is boozy, but should be warming and mellow like large Russian woman. And strong like when she lays on top of you! 

adhdJon: So this beer should be like a large Russian woman? What flavors should I expect? 

Rasputin: Roasty, fruity, bittersweet, chocolate, coffee, cocoa, little children. No, I'm just kidding! Hahaha Russia funny!

adhdJon: I see why someone might have wanted to assassinate you. o_O. Okay, so shall we open up a bottle and see what this beer is all about?  

Rasputin: I've already had 6.

adhdJon: 6! Good lord! You do know that one of these beers packs around 300 calories. The breakdown is actually 300+ calories per 12 ounces, making this quite a costly and calorie-intense beer. The good news is other high-ABV Imperial Stouts also rack up the calories, so this beer is not unique in being high calorie.

Rasputin: Calories are good! In Russia, we drink til people look good. We did invent Vodka after all.

adhdJon: Touche...touche. Anyway, this beer pours a wonderfully pitch black color. The body on this one is quite dark with nary a hint of color escaping. The head on this beer is a gorgeous brown, coffee-brown color. The head does not stick around for long, but that is to be expected with such a high-ABV beer. There are some alcohol legs, and the head leaves some nice bubbly foam on the top of the glass. The remnants of head look like some evil stew or witch's cauldron, it is quite menacing. Swirling my snifter stirs up the head, so my guess is there is good carbonation in this beer.

Rasputin: There should be some carbonation.

adhdJon: Well, we will find out when we taste it. This beer smells really good. I smell a lot of roasted malts, dark fruits, some burnt notes, molasses, a wood note, berries and cherry, and maybe even some vanilla. There is also some booze on the nose as well, but hey - at 9% ABV that's okay.

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Rasputin: Alright, alright, you are moving slower than a Polish blitzkrieg. How does it taste!

adhdJon: Wow, this tastes really good. This is a smooth and silky beer, but it is also quite bitter at 75 IBUs.

Rasputin: Smooth and bitter, just like me.

adhdJon: Didn't you force yourself onto a handful of nuns?

Rasputin: A vow of silence, it's like don't ask, don't tell. 

adhdJon: You magnificent, evil bastard. Anyway, this beer has a hop presence, but the whole profile of this beer is incredibly bitter. This beer tastes like someone took a cup of coffee and poured it over a campfire. There is bitter coffee and chocolate, pulls towards vanilla, a cherry and berry note, velvet bitterness on the back end, a wood-tobacco quality, and some booze on the back end.

Rasputin: When Rasputin gets wood, people notice.

adhdJon: How would you describe the body, mouthfeel, and palate?

Rasputin: This beer is full-bodied, like my second wife. It has medium complexity, but huge depth. There is some alcohol warming on the back end, but this beer is carbonated and velvety smooth like torpedo. Very drinkable!

adhdJon: How would you describe the palate?

Rasputin: The front end is carbonated and has burnt flavors and those berry and cherry flavors! The middle shows the first signs of alcohol, and you get coffee and vanilla. The back end is warming, boozy, bitter, and leaves trace notes of coffee, vanilla, and burnt notes. This is velvety and smooth from front to back, but the bitterness is drying on the back of the palate. 

adhdJon: So would you drink this again?

Rasputin: I only drink this. And Vodka.

adhdJon: So what is the verdict on this beer, Rasputin?

Rasputin: I would let someone cut off my penis again for this beer! 100%!

adhdJon: I see...well, I am going to say this beer is a 87% beer for me.

Rasputin: You disgrace Russia! You weak America. I will crush you.

adhdJon: How about we make a deal...if you don't crush me, I will let you come back in the future to talk about beer? 

Rasputin: Deal!  

adhdJon: Okay, well until next time, cheers! 

Rasputin: FOR THE MOTHERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 87%

North Coast's Old Rasputin isn't just the standard, it actually is a brilliant beer that goes above and beyond in many ways to deliver one of the most satifying Imperial Stout experiences available. 

This is a really interesting beer. There is an extremely bitter quality (from the hops; 75 IBUs) that drives home some big dark chocolate and coffee notes. This beer also retains an incredibly velvety mouthfeel that seems to play off the vanilla and berry/cherry notes in the beer. There are also pulls towards a woody and tobacco note. 

Aesthetically, this beer looks like a witch's cauldron once the head subsides. You can actually stir the head back up by swirling your glass. There is good carbonation as well. At 9% ABV, this beer is pretty drinkable despite being kind of heavy and dry. This is more velvety than oily, so it isn't a hot sticky mess like some big beers are. I have seen people pouring this beer into a pint glass, but I am of the opinion that the best way to enjoy a beer like this is slowly, and in your snifter or tulip glass. This is a great beer, so why pound it back?

But.

And hear me out. You could drink this beer less conservatively than many other Imperial Stouts. Why is that? Because this beer is relatively cheap. I've seen a 4-pack of this going for between 8 to 10 bucks. At 8 bucks, that is less than 2 dollars a bottle. For a beer with such a huge ABV, that is a steal. Two of these will make you feel really, really good. Four of these will get your drunk. Just some food for thought. 

So....why not the divine rating. I know you're thinking it. It's a matter of perspective at this point. Earlier today I had some of Goose Island's Night Stalker. At 11.7%, that is a superbly complex monster of a stout. It was just a reminder to me how competitive and cutthroat the Imperial Stout category is. In some ways, the Imperial Stout category is likely the most competitive, envelope-pushing style of beer. Like Double IPAs, brewers are going to extremes and beyond to entertain and challenge beer drinkers. 

The take-home point is not that this beer doesn't meet expectations; this beer meets all expectations and exceeds them. The point is that in the Imperial Stout category the ceiling is extremely high. If I rate this beer higher, I run out of room quickly. A better way to approach this is to look at Imperial Stouts like this: any beer getting above an 85% is pretty much going to blow your palate away. 

This is a life-changing, bargain of a beer. This is the standard in the world of Imperial Stouts. If you are looking for a place to start, start here. If you are looking for a good standby, get this beer. This style of beer is not noobie friendly, so if this is your first stout I would advise you to look into an Irish/Dry Stout or an American or Cream Stout. Stay away from Imperial anything until you are more experienced.

For everyone else: GO GET THIS BEER NOW. It is a classic. 

In the meantime, I look forward to reviewing more stouts, and perhaps we will see Rasputin around again, someday.