Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Bottle. Pours a dark swirling black with a small weak beige head. The aroma is dark fruits, sweet candies, and a dark dungeon. The taste is of course dominated by the 16% alcohol, but in a nice way. It’s really quite drinkable, just take your time. There is hints of cherries, plums and raisins, burnt malts, coffee, maybe even soy. Needless to say this is not a session beer, but in certain situations it’s a real champion.

Big big thanks to Philip for being the generous guy he is, and hooking me up with this! Wow, great stuff. Opaque motor oil pour, topped with a medium sized mochachino head. Good retention present, and there’s some pretty lacing. The nose is a huge kick of anise infused booze, stirred with dark chocolate, espresso beans and some fig. Indeed! The flavours in thisguy are so huge, that you HAVE to sip it. This one small bottle is plenty for 3 people. Flavours are caramalized fig, tripple espresso bean, dark bitter chocolate, with booze and dark rum. Wow, this is good, great, grand. Thanks so much to Philip for hooking me up.

Black with huge brown head, made of tiny carbonation bubbles. Aroma lacks a bit IMO. Dark fruit (mostly prune) and alcohol up front, (although no where near what you would think at 15%). Maybe some spicy hops in the background, but still leaning towards alcohol. Flavor is very sweet through and though. Chocolate/coffee mixture to start, turns quickly to mollasses/syrup with some coffee bitterness in the finish. Ton of unfermented/residuel sugar in the flavor. Very sticky mouthfeel, almost like straight syrup. Aroma really kills the score for me.

(Bottle, thanks Rick) Pours dark drown yo black. Dark dried fruits, raisins, cherries and roasted malt in aroma with rum and some alcohol. Salty and a bit sweet nose with cocoa hints. Grate taste! Big roasted and sweet flavour with brown sugar. well balanced. Fiery and a bit peppery. Salty with some liquorice. Thick, complex mouthfeel. Big body. Balanced afterbitterness. Extreme.

Bottle, batch 1, acquired in a well executed trade with SoLan. Rating #600. This is one of those really black beers. One of those that is so black it is staggering. I held the goblet to the light for a few minutes trying to discern an iota of light coming through the very edges of this beastly brew. Nope, maybe some dark opaque reds are seen on the most outer boundaries. A solid, dark tan head sits atop for quite some time as well. The aroma is equally as intense. It was assaulting my olfactory glands from the moment I cracked open the glass vessel. Loads of espresso and thick, dark fruit are apparent along with a milky, sugary sweetness. This is quite sweet for the style, but not gritting. I was a little afraid of the sweetness factor after sampling their Samael, but this is nowhere near that level. Plenty of roasty espresso notes and bark are apparent then a wash of licorice and dark, dark rum, though perhaps not quite as reminscent of sugar cane. An earthy, ripe boquet of vinous notes coat my palate throughout. The mouthfeel is thick and coating with minimal carbonation. This is extreme and sets itself apart from other impies with the dessert-like qualities. Completely solid brew. The alcohol is only detected in a pleasing warmth on the back of my palate.
[June 11, 2008]
Bottle from November 2007 thanks to BossHossBikes. Look at this stuff. It is pure black and absolutely opaque. A small dark head forms only to recede to a ring. The aroma is roasty, not absurdly so, and most of the focus seems to be on dark fruits, chocolate brownies, and molasses. What is striking is the absence of alcohol in my nose. The mouthfeel is very slick and thick as oil, highlighting the fruity notes that come out in something akin to cherries. More baked brownies, spiced rum, and earthy coffee. The alcohol now is slightly detected, but for 16%. . . .it is masked quite well. I’m really enjoying the flavor and especially the palate on this one, however I prefer drier, roastier imperial stouts. Still, this is a mammoth beer to behold. I must say I remember the first batch having more defined flavors after 6 months.
[July 1, 2008]
Bottle of Batch 2. While I enjoyed my bottle of batch 3 quite well, it didn’t live up to my memory of my first encounter with Mephistopheles. I picked this one up in hopes of reliving that original glorious moment. The pour is just what I expected: solid viscous oil with a black color. The head was dark and frothier and longer living that expected. The aroma is boozy with heavy suggestions of dark fruits, some molasses, cherries, brownies. I welcomed the familiar heavy, near-still, sticky palate. Now this is more like it. I get all that sweet, boozy stuff that I experienced last time, but also a nice earthy, bitter note for balance. It makes the whole thing a bit roastier, just like I like my imperial stouts. Hints of coffee beans, dark chocolate highlight the heavy chocolate foundation. I am completely digging this one. What a beast. Alcohol is apparent, but certainly not overwhelming. I hear a lot of people griping about the sweetness of this one, but I haven’t encountered that problem. Believe me, some of Avery’s beers are way too sweet for me but this is not one of them. I’m not sure if I just preferred this batch better or if it is the age on it that brought everything together. Whatever it is, I like. My score reflects this tasting.

Nove 2006, Batch 2 bottle from Churchill’s pub in San Marcos. Amazing 1/2 finger head that lingers forever. Super creamy dark tan microbubble head. Aroma has medium oxidation, some cardboard, leather, yeasty notes. I find myself smelling it over and over again for nearly 15 minutes, while taking the tiniest of sips. No mistaking this is a sipping beer, and a wonderful one at that. 15 minutes later the 1/2" head is still hanging on. Taste is very sweet, with a medium to heavy body. Pleasant camel, and roastiness hide in malty base. Much better as it warms up. Optimum temp=55F.

12oz 2007 Vintage from Countryside Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a murky black used motor oil color with a thin head. Aroma is sweet and roasted with notes of coffee, chocolate, ripe dark fruit, brandy, vanilla, some wood and hints of smoke. Flavor is also sweet and roated with notes of toasted malt, ripe dark fruit, molasses, caramel, vanilla, wood, and hints of smoke and alcohol. Generally full body with a deep roasted and malty finish.

2006 bottle batch1 via trade with cbkschubert. Craig really hooked me up here. Beautiful aroma really got me hyped for this one. Send chills down my spine (or was that the wind from this cold night?). It kept a nice thin ring around the black tar pour till the very end. Flavor is very close to being a chocolate/cherry sherry flavor. Very nutty with slight carbonation that is mysteriously smooth. The alcohol is almost non-existent here. I hardley ever tasted it. I savored this one, sipped it for along while. I’m surprised this is not classified as a russian imperial. Craig thanks for the help with this #300th rating. Almost perfection. Cheers!