By Greg B.  For a long time I’ve wanted to get my hands on a used, aged oak barrel.  I haven’t quite cared what was in it previously… bourbon, whiskey, scotch, port, various red wines, even a chardonnay or something.  I’d love to experiment with aging beer in used oak barrels, and try to play with the flavors and aromas to see what I could produce.  Unfortunately, a large price tag comes with these barrels, and as a graduate student, this tends to be out of the picture.  But fortunately, I am able to buy other people’s oak aged beers and sample them, to get ideas for my own brewing.  Many of these beers are great, like Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast stout.  So when I saw the Old Rasputin XII, I thought this couldn’t go wrong, given how great the ‘normal’ Old Rasputin is.

This bottle of specialty beer comes in a smaller size than the usual 750mL corked bottles, as it comes in at 500ml.   Starting out it was a touch price point for the beer, which cost me something in the order of $24, but I was banking (turns out, not necessarily wisely) on the deliciousness of other North Coast Brewing Co. beers I’ve tried.  So I chilled the beer, and brought it over to Mike’s house during one night of sausage making (grinder attachment for a kitchen aid and a sausage stuffer attachment might be the best inventions mankind has developed) to share with Mike to taste, and Jon and I to drink.  First off, I have to say that 500ml really is not much, so it was a good thing Mike is not drinking, because it really only filled two small glasses, with not much more to spare… and given the sheer heft of the bottle, you’d think there’s more mass packed inside than there really is.

The beer pours jet dark black with a very dark brown fluffy head, and even appears to have that ‘falling’ presentation of the beer through the head that Guinness has.  Aromas of bourbon, notably, stand out on the front but also chocolates and dark roasted malts.  The mouthfeel was of a great, silky, velvety texture, with soft carbonation.  To taste… I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  I really got almost all bourbon, maybe some wood/oak on the finish.  The flavors of the malts really got completely covered by the almost overbearing bourbon aroma and flavor, especially as this beer warmed up a bit.  I like my imperial stouts with a touch of bourbon, not the other way around.  So, while the beer is made to cellar and the bourbon flavors/aromas were very strong now, fall of 2009, by fall of 2010 or even 2011, they should mellow out enough to be potable.  Basically what I’m saying is, if you’ve invested the large sum of money in buying this beer now, in 2009, DONT DRINK IT.  Save it for a few years in a cool, dry place (wine fridge would work nicely, actually).  I think this beer has potential, but if you drink it now, like I did, you’ll just be pissing away good money on a beer that will taste better in the future.  2.3/5, 11.2%abv