Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Aroma of a wet wooden whiskey barrel. Some sweetness also. Black body with dark tan head. Flavor of sugar and a mild sweet caramel. Some rich chocolate that made this a full bodied beer. Smooth on palate and somewhat dry. I may have to shake the money tree as my friend says and get another of this one.

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.)

thanks to secret santa for this. pours black with a brown head aroma of vanilla, coffee, chocolate, oak. taste is roasted malt, chocolate coffee oak vanilla. mouth feel is thick and just slightly bitter in the end i have been waiting to try this and must say it was worth the wait. FUCKING AWSOME.

Bottle poured an opaque black with a large, lasting, creamy brown head. Aromas of coffee, roasted malt, vanilla, pepper and bitter chocolate. Palate was full bodied, smooth and warming. Flavors of roastiness, coffee, vanilla, bitter chocolate, and a hint of licorice with a warming, lingering bittersweet finish.

[12 oz. bottle, batch 1, 1/06] I have to give this one a 5 for appearance- it’s totally black, pours out thick and has a lumpy, coffee colored head- simply awesome. Aroma is sweet, alcoholic with some nice coffee and bitter aroma. Wow.. complex layers of dark fruits, cherries, raisins, plum sweetness. Massive thick, oily mouthfeel. Fruits give way to a long lasting, sweet coffee aftertaste. This is a simply huge brew.. I can’t even seem to find the proper words. This is to be consumed on a special day... when you’ve really earned it. Smooth, seductive and deceiving- it’s power will definitely creep up on you.

12 oz bolle, dated Jan 06, Batch 1. Thanks to The_Epeeist! Black with a nice brown head that never goes away. Nose is pungent, complex - fruity, with prune, black cherry, chocolate, grape - almost cordial in nature, with a pleasant sweet roastiness. The flavor is very bold - sweet black cherry, light prune, chocolate liqueur. Definate alcohol warmth in the gullet. Body is thick, oily. It will be interesting to see how this matures.

I have to admit, before I tried this beer, I had my doubts. I’ve had a few Avery beers in the past and many have been a little "over the top". I rated "the beast" and though it received decent marks, it was (for me), hard to handle at around 15% ABV. Mephistopheles was NOT at all. The alcohol was very well hidden for this demon. It was a pitch tar black SOB. Aromas of coffee, licorice, tobacco, INTENSE!!! Just excellent! A top notch sipping brew!

From bottle. Pours an inky black with dense coffee head that slowly subsides. Nose is vinous, with dark chocolates, burnt sugar, like roasted marsh-mellows. Very complex. Sweet vinousness, chocolaty, hints of tobacco with a little bit of alcohol warmth. Huge bitter chocolate finish that stays with you. This is a gigantic beer! Smooth mouth feel. This is like drinking dark, thick roasted syrup. Amazing!