North Coast Old Rasputin

North Coast Brewing has been in Louisiana for a little while now and I couldn't be happier!  Their beers can be found at Calandro's among other local stores with a good beer selection.  I've previously featured their Brother Thelonious and Cru D'Or and this one is one of their more popular beers, the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.  The style is characterized by high alcohol contents, and a heavy malt presence.  Much more rich and thick than something like a Guinness but typically more bitter and chocolaty than high-alcohol malty beers like doppelbocks.  It's definitely not a style for someone getting into craft beer for the first time, but it has slowly become one of my favorites.

This one was poured from a 12 oz. bottle into my trusty Samuel Smith imperial pint glass.  It featured a dark chocolaty brown color with a tan head that lingered throughout the drinking. Very nice appearance to this one and a great start.

The aroma is a dominant malty chocolate. Delicious. The taste follows through on the aroma. A little bit muted though... I wish more malty chocolate flavors came through.  A little thinner than I was hoping for with the style. This is a strong one too... at 9% I wouldn't WANT to drink a lot of these in one sitting, but it's certainly good enough to think about it.

This is one of the better Russian Imperial Stouts we can get locally, so if you want to check out the style, pick up a 4-pack and share some with your friends!

My rating: A-

Beeradvocate: A

Imperial Stout

North Coast Cru D'Or

Here's another one from North Coast Brewing Company, a California brewery that thankfully is locally available!  A while back I did a review of the Brother Thelonius Abbey Ale, and before too long I'll be adding my review of their Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout!  I picked up a 4-pack of these guys from Marcello's going out of business sale. Hate to see a decent beer retailer go, but had to take advantage of the deals!

According to the BeerAdvocate site this one is considered a Dubbel in style, which is one of the traditional Belgian Trappist styles.  As you can see, I poured it into a Chimay goblet, always my glassware of choice for a Belgian-style ale.  It pours a murky brown color with a small off-white head that dissipated quickly into nothing.  The smell is strong, very floral with a little hint of caramel.

The taste is very similar, hints of caramel mixed in with a floral hoppy flavor. Definitely a Belgian ale here, trademark flavors are present. All in all a very good beer, as to be expected from North Coast. It doesn't measure up to the best Belgians of the style but it holds it own against American counterparts nicely.  Plus if anyone out there is into this sort of thing, it's an 'organic' beer!

My rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B

Belgian Dubbel

Review: Brother Thelonious Belgian-Style Abbey Ale

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Beer!

Another one from a recent Calandro's beer run... the Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale from North Coast Brewing Company.  This brewery is located in northern California, and not just San Francisco... Fort Bragg which apparently (I just checked some Google Earth) is much farther north.  That's damn near Oregon and Oregon makes some good beer, so that's a good sign.  They are probably best known for the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, which I've tried before and will have to find again to feature on this blog sometime in the future.  But back to this beer...

I poured it from the corked 750ml bottle into a Chimay goblet... no head at all. Zero. That was really odd, as you can see in the picture from literally seconds after the pour. The color is a dark ruby red, almost brown. 

There's a good smell to it, herbal, a little pear and apple scents.

The taste isn't much like the smell upfront... hints of malts, then the fruit flavors come through and on the back end more malts with some hops as well. Pretty good, considering this one has almost no carbonation.  I obviously came across a flat bottle, total bummer... the flavor is still there but none of the character.  I've had this beer once before, on tap at the Flying Saucer in Little Rock, AR last year after the LSU/Arkansas game.  I remember it being a really good Belgian-style ale so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt despite this disappointment.

Taste: B+

Value: B+  ($8.49 at Calandro's, good price for a 750ml bottle.)

On the notes of price, just imagine what you'd pay for a 750ml bottle of exceptional wine?  A lot more than $8.49 that's for sure, yet the same price on the same quantity of beer is often considered to be high.  Just something to think about next time you're picking up a few bombers or 6-packs.