Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Sampler at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/frankf Liquors, Frankfort. Deep black color with a coating of oragne foam. Taste and smell are big, with prune and slightly sour cherries. Nice alcoholic brandy character. Yet it goes down insinuatingly smoothly. After a big stout howdy at the front, it mellows out toward the end.

Dusky aroma full of freshly mulled unripe juniper berried in coarse vodka with an edge of single estate Ecuadorian chocolate, with some dusky deep pants. Deep dark chocolate pour, with a coffee and cream head. Flavor is the most ridiculously power packed punch. I’m surprised how easy it is for me to recognize the distinct character of the brewers yeast, in a sultatory sugary and planty presentation. The intense pack carries both a sweeping cream of bourbon vanillas and a rich deep oak char, followed by characterful fruit, yet it’s so cloyingly sweet I can’t believe it. It blows me away. The palate falls away as almost unattenuated and slightly too hot, but the alcohol carries this incredible nutty profusion over the currents on a bright profusion of intense dates, apricots and cherries. All around some of the most intensely packaged beer. Even the juniper comes through, before flourising out in an intensley packaged presentation, with a fresh hop finish. Wow on the flavor. For 15% it doesn’t do too bad.

Pours a pitch black with a light brown head. Very thick and rich looking. Very roasty and nutty smell. Light chocolate and caramel with some roasted malts. Extremely sweet taste with some rich cocholate and roasted malts taste that just jump out at you from start to finish. Wow, what body! Just wonderfully flavorful from beginning to end. Really smooth for what a monster of a beer this is at 15%. Its like unwrapping a piece of candy and savoring it for a while. Excellent job.

Opaque black color. Full, dark tan head, which looks great. Distinctly Avery extreme beer smell. It smells a lot like Samael’s and Beast, but still certainly has its own unique characteristics. Hints of rum soaked raisins, red grapes, chocolate and espresso in the aroma. This is an impressive beer for sure. The body goes beyond chewy. It’s fully texturized and massive in body. The flavor throughout the front and mid-palate is very vinous (with cherries, grapes, fully extracted and juicy as hell.) Towards the finish, the chocolate and coffee malt flavor begins, with a very, very light hop hint on the finish. Tremendously well hidden alcohol. Very impressive work, fellas.

Black with a brown head. Small. Little lacing. Strong chocolate and roast aromas. Soy sauce and dark fruits such as figs. There is a note of tobacco and some hints of alcohol. Perhaps some spiciness to it. A lot of chocolate in the flavors. Strong roast. Vinous qualities. The alcohol certainly doesn’t hide out much. Thick and chewy palate with a heat filled finish of roast.

Bottle. Totally black beer with a small brown head. An over-exposed sweet cough-mixture/alcohol aroma drowns the beer aroma. Flavor is complex, dry fruit, coffee etc. but the sweet brandy alcohol impression subtract the good scores here. Still an interesting beer, but too extreeme for me.

1 inch thick dense head of dark brown bubbles. Head settles slowly. Turns a little bubbly as it sits. Little disappointed in the look of the head. Rich aromatic nose with vanilla, dark chocolate, a hint of bourbon, sweet malts, malted milk balls and plums. Color is black with hints of redish brown around the edges. Rich, sweet and oh so smooth. This is fantastic! Loads of sweet malts, molasses, raisins, brown sugar and chocolate covered cherries. Velvety smooth on the palate. Little alcohol presence but the 15% is hidden extreamly well amongst all of the malts. Oily finish with a lingering sweetness. If you like sweet imperial stouts, then there is none better than this one. Bravo Avery!

Ok, just opened a 2006 one (Batch 1) and this is still SUPER sweet. I guess my tastes have changed a bit because this is just over the top sweet. Ratiing adjusted down from a 4.5.

Very plummy to me, and pretty well done in that particular flavor. I wasn’t offended by the alcohol in this shared bottle. Nice aroma at cellar temp with woody elements. Slight coffee. Pretty thick, but still effervescent throughout the warming period. Some peppery flavor is nice. Good beer.