Name – Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Country – United States
Type – Russian Imperial Stout
Appearance – Poured a deep black color with a small tan head that didn’t stick around too long.
Smell – Deep roasted smell with some chocolate and coffee notes.
Taste – Roasted malts, coffee and a bit of barley right up front with a hint of chocolate. Slight alcohol bit at the end. Becomes a little more substantial as the beer gets warmer.
I had this awhile back and didn’t really care for it but I decided to give it a try now as my taste has matured a bit. I like it more than I did before but the coffee taste is still a little too strong for my liking.
Overall Grade – C
9 Comments
I’d have to give this one a B+ at a minimum. Although it’s becoming almost aphoristic to say so, different people have different tastes. But the fact that it is a quality made beer would lead me to give it a better rating even if I didn’t like it. In fact, we drank this the other night at a beer tasting that I lead (along with 29 others), so it’s somewhat fresh in my mind.
June 8, 2009 at 3:20 pmThis does seem to be almost every beer geeks favorite Imperial Stout. I just don’t like the coffee taste that much. I preferred Stone’s Imperial Stout. More chocolate to the taste than coffee.
June 8, 2009 at 9:59 pmYeah, this is was my favourite Imperial Stout until I tasted the Brew Dog ones!
June 9, 2009 at 8:57 amIt’s definitely not my favorite Imperial Stout. There used to be a really good one by Bert Grant and Samuel Smith’s is pretty good, too (these are more traditional and less extreme versions). Still, I’ve got to give it up for Dark Lord as one of the best that I’ve ever had. It’s not surprising to see coffee tones in a really dark beer. After all, they use very very similar roasting technics for both coffee and grains (and Chocolate for that matter).
June 9, 2009 at 9:01 amI really have to try Sam Smith’s someday. You have said multiple times that you thought that one was good. About time I get on the ball and pick it up. I can’t imagine them making a bad brew.
June 9, 2009 at 1:10 pmThey don’t make a bad one. The only one that I find to be not quite on par with the others is their Winter Welcome. That’s probably some preference. I had some of their stuff in London a few weeks ago, including their Imperial Stout…wonderful. Incidentally, it was where Charles Dickens used to go.
June 9, 2009 at 1:17 pmThat sounds awesome. I’m guessing you had it on draft? I’ve never seen any of their beers on draft before.
June 9, 2009 at 1:24 pmYou are correct sir. I did have it on draught. It was the first that I’d seen them on draft before.
June 9, 2009 at 2:19 pmAlly,
I think that is one Scottish brewer that I’ve only had one thing from. I need to try some more of their stuff.
June 9, 2009 at 2:27 pm