Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

12oz. bottle. Dark black in color with a small light brown head. Intense aroma that comes at you from all directions. Sweet, dark roasted malts, dates, soy, alcohol and a kind of "meatiness" that reminds me of a beef or veal demi glace. Flavor was way too sweet for my taste. Roasted malts, soy, molasses, raisins, coffee and a bit of alcohol on the finish. Very smooth for such a high alcohol beer. Very complex beer that just didn’t do it for me. I can see how people would like this very much, and being a lover of impy stouts I wish I liked it more than I did.

Third or fourth time I’ve tasted this and I’m pulled deeper into it every time. Everything about it is exemplory and seductive.<P> Beer pours an opaque, warm, dark-brown color with a small, light-brown colored, frothy, mostly lasting head.<P> The aroma is a sweet, dark, plush wall: Heavy malt notes of sweet, deeply roasted grain, almost-burned caramel, milk chocolate and strong coffee; Pointed moderate hop notes of pine, a light note of herb; Light yeasty notes of fresh bread and basement; Myriad miscellaneous, intoxicatingly pretty notes that shift and develop with every passing minute—raisin, rum, sherry dried stone fruit, wood, ginger, vanilla. There’s a faint note of alcohol—but not 15% worth! This wicked thing could have my knees out from under me before I realized what I;’d done to myself.<P> The flavor is very heavily sweet, heavily bitter, lightly acidic with a long, moderately citric-acidic, lightly bitter, moderately sweet finish with a gorgeous amount of tummy-warmth.<P> The body is full, the texutre is velvety-syrupy and the carbonation is soft. Very lovely and very dangerous! Bravo Avery!

Bought at the Blue Max. Well,it really is really dark. This is like a glass of oil with a thin layer of tan foam on top. I can’t believe how many different aromas are coming from this.Years ago I never would have been able to appreciate this.I think the most prevalent is the dark fruit port aroma,there are plenty more though. A little harsh on the throat and some what overbearing but loaded with wonderful treats for the tongue. After I let this warmup it,of course,changed and man was it complex.It is still a little harsh.

Honestly, I was terrified to try this. I was afraid since there was so much hype that it would not live up to expectation. I was wrong. Appearance: jet black with dark tan fluffy head that lingers, but diminishes. The aroma was absolutely amazing. Dark fruits, raspberry, strawberry,cherries, peach, almost like a belgian strong. Some dark and milk chocolates, some light espresso, and alcohol like whoa. Raspberries, cherries, and chocolate pop out at you, with marshmellow and vanilla goodness to follow. There’s quite a pungent alcohol flavor with a little burn. Some hints of licorice and nice strong espresso punch, with some butterscotch and just a tad bid of peach and apricot. The mouthfeel is completely velvety smooth. There’s nothing bad about this. Very very sweet. With some age, this is easily my perfect 5. Unfortunately, it does need the age to kill some of the alcohol burn/sweetness/bite/acidity. I can’t wait to get another one to age. (Which will ironically be the first beer I have ever sought out to age.)

This beer is fantastic, I’m not sure if I can even give it justice with a review. Pours a beautiful dark molasses with a great tan head. Very sweet nose with loads of bourbon, dark malts, and chocolate cherries. Friggin’ great! Taste just spectacular with a great full bodies mouth feel that lingers with thick malt, sweet dark fruits and coffee....great beer. Worth every penny.

12oz bottle: Pours to an opaque black body with a medium-sized creamy, light brown head that sticks nicely atop the the beer. The head ever so slowly fades, leaving nice lacing around the glass. Pears, plums, dark prunes, bread, bitter roasted malt (though not nearly as much as I was expecting), grape skin make up the surprisingly subtle aroma. The taste is quite sweet and fruity for an imperial stout, the sweetness and lack of alcohol burn reminding me much of DuClaw Repent. Chocolate syrup, ripe grapes, plums, prunes, pears, vanilla, oak, rum, cherries, dry merlot, port, and hints of raisin, dark roasted coffee beans covered in sugar, some tannins, and a tiny bit of sour mash hidden way in the background makes up the taste. The flavor is very interesting and complex, if a bit sweet, though the aroma is a bit weak. Full bodied, medium carbonated, finishes with prolonged sweetness, chocolate syrup, alcohol burn, dark fruits, and light roasted malt.

Bottle, approximately 8 months after purchase.

Pours a rich deep black wth a small tan head. The aroma is simply massive, right up there with the biggest I’ve experienced even on an imperial stout. The dominant aroma is a deep roasty malt chocolate, with powerful plum wine coming in right underneath and a vanilla oakiness throughout; I also get a bit of soy saunce and, of course, a ton of alcohol on the nose. It’s certainly an intense aroma, and a relatively nice one, though I could do without that alcohol blast and perhaps with a bit more subtlety.

Unfortunately, the flavor is just way too sweet. I realize that the brewery has aimed at a sweet cordial taste, but it catches me by surprise even after the aroma. In addition to the sweet chocolate, we get plenty of cherry, again some vanilla, woody notes, hints of whisky, grapes on the finish.

The mouthfeel is both sticky and hot; overall it does not impress though it definitely conveys the message that this is a high-gravity beer.

In the end, I’m didn’t particularly enjoy this one. One 4 oz snifter was enough for one night (compare with some of the other imperial stouts, where a 22oz bomber doesn’t seem nearly enough!) and the sweetness ruined it for me. The 15% alcohol seemed to hurt more than it helped, and I’m left thinking that there are probably a dozen Imperial Stouts available locally that I would prefer to drink if given the chance.

Creates a thich and fluffy sand colored head. Liquid is a opaque, dark and pure evil. The nose is a bold burnt dark malt and butter with no sign of the alcohol content. Flavor is a strong delivery of rich roasted malt, chocolate coated raisin, sweet syrup and medicine. Creamy and sticky for a mouthfeel and leaves behind a sweet resin as an aftertaste. Very big and brave beer to make.