Old Rasputin Barrel Aged XX
North Coast Brewing Co.

 

Roasty malty nose. Big chocolate taste followed by dark fruit a hint of wood & more cocoa like maltiness. Think I got cherries too. Flavour lingers on the palate for a long time. Stout Season continues.

 

Tried 12/09/22. This beer must not have been cellared properly. Everything about it was off. I enjoy standard Rasputin, but unfortunately this one can’t really be reviewed fairly.

From a corked, caged 740 ml. bottle acquired and sampled on November 10, 2022.

The appearance is a handsome looking jet black color with a boisterous then fading tan head. It fades to a ring and lingers.

An array of aroma sensations including dark roasted malts, chocolate malts, caramel, black cherry, char, wood, and alcohol.

Bold, heavy mouthfeel that is creamy and smooth.

The taste is sweet and begins with a bountiful chocolate presence that immediately moves to dark fruit, burnt malts, earth, and a lower alcohol character than my nose suggested. Warming and cleansing finish. A fine sipper.

tastes old.... not stored well at the store, apparently

Caveat- obviously this isn’t a fresh brewed beer, I have had it properly cellared for 3 or 4 years. It was lost behind some others. Had this during a bottle share when it was fresh and it was outstanding. It’s still very good, just not as complex as it was.
So, the pour was still impressively black and capped with a brown 1finger head.
The aroma, even to my chemically damaged nose, was excellent with dark fruit and bakers chocolate and coffee and malts galore.
The taste followed, almost to the point of cloyingly sweet, but stopped just short. Smooth flavor transitions from fruit to malts to what remains of the hops (presented as coffee I think) at the swallow.
The feel was ideal, this was made for sipping and that is what I did.
OA, Old Rasputin base is a very fine stout, the BA versions are (to me at least) even better. This is a very good beer.

Old Rasputin XX from North Coast Brewing. 500 mL cork and cage bottle purchased 20/02/22 from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, $15.00 (Including tax), $ 0.888/oz. On room temperature shelf at store. Stored at 40 degrees after purchase. Reviewed 19/04/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Served at 61.1 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 66.3 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), opaque, somewhat oily-looking.
Body – Brown (SRM 30), opaque. When rear-lite, same with light penetrating only at the extreme edges – yellow amber and oily.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.5 cm, aggressive center pour), citron, high density and slowly diminishing to leave a 0.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Good. The thick, high-density head drags along the glass, leaving a wide band of mostly tiny and a few medium bubbles, connected to the next lower band by multiple short, narrow columns.
Aroma – 4.25 – Smells slightly sweet with chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, and bourbon. No hops, no malt, no yeast. No alcohol. On the exhale, a hint of bourbon appears sans anything else.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins with semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, maybe a hint of char and tannin, and a distinct alcohol roughness. No hops, no yeast. Ethanol (11.1 % ABV, as marked on container). Mild oropharyngeal alcohol burn before it hits the stomach, producing a mild warming which lasts but never becomes annoying. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, creamy, soft caressing carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) Probably shouldn’t have sucked this down after XXII – it has led to an unflattering comparison. XX has not held up well, being less flavorful and more alcohol-forward, giving it a rough edge. Still, it’s better than many other examples of the style.

 

 

500mL bottle (about 4 years old) poured into a tulip glass at 55F 11.1% ABV. The beer pours dense black with no light penetration and light brown head. The head recedes to an inch thick cap leaving rings of lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring chocolate and bourbon barrel prominently. The taste is bittersweet dark chocolate, bourbon and charred oak barrel with an earthy, lingering mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Alcohol is well hidden except for a steady tingle on the tongue and heat in the belly. Overall, very good if you enjoy bourbon, which I do...

 

750 ml bottle poured into a rocks glass.

One finger of tan head over a near black oily pour that leaves nice lacing. Moderately strong nose of dark chocolate and roasted malts, dark fruit and more bourbon barrel aroma than I expected for the age. Tasting coffee and bourbon with a bitter, dry, roasty finish. Full bodied and smooth with moderate carbonation. Still has a little heat. It was kept @ 50 degrees F for most of its life and held up well.

500mL bottle, picked up as a gift set with XXII and a pair of glasses; no clue how it’s been stored, but I’m sure it’s fine. 11.1%ABV.
L: near black with a foamy tan head
S: boozy, bourbon, oak, vanilla, roasted barley, fruity esters
T: very complex; dark chocolate, boozy & oaky bourbon, roasted barley, caramel, toffee, tobacco, cherry, plum, brown sugar, molasses, char, earthy/herbal hops
F: fuller body, ample carbonation, very rich, sweetness is balanced by bitterness and alcohol warmth
O: 3 year old aged stout - very complex and delicious!

From the 1pt 9fl oz bottle in a snifter. This SOLID RIS
pours a deep and muddy brown tinged black with a
fantastic head of brown foam that dissipates to a thick
ring, thick clumping layer, and shows excellent lacing. Nose
of rich bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits, dark coffee, dark
chocolate, and char. Flavors follow but exceed the nose
by presentation of rich bourbon, mellow oak, nice
vanilla, cola notes, cocoa, dark berry touches of black and
raspberry, char, deep roasted malts, and a touch of
nutty malts as well with the warming booze. Nice mouth feel;
full body, slick, coating, light carbonation, and a rich
warming finish that is lightly dry and very warming.

Overall-----excellence from North Coast!

Cheers

 

little else you can reasonable ask from a beer like this, on tap, fully aged now, its dry as a bone, still barrel rich, but drinkable in a dangerous way, very nicely disguised alcohol content and overall something quite special, even if there is some fade on it too, like the nose and taste have melted down a level or two, not to its detriment, still awesome, but i bet this was much more flavorful and barrel forward when fresh. still holds a weirdly active head from the tap for what it is, smells like dry baking chocolate and unlit cigar, has hints of vanilla and sweeter chocolate, but they never quite materialize in the taste, raisin and good whiskey, a trace of honey, but only for a second, wet soil, lots of wet musty oak. the base beer seems somewhat less robust, but i like this overall. i think a bit bland compared to the rye barrel version or two i have had previously, but more a product of age now i suspect. nice and bubbly still too, clean to finish, and obviously of a higher overall quality than most of these are at. i would love to try the bottled format too, but there cant be a whole lot of those out there anymore i dont suspect. a rare treat, thankful for this one!

500ML Bottle, vintage 2017 (of course), poured into a snifter at 53 degreesF:
L - black with a slight head that dissipated
S - molasses, bourbon, toffee
T - nice flavor, you can tell this bottle is 3 years old, but the change in the flavor profile is still pleasant. Notes of molasses, bourbon and toffee
F - thick mouthfeel with a bit too much carbonation, this is what separates the greats (Jackie O's, Wolfs Ridge) from the really goods (this)
O - a good beer that has aged nicely, I recently had the XIX, which I presume is from 2016, and I didn't like it nearly as well

Pours near black with thick brown head.

Roasted malt, slight bourbon and vanilla.

Roasted malt, dark chocolate, earthiness, brown sugar sweetness. Quite mellow in a pleasant way, less bite than fresh Rasputin, could be due to the age.

Surprisingly smooth, yet with body.

Nice sipper here.

 

Poured from a bottle that has been stashed in my cellar for a while- dark as night with a cocoa frothy head. Nose is burnt cocoa malt with a bit of chocolate sweetness. Taste follows more or less. Really roasty barrel wood with hints of boozy alcohol on the finish. Mighty fine...would absolutely seek another bottle of this .

Apr 2020 Review
XX vintage, 500ml corked bottle. Bought May 2018 in Santa Cruz area while in CA. Poured into a tulip glass.

Pour: super deep brown/black body, foamy, two finger light tan head. Head ends with a layer of clouds. A thick ring and tons of lacing. Not sure how it could look any better. Beautiful. 5.0

Nose: bourbon, dark fruit, molasses, brown sugar. 3.5

Taste: boozy, slightly burnt toffee, dark stone fruits, brown sugar, coffee/bitter hops on backend. Lots going on, delicious. 4.0

Feel: when uncorked, it popped and has retained a moderate to high level of carbonation. But a Smooth, creamy feel. Really easy drinking. 4.0

Overall: a solid BA Stout. Will always be on the lookout for this as well as regular OR. Appearance is amazing and taste is solid. 4.25

 

 

 

 

 

The body appears coal brown and black with an exquisite dense, thick and creamy head. Excellent malted and roasted grain scent; some cocoa. Excellent rich cocoa and milk chocolate taste; vanilla and leather; mild sense of whiskey. Heavy body; dense, oily, and velvety; robust residual sugar heft.

This has been a delightful and well-balanced dark ale that aged well. Smooth, mellow, and bringing incredibly sweet and luscious flavors to the palate with just enough wood and booze to add depth and uniqueness to things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Dark opaque black color with creamy toffee colored head, very sticky lacing. Super sticky on the sides of the glass.

S - Some light smoke, peat, oak, some vanilla, light cherry.

T - Up front is dark fruit and bourbon with light chocolate char. Lingering bourbon, smoke/char, oak, somewhat woody, roasted chocolate lingers forever on the back end.

M - Lip smacking sticky and chewy. Coats the mouth with a thick layer.

O - This is a fabulous beer, hands down.

 

Poured a black body with good head and lace patches. The aroma is woody, vanilla, boozy. Smooth, medium body, light considering how heavy and boozy this beer is, there is boozy hotness in this beer but it has a lactic and vanilla feel to it so there is great balance. Finishes real dry and this beer is a great sipper.