North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Beer Sellers: City Beer Store, San Francisco

ABV: 9%
Origin: Fort Bragg, California, USA
Website: www.northcoastbrewing.com

North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout

“Сердечный друг не родится вдруг,” reads the Russian inscription on the label of this multi-award winning Imperial Stout named after the notorious associate of the last Russian tsarina — “A dear friend is not to be found instantly”. This may be a reference to the fact that Old Rasputin germinated slowly in the imagination of North Coast founder Mark Ruedrich, who recalls that almost ten years after trying the best beer he ever tasted, an imperial stout by pioneering US microbrewer Bert Grant, the taste of his own variant of the style came to him in a dream. I suppose it might also suggest that that Old Rasputin needs to be given time to grow on you, but I liked it immediately, and instantly rated it as one of the best interpretations of the style I’d tried.

This deep ruby brown, near-black beer with a brownish foamy head is brewed from pale, crystal and black malts, roasted barley, American Cluster and German Hallertau hops. The aroma is seedy with fennel and leather-like notes, coffee, gravy and yoghurt. A thick, rich and complex palate has dark malt, cherry yoghurt, blackberry pastille fruit and big, tingling hops, and a smooth, almost oaty texture. A warming swallow leads to a long hop, dark roast and black coffee finish with ashy notes and a final slick of creaminess. There’s a lusciousness about it which reminds me of the eccentric Belgian strong stout Ellezelloise Hercule, but it’s unmistakably in the lineage of A Le Coq and Barclay Perkins.

Rasputin provides a widely recognised image of Tsarist Russia, but the allusion is a little more relevant as he’s said to have liked his stout. He was certainly no model of responsible drinking. Leon Trotsky, reviewing the reports of the secret police who tailed Rasputin in his History of the Russian Revolution, remarks: ‘Thus for months and years the melody was played on three keys: “Pretty drunk,” “Very drunk,” and “Completely drunk.”’ I urge you to treat the controversial priest’s namesake beer with a little more respect!

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/north-coast-old-rasputin-russian-imperial-stout/680/