Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Batch 3. Black, Thick, creamy, dark chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malt, coffee, alcohol, caramel, with a bourbon finish.

Batch 3. Pours an opaque, dark, dark brown. Nearly black. Nose is full of roasted malts, burnt coffee, anise seed and alcohol. The alcohol nose is on par with most liqueurs. A little strong for my liking but it definitely piques my curiousity. Pleasant flavor at first with hints of coffee, semi-sweet chocolate and prunes. The finish is a little harsh with a too strong alcohol bite and a funky, cloying taste on the back of the tongue. Reminds me of a less sweet version of Dogfish Head’s WWS. Both have their merits but neither one ranks at the top of my list. Don’t get me wrong though. It sure as hell is more enjoyable than 90% of the beers I’ve tried.

Pours like black hole with an initial 2 finger head, settles down quickly and flavors are extremely complex and do change around when you swirl the glass: aromas of black, unsweetened coffee infused with dark Belgian cocoa powder, some hints of anise and zinfandel, alcohol is present for sure and it packs a punch. This is an extraordinary sipping brew, and to enjoy with dark or white chocolate, cigar perhaps. The alcohol kicks up as the beer warms, and the flavors do change and the roasted malts appear…coats the tongue with creaminess, like a cross between chocolate milk and some of the best Bordeaux. It really is a crafty shape shifter. Coming from a wine world, this is class altering beer!!! Hints of port, zinfandel, single barrel bourbon. Amazing!! If I want to get drunk within a single tulip glass, I have found my elixir.

Devilish. Huge roasted malt and chocolate sweetness is persistent as it moves across the palate. Beautiful chocolate black color with a foamy tan head. Alcohol is extremely present and almost overpowers the brew. However, it is one of my favorite high ABV beers and imperial stouts.

pitch black pour with a small tan head. Sweet alcohol aroma with plums and licorice. Immediately excellent mouth feel very creamy and smooth, followed by a sharp hit of sweet alcohol. This is followed by mellowing flavors of ripe plums with a slight woody character. The end is pure espresso but you are left with an after taste of rum. Very complex. the alcohol is overly powerful but, although unbalanced, it is a unique and a delightful sipper.

Bottle (of yum) Batch 1 Jan 06. Aroma is alcholic w/ Heavy chocolate accents. Pours tire black with a nice brown head. Taste is tons of malt, choclate, very warm going down due to the ABV. Silky on the palate with plenty of CO2. Delicous stout, buy one.

A Mes rate: bottle from American Beer Distributors.
I’m taking a guess that the guy before me (gipsonc79) didn’t notice that his was rate number 666 for this beer. Part of me feels guilty for spoiling the current synchronicity, part of me feels glad I didn’t have to deal with the fear of the 666th being me.

:)

This reminds me a lot of the Mikkeller Black. As in it being madder than a bucket of frogs. Aroma of marzipan and thick chocolate malt. Bags of brown sugar in there too. MASSIVE alcohol. Way too much in all honesty. "Black as a priest’s sock" (thanks Haddonsman) with a thin but lasting tan head and this may come as some surprise but there are some quite serious legs too. Huge and plain silly in the flavour. Chocolate, a truckload of malt, slight roasted coffee but it is reapered big style by some hooliganistic alcohol. This is no cheeky young skinhead, this is large pie eating veteran who is going to go to work on you. It’s brute force all the way here. The malts are big, the hops add a welcome bitterness but the alcohol is ferocious. Where I usually like this type of thing, here I find it just a little too raw. What is underneath is good, what smacks you in the very pit of your stomach is a little disturbing. Good beer, too alcoholic.

Batch 3. It is difficult to have a beer with an ABV of 16% without tasting like alcohol. Unfortunately Avery did not quite succeed here. Strong Bourbon taste with a good stout finish. A good beer if you are looking at heading home early.