Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

12 ounce bottle from Haskell’s. Pours a syrup-like consistency with a raven-brown color and a rim of brown head. Nose is dark fruits, sawdust, and plum. Flavors provide exclamations of toffee, bittersweet baking chocolate, coffee, and soy sauce. A touch of hops in the forefront with a syrupy mouthfeel all around. Medium carbonation is a nice touch. Enormous body; intense and heavy. Alcohol warms the throat on the way down and is apparent in every sip. Slightly difficult to drink, but this got better over time.

Bottle. Pitch black, very nice creamy lasting brown head. Raisin and fig aroma, tar, sweet fruits, soy and some smoked fish. Sweet flavor, figs and raisins, sugary, alittle spicy, oily, some soy and some hoppy notes. Huge palate and alcohol is very well hidden.

I got what I expected but more from this stout. Batch 2. Poured a little warmer than I should have (will cool off more next time). Nearly black with thick, dark tan head which dissipated slowly. Lots of lacing. Aroma is great but almost overpowering...noticeable acohol (to be expected). Rich molasses, candy sugar, and raisin flavors. Alcohol burn does distract especially in aftertaste. Sweetness is heavy throughout. Not disappointed with it, but it is more of everything than I expected. Although already 1.5 years in bottle, will likely wait a while longer for another.

Batch 1, just a word of advice. Drink this when it’s fresh, this does not age well. At least the batch that I had was not that ageworthy after a year. When this is new, wow! Lots of coffee and mocha notes, with rich dark fruits, molasses and licorice, with a nose to match, the alcohol just kill this beer and throws everything else out of balance. It’s way too hot and green.

Thick, black, with thin tan head. Striking aroma of malty expresso, and raisins. Smooth, sweet complex flavor flavor of dark, ripe fruits and molasses. Some alcohol as expected, but not overpowering with a pleasing aftertaste. Worth putting away a bottle for a special occasion.

Pours a deep black with a dark tan head that quickly subsides. Minimal lacing.Nose is caramel, raisins and malt. Taste is sweet, but is overpowered by the alcohol, as is the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is thinner than I would like it to be.

Excellent stout. Smooth for such a high ABV (16%) Batch 3. Caramel coffee color. Slight instringent aftertaste. Will buy a couple for the cellar. A little too high ABV for my tastes. Bought at Bev 4 Less in Santee, SD.

Pours a opaque black witha a medium brown head and nice lacing. Aroma is moderately sweet cocoa, coffee, some cherry and vanilla. Flavor is molasses, chocolate, date, caramel, honey, some cherry, vanilla and a light alcohol burn. Finishes long and sweet with a burning sensation on the back of the throat. Creamy full body, medium carbonation.