Old Rasputin XXI (Aged in Bourbon Barrels)
North Coast Brewing Co.

Purchased for the BA celebration of Grigori Rasputin's birthday.
Dark brown pour, massive tan head, great retention and lacing. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, roasted malts. Flavor was similar. I was expecting it to be sweeter. One of the better beers.

 

 

 

If you look from the side as you pour this, it’s a cola brown, but in the glass it’s black with that cola brown color on the edges and a rich, creamy tan head that provides a surprising amount of lacing.

The nose is a little hot, with a lot of bourbon up front, but there’s also a lot of stone fruit, milk chocolate, and some char as well. Wow.

The taste is led by the bourbon as well, but it’s not as hot as it was on the nose, allowing the stone fruit and milk chocolate flavors to really shine. Truly delicious stuff.

The mouthfeel is surprisingly thin and a bit watery, which I really didn’t expect given the heft of this beer, but this is still overall a BA imperial stout that approaches world class, IMHO.

its amazing to find this on tap, this is one i feared i had missed. the bottles were so expensive i just kept pushing them off until later and then they were gone, so this is a real treat, especially since the beer ages so well, its in its prime right now and drinkable amazingly well, and this has to rank among the best editions of this iconic stout that i have ever had. its deep and black, not overly leggy or sticky looking, mellow there, and with a surprisingly lively mocha colored head, a half inch high, thick, and lasting. it smells like the deepest of roasts, short of burnt but not by much, pipe tobacco and licorice notes emerge as well, huge honey and vanilla from the bourbon barrels, a little corn and caramel sweetness too, and good espresso dripping, its cozy and warming but not diabetic or boozy either, refinement on point. the flavor follows the nose, i could swear there is coffee in it, barrel char meets the roasted barley for intense low end complexity, and i get dark chocolate and creaminess in here as well, molasses, wet wood, and raisin. not too much barrel to overtake the base beer, but it adds a special dimension to this, and the quality of the spirit seems very high. no oxidation at all, well hidden alcohol, shockingly so in fact, this drinks almost too easy, just a touch fudgey and sweet, but an awesome drinking experience that i feared i had missed the boat on. feeling stoked and thankful, this beer rules!

 

 

 

Pours into a snifter jet black with a frothy chocolate milk looking head that settles into a creamy mass after some time.Almost meaty in the nose,spicy rye,toasted oak,and that meatiness,different...In a nice way.Flavors of sharp rye and mild vanilla upfront,some booze infused raisin and prune give off a deep dark fruitness into the finish,mild toast comes thru more as it warms.Quite complex,it takes a minute to take in all the nuances but ones you do you realize how really good this is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12/01/19

Bottle to snifter.

LOOK: thick black, frothy beige head.
AROMA: whiskey, cocoa, oak,
TASTE: cocoa, whiskey, cola, vanilla, oak, veggie and barley.
FEEL: smooth, full bodied, carbonation makes is presence in the form of foamyness.

Really enjoying this. Best anniversary old Rasputin since XVIII, which was a rye barrel aged.

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