Old Rasputin XII
North Coast Brewing Co.

 

11 year (or has it been 12?) long trip for this bottle. Was a nice drive up to Ft Bragg but the paperwork was stupid.

Poured in the 0.33 L Maredsous goblet.

Very small brown head lingers only briefly. Minimal carbonation. Very dark brown in color, nearly opaque. Bourbon is still strong in the aroma. Vanilla, roasty, bittersweet chocolate, ethanol. Lots of vanilla and bourbon to start. Almost like a bourbon and coke. The oakiness other reviews mention seems to have faded nearly completely. Medium body. Alcohol is noticeable but not too warming until the end. Finish is roasty bitter with some lingering heat from the alcohol.

Really shoulda opened this at least a couple years ago but it has held up well.

Been sitting on this for quite a while.
Pours a tan small fizzy head with med-low retention, little lacing, decent legs, jet black color

Nose has the old BCBS aroma, plenty of dark aged roasty malts, dark chocolate cocoa, baking spices, little coffee, fudge, some vanilla and toasted oak notes, a touch of whiskey, touch of nougat can candy like, plenty of aged malt, just a hint of oxidation but a nice kind

Taste starts very rich with layers of chocolate and cocoa, dark chocolate, cookie dough and wafer notes, smooth vanilla, light buttery oak barrel and a bit of whiskey but not much, baking spices, more candy nougat like fluffy notes, a touch of alcohol but pretty smooth, some aged roasted malt, a little coffee, but no char, just a touch of bitterness, mild drier finish, bit more bitterness, some smooth alcohol, hint of oxidation, bit more whiskey lingering

Mouth is fuller bod, smooth, med-lighter carb, just a hint of alcohol warmth but smooth

Overall pretty nice, aged well although the barrel characters have faded with the alcohol, wish that came through more, but the base beer is nice, good aged character

 

 

 

Milk chocolate, roast, and bourbon vanilla cream on a cold winter's night. The wind whistles outside, but this warms my spirits.

A bit low in carbonation. Thin bodied for 11.2%. Perhaps the fusels have faded with time.

A worthy sipper, but not quite worth the price of admission..

 

 

Black pour left a 1/5" tan ring of head that didn't start with much to retain in the first place. The aroma isn't for the feint of heart, it drops substantial amounts of bourbon heat, then chocolate and wet oak. Better like it hot.

The weirdest thing for me about these beers is that they take a great world class base beer, and then make it actually worse by making it way more expensive and hot in these barrels.

They get better with age, but this was just too much heat when it was fresh. The grade is an average of the scores when fresh (hot, below average) and aged 3-5 years (better, but still not worth the price).

 

 

 

 

 

The aroma offers huge vanilla, some coffee, and roasted malt.

The flavor follows with bitter cacao nib, wonderful oxidation of a touch of soy, lots of vanilla in the middle and roasted malt. A touch of bourbon booze on the back. The beer is smooth, yet medium mouthfeel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

500 ML bottle poured into a Duvel Tulip Style glass. Liquid comes out cola brown while coming out of the bottle. As the pool rises it becomes a much darker brown. It has light brown highlights. Tan colored head, mostly small bubbles, sticks around a few minutes but it fizzes itself away. Head itself doesn't really provide any lacing, but a little bit of coating from the liquid itself.

Smell is really good, lots of more sweet than hot bourbon notes, almost ammoretto (ish). Bitter chocolate, a lot of oak, and some vanilla too, might bbs some slight hints of dark fruits in there but not too strong.

Taste is really, really good. Grain bill is strong and up front. Over roasted, almost charred, sweet grains providing both bitter and sweet chocolate flavors. Plenty of bourbon flavors including some vanilla and lots of oak providing sweetness, bitterness, and slightly earthy dark fruits. Flavors have held up very well, I'd say it even developed, no sourness or oxidation flavors at all, could have probably even held off a little.

Mouthfeel is good. Like regular old Rasputin, it's not as heavy as you'd expect considering the alcohol. Even though it didn't look like it had much carbonation, it feels like its there. Pretty smooth with the bourbon providing a sharp clean feeling in the middle, then has a dry and somewhat warming bitter finish. Not too hot though, it's nice, especially on a cold day. Really drinkable, I like this one as a sipper for the night, but it's a little dangerous like original Old Rasputin. Great beer, love the Anniversary Old Rasputin's, satisfying on all accounts, nice job North Coast!

 

 

Beautiful ebony brown/black brew, topped with an oily, cream-colored head.

Huge bourbon - almost sweetly rum-like - notes from the aroma, overwhelming what chocolate and coffee is hiding in there.

Flavor is far more balanced than you might guess from the aroma. Tons of chocolate, a bit of coffee, waves of roasted barley, and big - but superbly integrated - barrel notes of sweet bourbon, corn, and vanilla. No oak sourness or heat.

Extremely thick feel, bordering on chewy, and sublimely easy to drink.

If BCBS is the (my) standard for BBA stouts, Rasputin XII did not disappoint, and was quite reminiscent of the former in all the great ways. The aroma is hugely bourbon forward, even at about 5 years of age, but the flavor is balanced, luscious, and far more complex and nuanced than regular Old Raspy. The feel is top-notch for a BBA stout. Incredible, delicious beer.

Pours a very dark brown color with a yellowish off white head and lace. The aroma is big vanilla and sweet bourbon notes with a hint of roasted coconut. In the taste, vanilla, soft bourbon, oak, toasted coconut, roasted malt, hint of char. The body is velvety smooth and very easy drinking. Overall this is phenomenal and is drinking its prime. A cellar gem!

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle pour at the pre-FWIBF bottle share held at the Adelaide Inn in Paso Robles, CA.

Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, spice, bourbon, and wood aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and bourbon flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty, but is coming across as going downhill at this point.