Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Pour is black with small-bubbled tan head. Good retention and lacing for a filtered beer. Nose is very full and complex--caramelized dark fruits (as suggested) abound the nostrils, molasses, a little booze, some chocolate and coffee as well. Flavor is very sweet and cloying, molasses is the first thing I taste along with a little alcohol. Another sip--unmistakeable molasses again, maybe some toffee, but much lighter on the chocolate and coffee flavors I am used to tasting in big imperial stouts. The flavor is really disappointing to me considering how pleasent the nose was. Just cant get past the molasses. Alcohol pretty well hidden. Love the label.

100th rater, enjoyed with Dickinsonbeer and JoeMcPhee at Spuyten Duyvil. After the pour the smell hits you like a rocket. So I let it sit for a bit. It poured black (of course) with a brown head that left soon. After letting it sit for a bit, the aroma was surprisingly light. It was a light alcoholic, floral fragrance, unlike a regular imperial stout. Here comes the taste. The body is much lighter than expected. Bitter taste but a smooth finish, probably becasue of the lighter body. Again, the smoothness going down is surprising. As I sit and drink the finish becomes a floral bitterness. Imagine a sweet bitter floral beer. Definitly worth a top 50 spot. Also, probably not worth aging. Now check my two commrades ratings and see the difference.

Bottle. Pours midnight black with a 2 finger brown head that leaves delicate lacing. The nose is dark chocolate, burnt caramel and roasted malt. The taste is dark fruits, cocoa, burnt malt, roasted coffee and some ABV burn in the finish. Medium creamy mouthfeel. Not as hot as I expected, but there’s still a burn in the finish. Not something I’d buy again at the $7/12oz price point, but a good IS nonetheless.

From a 12 oz. red foil wrapped neck with a blurb along the right side of label and a bottled on date on the left side, Jan/2006, batch number one. Made a very good appearance, better than I was expecting, poured a syrupy coal black with a foamy, bubbly topped, tan head that slowly settled into a thin foamy skim-like lacing, decent amount of sticking, moderate carbonation. Had a nose of chocolate and expresso maltiness with whiffs of a grape vinous, dark ripe fruits and a rum-like alcohol. A crisp, creamy and a velvety smooth full bodied mouthfeel, good sipping drinkability. At first, tastes of grape vinous, caramelized sugar, then chocolate laced expresso, dark ripe plums soaked in rum, the alcohol produces a nice warmth in palate and has a rum or liqueur-like quality and a vinous and alcohol finish. Part of Avery’s "Demons Of Ale" series and this one can be one sneaky demon, should only improve with a little aging.

)on bottle, thanx hopscotch)Oily and black as a welldiggers butt, thisa looks imprssive. Aroma is dominated by alcohol and malts, but a surton herbyness and madeira-like feel lies under the surface, mysterious and dark. Taste is powered up by the oilyness and the herbs comes through in a big way. The 15,1% is very well hidden, but hits like a jackhammer real fast. Looong aftertaste, but not the must complex.

Holy shit, this bad boy hit my head like a fucking bowling bwol- A MORE succint rate to follow, but this mferer hit right up side the head. shit/

Pure black color, very thick, brown head with excellent lacing, nose full of sweetness, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, burnt toast, bitter hoppiness & a touch of alcohol, thick & syrupy body, huge warming effect from the alcohol content, bold & rich complex body, full body of flavors with notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dry hoppiness, very well balanced, the alcohol hits you almost immediately upon first sip, this is probably a rougher beer than DFH WWS of 2002, but just as delicious & menacing, dry & bitter finish with a port-like flavor, definitely the Devil of all beers, and I’m glad that this is probably the last beer I will rate on this site, I certainly chose a more-than-worthy beer for the moment, get your hands on this one if you can, it’s most definitely worth it

Bottle Poures a jet inky black, and has that viscous look that few others share. Deep brown head that is lasting and lacing the sticks to the glass for the duration. Lots of strong sweet dark aroms of molassas, leather, tootsie rols and of course the alcohol. Strong, but at %5 I was afraid it would be more overpowering. Flavors were no suprise. Sweet again, prunes, licorice, some coffe and molassas. The ABV is certainly aparent I I am not particularly impressed with the rep that Avery has for seemingly trying to make the biggest, baddest whatever. I did’t find the alcohol to overpower the strong sweet flavors, but it does fume up on you. Big, Bad and pretty good.