Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Bottle courtesy of Beerandblues2 (Batch #1 – Bottled January 2006 Drank February 2007): Poured a pitch-black color stout with a big foamy head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of light coffee and sweet malt. Taste is totally dominated by sugar with some light coffee and some light warming alcohol. This is definitely a sipper and not something I would drink too often as it is way too sweet for my personal taste, with way too much pure sugar (à la cane sugar). Alcohol had probably time to disappear a bit after one year of cellaring. Overall, an interesting takes on the style and better then some other Avery’s big bees.

Sweet chocolatey aroma. Very sweet caramel and chocolate taste with fruit hints and a very strong alcohol presence.

12oz Bottle - Gravity Room - Olympia WA.
Aroma – A deep dark malt flavor with lots of alochol coming off the nose There was a sweetness to the nose also.
Appearance – Deep dark bown color, clear and a very thin head
Flavor – Deep molasses flavors with some sweetness of dried fruits. The high alochol was present throughout the beer.
Palate – A great cold cold night sipping beer with some deep flavors.
Overall –Let this beer warm up and it comes alive. Not a beer for the regulars but for the more sophistacted palate.

Batch 2, aged one year. Pours a thick, dark, inky black body with faint mahogany edges that only show against a bright light source. A small, frothy, chocolate milk head fades to a murky, patchy, thin film with a thick edge. Minimal sudsy lace mostly rejoins the body. The aroma is massively chocolaty and roasty. Melted dark chocolate, coffee liquor, licorice, molasses, scorched caramel, and alcohol soaked figs all flood the nose in an avalanche of massive scents. Big, complex, and boozy, the only real problem with the aroma is a slightly salty soy sauce component that creeps in on the back end. The flavor is equally huge and complex. Bittersweet dark chocolate and rich, roasty espresso provide the foundation. Molasses adds an earthy sweetness, and vodka soaked dark fruits add a huge amount of complexity. Again, however, some soy sauce infiltrates the palate and deters from the overall blend. The mouthfeel is downright thick and viscous, leaving a sticky feel behind. Very similar to DFH WWS, though not as smooth or drinkable. Bottom line, this is a massive, sugary beer that, while pretty well crafted, is just too over-the-top to reach for on all but the rarest of occasions and moods.

12oz bottle, batch 1 (11months old). pours a beautiful pitch black with 1/2inch tan fluffy head. the contrast of the tan head next to a pitch black color beer creates one of the best appearances i’ve ever seen. aroma hasespresso, roasted walnuts and pecans, charred oak, caramel, toffee, , sweet alcohol and cherries, with mild oxidation. aroma is simply amazing. the initial taste is an onslaught on the palate. it’s actually really smokey much more than i recall. flavor has lots of cherries, sugar, more espresso than chocolate but still chocolate notes in there, a rich, creamy mouthfeel, carbination is light, perfect for the style. flavor is really sweet and the alcohol almost tastes like a flavored rum. this bottle has actually aged rather well, whereas all the other bottles i had clearly were on their decline. alcohol is clearly noticible. this beer is clearly not as well made as DFH WWS but still a great attempt. a beer i wouldn’t mind having on a rare occassion. it’s truly a shame these beers won’t age 5-10years.

#1240: Pour is black with a thin dense brown head...smell is sweet with alcohol, some earth fruits, strong yeast and roastiness...taste is sweet with alcohol first, then lots of roasty chocolate, but then the sweet alcohol is back...I think everyone has lost their mind...Bells 7000 is another imbalanced Impy, but nowhere near as imbalanced as this...don’t get me wrong, this is good, but it is too hot, and I don’t think it is a hot that time will fix...

A huge thanks to beerguy101 for sharing this one. not much nose, but oh what a flavor! lots of chocolate and brown sugar sweetness along w/ roastiness. Loved it.

First impression: Me, I like it! Dark, dark coloured, black. Light brown head, mostly lasting. Aroma has lots of dark malts, coffee, chocolade, a bit laqurice. Strong flavor, long lasting. Heavy sweet and bitter, dark and roasted. Full bodyed, ceramy, heavy warming alcohol.