All Beer Blog

North Coast Brewing Company: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast Brewing Company opened in 1988 as a brewpub in Fort Bragg, CA. Owners Mark Ruedrich and Tom Allen claim to be pioneers in the craft brewing movement, which after tasting Old Rasputin, I tend to agree!

Now, on to the beer review! Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout is simply one of the most well-rounded and best tasting beers I have ever had. Period. It starts off by pouring a literally jet-black colored, thick beer into the glass.

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout head

As you can see the head is rather large, usually 2 to 3 fingers. Its color is a lighter shade of the beer’s color, mocha or tan I’d say. The smell is of many things: chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and barley. Heavenly. The taste is even better! Definitely starts with the chocolate and coffee flavors leading into malt and even a bit of a hops at the finish to even it out. Very well balanced, doesn’t leave you wanting anything else; not too sweet and not too bitter, although the roasted malt flavor is the strongest. The mouth feel is almost creamy and stays heavy with minimal carbonation. It’s very smooth considering that this beer’s ABV is 9%, I didn’t really taste any alcohol.

All in all, I give this beer a 10/10! Definitely one of my favorite beers to drink. I would say this beer is perfect for dining, with dessert better yet. I would suggest trying this if you like a rich, heavy beer and don’t mind drinking it while eating.

Upland Brewing Company: Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA

Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA - Upland Brewery

I had a taste for some Upland Wheat from the Upland Brewing Company, so I inquired about their beer selection here in Chicago. I was told that they didn’t distribute anything to Illinois but was offered a free sample by mail, which I gladly accepted. Thanks!

I have reviewed a few beers from Upland Brewery here before, this is my new favorite! As you know, the Upland Brewery makes great Indiana beer; if interested, you can find a short history on my Dragonfly IPA beer review.

Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA head - Upland Brewery

Narragansett Lager

Beer Review & Beer Rating: Narragansett Lager

Finally, a new beer review! Narragansett Lager is brewed by The Narragansett Brewing Company and has been since 1890. Originating in Cranston, Rhode Island, it has been producing American beer for over 100 years. They have an interesting history; apparently six businessmen from Rhode Island got together in 1888 with $150,000 and started a brewery. At one point they were the largest brewing operation in New England. According to their website, during Prohibition they were granted the right to brew, bottle and sell beer by the IRS. Here is a direct quote from their website:

By the mid sixties, the Narragansett Brewing Company was providing steady pay, good benefits and free beer to some 850 workers. The company culture not only spawned lifelong friendships and good times, but also encouraged beer drinking during the workday.

- Narragansett website

I wish I could find a job like that. A beer blog will do for now. After experiencing great success a series of legal troubles and unfortunate outcomes forced the closure of the brewery in the 1980s. Then in 2005, ironically more New England investors purchased the rights to Narragansett Beer from the previous owner and began brewing the great beer once again.

The good folks over at the brewery were kind enough to send me a 6 pack of 16oz cans, or ‘Gansett tall boys as they call them. I am very thankful ,thanks! I had never heard of them before, the beer or the company. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the beer. The beer actually smelled like most Polish beers, grains and a bit of malt. The appearance was crisp and clear, with a pale yellow color to it.

Beer Review and Beer Rating: Narragansett Lager

As you can see there was a nice head but left minimal lacing. The carbonation was definitely there but was light, making it really easy to drink. The taste was pretty good, grainy and you could taste more hops than you could smell. You get malt at the very start and the hoppy bitterness at the end of a nice big sip. Pretty refreshing.

All in all I give this a beer rating of 7/10! This beer is easily a replacement for Miller Light or Coors Lite, the Midwest equivalents. Again, I had never heard of this before as I have never seen it in any liquor stores in the Chicago area. I can’t tell you were to get it in the Midwest but it seems this beer is easily acquired anywhere in the New England area.

Regards!

Capital Brewery: Island Wheat

Capital Brewery is a Wisconsin brewery located in Middleton, just outside Madison, the capital of the state and making it yet another Midwest beer. They have been in production since 1986 and offer about 20 different beers. According to their website, “Capital Brewery was named the #1 Brewery in America at the 1998 Beverage Testing Institute’s World Beer Championships in Chicago, IL.” Pretty nice award, I can’t comment on it since I have only had one of their beers.

Island Wheat was a pretty good wheat beer, not unlike all others. Apparently it is made with wheat grown on Wisconsin’s Washington Island (hence the name). It poured a hazy yellow color with a pretty nice head. The smell was of wheat and hints of yeast or grains along with some citrus. The taste was the same with added floral characteristics, from what I don’t know.

As you can see, the head is pretty prolific for a lighter beer. It is very white and there is a good mixture of large and small bubbles. The lacing on the side of the glass was minimal. The head receded quite quickly and reduced itself to nothing.

All in all, I give this beer a 7/10! It was pretty good but it was too similar in comparison to most other wheat beers; it wanted to be more but ended up being the same. I think I bought this at my local liquor store, it is probably easy to find throughout the Chicagoland. If you like wheat beers, give it a try!

Regards!

Barley Island Brewing Company: Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout

Barley Island Brewing Company is another brewery located in Indiana. I couldn’t find that much information on the history of the brewery itself but from their website I gathered that they have a brewpub and about 10 beers they brew, they alternate which beers are on tap at their brewpub seasonally. Apparently they are the only brewpub in Hamilton County, Indiana. They state that the name Barley Island comes from an old 17th century name for the room in an alehouse that beer is consumed. Neat.

Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout was pretty good. I am starting to really like stouts and this is the first one I have chosen to review. As you can see the appearance is very dark; you can’t see through the beer at all. The smell was that of roasted malty chocolate and a little hint of oatmeal. Chocolate was definitely the dominant smell. The taste was the same, definitely tasted roasted chocolate. With an alcohol content of 4.9% alc/vol is was hard to taste; the beer itself is what you taste, not alcohol.

The head, as you can see, was not very large. It poured a darker, seemingly chocolately head. This dissapated to a thin layer that stuck around until the beer was fininshed. For a stout, this was not as heavy as I thought it was going to be and sat well in my stomach.

All in all, I give this beer a 7/10! It wasn’t the best stout I’ve ever had but it was definitely something you should try if you are interested in stouts. It wasn’t as heavy as others so it would probably be a good starter to see if you have the taste for stouts. I bought this beer in Indiana and have never seen it anywhere in Illinois (or anywhere else for that matter), so if you want it you will probably have to go to the source.

Regards!