Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Batch 2 Astonishing. Pours thick and oily with a decent head. Scents of chocolate and coffee. Black as night. From the first sip, you know this one is not to be taken lightly. YOU MUST LET THIS BEER WARM UP! A full Nelson on the palate with plums and raisins, roasty malt lurking behind well-balanced bitterness and similarly subtle alcohol warmth. As the beer warmed slightly, its flavor changed and improved with every few degrees. "Crafty shape shifter", indeed! One of the best beers I have ever had, and probably ought to be the last of the evening.

#200. Poured an almost viscous dark brown color with a solid two-finger tall brown head. Minimal lacing. The aroma was sugary sweet candied fruits, chocolate, and a bit of floral hops. The flavor is a super sweet candied sugar with some chocolate and alcohol heat. Very aggressive, very in your face alcohol and an overly sweet flavor didn’t agree with me. Sure its big. Sure it has a lot of alcohol, a lot of everything in fact. Doesn’t mean it’s great.

Bottle purchased at From the Vine, $7.99. This is the way I want a stout to taste. Malty, chocolate, swee and low hops. Pours a nice chocolate brown with a tan head. I thought the alcohol was very well hidden. Great stout.

Bottle @ Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Pours a black color with a tan head. Roasted malty slightly vinous aroma with hints of chocolate and coffee. Sweet smooth roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor with some woody hints. Also some weak hints of dark fruits. Long warming slightly alcoholic finish with chocolate and molasses in the aftertaste. Very lovely.

Very dark brown in colour - near black - beige coloured head, good lacing. The aroma is extremely hot, very sweet, boozy, chocolate and dark fruits. The flavour is very unbalanced with all of the distracting alcohol, very hot, some chocolate, light hops, molasses, brown sugar. Very boozy, sweet and hot mouthfeel, medium/large body, high carbonation. Finishes hot, lingering. Unbalanced doesn’t even come close to describing this, the alcohol was just too overpowering.

330ml bottle shared by <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank>mds, thanks Mike.
Opened on February 16, 2007.
Batch #1.

12 oz bottle courtesy boutip, Batch #1, bottled January 2006. Completely opaque dark chocolate brown colour with a mostly diminishing fizzy and creamy tan head. Vinous, rich chocolate, caramel, roasty, cappuccino, raisin, and citrus aroma. Vinous, brown sugar, molasses, dark chocolate, raisin, and other dark fruit, and orange flavours with a fruity and alcohol finish. Full bodied, rich and warming mouthfeel. Alcohol is there, but definitely not 15% there. Very good.

Bottled. 15.1%ABV version. Very black coloured. Cherries, almonds, chocolate, dried fruits, liquor and toffee in the aroma. The same stuff in the flavour plus loads of other things. Sweet. Extremely complex. Towards the finish it gets quite hoppy and dry. Very full bodied. Very smooth and soft mouthfeel. Very well balanced. The alcohol is smoothly hidden. Excellent.

Pours a very dark color with a dark coffee brown head. Hints of caramel, chocolate, and alcohol in the aroma. Sweet chocolate/ roasted coffee taste makes this one of the tastier imperial stouts I’ve had.