Avery Meph Addict

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Boulder, Colorado USA

Draught, Boulder Strong Ale Fest 2009. Head is mostly diminishing. Body is black. Aroma is heavily malty (coffee, coffee, coffee, roasted grain/nuts, dark chocolate), with notes of vanilla and alcohol. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, creamy/syrupy texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. It’s amazing how much difference there can be in coffee-infused beers wrt the coffee aroma itself. And let me tell ya, that can make or break the beer in a big way. Sometimes the coffee smells like stale, acrid, bile-laced grounds, completely ruining the beer. And sometimes, as is the case here, it is a heavenly aroma that is rich and roasty and nutty. Even though this is a one-trick pony for the most part, oh what a pony!

Had this beer at the Avery Taphouse. Very tasty. Coffee lingers around on the tongue like crazy. Overall very nice.

Draft @ BSAF 2009. Pours black with a medium sized tan head. Aromas of coffee, chocolate, lots of roasted malts, some dark fruit, and more coffee. Flavors are sweet roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. Tasty stuff.

One of my favorites from the 2009 Boulder Strong Ale Festival. Wonderful nose ... I could smell it and be happy for hours. Thick and rich on the tongue, like motor oil. Extremely rich and roasty, with elements of black coffee, sludgy molasses and dark chocolate. Thankfully, a high dosing of hops followed. Heavy grass and pine and dark fruit. Espresso weaved in and out of everything. Lip-smacking sweetness lingered on the lips, complemented by resinous hop oils on the tongue. I need to try this again ... just might give it a 5.

Draught, Boulder Strong Ale Fest. Black color. Heavy roast & coffee aroma. Port, almond, roast, intense coffee, char and chocolate. Very complex, a lot going on. The coffee element combined with the extra maturing time made this beer quite tasty.

Draught. Pours opaque with an average, frothy, dark brown head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (coffee, toffee, burnt grain), average hops (flowers, perfume, grass), average yeast (leather) with notes of smoke, tar, wood, alcohol, raisin, date, and prune. Full bodied, alcoholic texture, average carbonation, and a dry-spicy finish. Long duration, heavy sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. Please bottle this one too!

On tap at BSAF. Poured a deep, oily brown/black color with a quarter-inch beige head that diminished to a thin ring. Aroma is basically all fresh coffee grounds with some light undertones of chocolate and roasted malts. Sweet, smooth entry with some fresh coffee beans that led into an even more robust roasted coffee flavor with a bit of sweet chocolate that leads into a moderately bitter, dry hoppy finish with a bit of chalk. Low carbonation, smooth and full on the palate. Overall, this was pretty good, but certainly more one dimensional than the regular Meph.

Intensely rich, oily and thick black body. Nose is just saturated with this rich, sticky green, oily coffee bean aroma. Certainly vibrant, fresh, green, and excitable, but that’s about all I see going on in the nose... still, smells quite good. Body is ridiculously oily, thick, and smooth, and I think this is about as well as you can make one of these super-alcohol beers. Have to say it’s much, much better than any sample of regular Mephistopheles I’ve had. That one I’m not a big fan.