The beers of Iwakuni: North Coast brewing's Old Rasputin Russian imperial stout.

I can't remember if Hilgar got me this one or if I bought it in Hawaii, but I've had it for months. Tonight's beer is the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial stout by North Coast Brewing Co. out of Fort Bragg, California. North Coast Brewing started in 1988 as a brewpub and has since expanded to an over 66,000 barrel capacity, making it the 42th largest craft brewer in the United States. It is owned by Tom Allen, Doug Moody (vice president), and Mark Reudrich who is company president and brewmaster. The brewery intends to not only stay fully independent but also stay in the city of Fort Bragg when it builds it's new facility. This new facility will house it's brewing operations and offices as well as a taproom and gift shop. The business owes it's success to it's focus on having superior products in styles that are not brewed to death by other craft brewers, such as Saisons and Imperial Stouts. The brewery has won 19 awards over the years and 13 of those are for Old Rasputin, with the beers first win in 1996 and it's latest in 2014. I've had this beer many times before as it's one of Hilgar's favorites, but that won't stop me from an honest review.

I received this beer in a 12 oz stubby bottle with a crimpcap. In the center of the label art is a picture of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin himself, Czarina Alexandria's mad monk. Around the black and gold label it says in Russian Cyrillic "A sincere friend is not born instantly", I imagine this refers to the much longer process of creating Russian Imperial Stouts compared to other beers. The neck label features the emblem of the brewery flanked on either side by the phrase "never say die". The crimpcap also features the emblem of the brewery. It is 9% ABV and 75 IBU's. I will be using a tulip glass for this one.

Nose from the bottle is hoppy, caramel, with malt. It is a very smooth, rich, and wispy scent. Color is a deep, dark mahogany with a slight brunette head. Not a great deal of agitation, but it is still there. This beer has a production date of May 1st 2016, so it's over a year old and past it's prime. Despite being a dark beer, Old Rasputin does not age well due to deriving much of it's flavor from it's hops. Nose from the glass is similar as from the bottle, but with a sweet fruitiness and alcohol esters. On first sip, It starts off with a deep roasted malt with dark chocolate, truffles, a touch of bredyness, then has a floral hoppy middle with a dry malt finish and a hoppy chocolate aftertaste. The dark chocolate flavor becomes more intense as you drink, to a point where it overpowers some of the other flavors.

Listening to Brownsville Stations 1971 album "A night on the town". Unfortunately predating their renowned 1973 hit "smokin' in the boys room", but regardless it is an exultant album and example of early 1970's rock. The only thing I don't like about this album is the disgustingly early '70's "funky" artwork, it's just awful. I actually got this one in a blind lot box sold as rock/jazz/blues, which means it's be 4 rock and roll albums and 5 that could be considered blues and the other 41 are 1950's-early 70's jazz. But I don't regret getting it. I have found so many great artists from the past that I probably would not have looked into before. But anyway, I went to Imabari castle over the weekend. Of the three castles I have visited in mainland Japan, this one is the best design. It's s position is fantastic for the early 1600's when it was built. It is a seaside castle with an ocean fed moat and a fresh water well fed by an underground river. The main entrance is a killbox made for intersecting fire with a giant iron plated gate and a smaller wooden gate to keep the flow of attackers to a minimum. The back gate is not quite as well fortified but it is only fed by a small wooden bridge which can be set ablaze if you had to. The ramparts are sloped outwards for structural support and so that attackers at the bottom cannot hide from the copious loopholes in the walls at the top. It is a two terrace design, with the bottom terrace featuring the two external gates with their turrets and walls. And the second terrace cut off by a wall at the top of the rampart and a five story pagoda within it. The castle features four museums. In the main pagoda is the castle museum, which you cannot take pictures inside of as it contains many paper and silk items that can be damaged by flash photography. It features not only the most extensive collection of Samurai armor I have seen, but also the most extensive collection of Yari and some of the best preserved Tanegashima arquebuses as well. I'm telling you, these spears they were using to defend this place were some of the most gnarly instruments of death I have ever seen. In the three turrets you have an art museum featuring pieces from the city of Imabari, a museum featuring the different sorts things that have been made in Imabari over the the past 400 years and how technology has developed, and the main gatehouse is dedicated to illustrating the reconstruction of the castle in the late 1980's and early 90's and the designs that made the original castle so formidable. Like most castles in Japan, the original Imabari castle was destroyed by order of the Emperor in the 1870's-1890's as part of the abolition of the Han system, which not only led to the rapid modernization of the country but also reinforced imperial authority. The new castle is built on the ramparts that were left behind after the site was turned into a Shinto shrine, and much care was given to not only accurately recreate the original structure, but to preserve what remains of it as well.

Final thoughts. A wonderful beer that any connoisseur worth his salt should have. You should certainly go out of your way to have this one. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Coast_Brewing_Company
http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/about-us/
http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/fort-braggs-north-coast-brewing-co-succeeds-by-going-against-the-grain/