09 October 2009

Beer Review, North Coast Old Rasputin XII

North Coast Old Rasputin XII (bottle)
Fort Bragg, CA
11.2% ABV

Appearance: Black, completely opaque, not even showing light through when held up to a light source. Very thick brown head that sticks around and leaves significant lacing. Amazing. 5.0/5

Smell: Strangely sweet, highly astringent, strong with coffee and rich with chocolate malt. Rich, malty, very good. 4.5/5

Taste: Dry roasted malt on the front with a sweet chocolate-coffee backbone and a malty finish. The dryness is perfectly balanced so as to remove much of the alcohol astringency. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Thick but not syrupy, with a moderate hop bite. The alcohol burns the palate a bit. 4.0/5

Drinkability: This is an amazing beer. I'd love to age a couple of these for a few years to see if the alcohol fades a bit -- I'd bet it'd be even more amazing down the line. 4.5/5

Overall: 4.55/5

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