My Russian Vote

I voted today. Say what you want about Kansas, but we get voting right. We have 4 places to go in Johnson County to vote early and avoid the lines on election day. But, like Russians in the 80's, I wasn't that pleased with my choices in the voting booth. So I don't think I really accomplished much in the voting booth*, but I did make one great choice today. I opened up a bottle of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.

*Stella called me just as I was pulling my voting card out of the machine. I didn't think much of it as I flipped open the phone and started to speak to her. But, apparently I drew the ire of a campaign worker because he ran at me and I thought he was going to tackle me. He told me to shut the phone, shut it now. I was in the room literally 3 more seconds, I think he could have let it go, I was obviously on my way out.

Just from my normal beer related reading, I knew that Old Rasputin was one of the best stouts money can buy. I was a bit surprised at how reasonable it was (something like $8.99 for a 4 pack of 12 oz. bottles) usually beers this highly regarded are priced to match. Over the weekend I had a couple and really enjoyed them. Tonight I took pictures and had pumpkin pecan bars to accompany it.


Old Rasputin weighs in at 9% ABV, but at 12 oz. it is completely manageable. The beer pours a super dark brown with a slight long lasting brown head. It has a chocolate malt smell with a little bit of coffee and surprisingly a little bit of anise. When drinking it, the beer coats your mouth with the chocolate malt taste. It finishes with a hoppy bitterness and a bit of an alcohol bite. But everything is completely balanced, a difficult feat. It is definitely the best tasting stout I've had, edging out previous favorite Yeti Imperial Stout.

Having a glass with a pumpkin bar is a pretty good idea. It's the perfect fall snack (if you don't have to worry about your weight). The pumpkin flavor doesn't get overpowered by the coffee chocolate malt taste of the beer. Think of a pumpkin scone with your morning Roasterie coffee. This could become that much of a fall classic for me.

While I didn't get much from my voting experience today, I did get an excellent drinking experience. I also got the added benefit of drinking a beer with a high alcohol content that will allow to me to forget, if just for a little while, what our country is in for over the next four years. I only hope that the coming big government experience truly does bring meaningful change to the country, a viable third (and fourth) party.