Avery Mephistopheles Stout

Batch 3. It is difficult to have a beer with an ABV of 16% without tasting like alcohol. Unfortunately Avery did not quite succeed here. Strong Bourbon taste with a good stout finish. A good beer if you are looking at heading home early.

Batch 3. Poured dark with a nice head. Aroma was sweet. Tasted swet with a hint of malt. Overall this is a great full bodied beer.

Glass: snifter Purchased at: OakTree BuyRite, South Plainfield, NJ (Thanks, Jason and Matt) Price: $8.99 Size: 12 fl oz ABV: 16% IBU: no frikkin idea Estimated Calories:300 C RateBeer Rating: 99 Aural: easy opening, little carbonation, dark, pretty pour Aroma 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: sharp Impression: amazing Malt Aroma: rye, pumpernickel, sugar, cinnamon toast, peanut, chocolate, coffee Hops Aroma: moldy mud, marigold, tea, tar Other Aroma: alcohol burn Notes: A rich and deeply layered scent - if the taste is anything like the scent, I’m in for a ride. Appearance 5 out of 5 Color: black Clarity: opaque Head Retention: wispy Lace: poor Notes: A bold, deep black, sans light, plus wispy tan head. Beautiful. Flavor 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: amazingly balanced Impression: nice Malt Flavor: wheat, barley, pumpernickel, chocolate syrup, whole wheat toast, peanuts, toffee, dark chocolate, espresso roast, dark coffee Hops Flavor: dry dirt, cilantro, peppers, tar resin, lemon Other: alcohol Notes: The taste is unequaled in stouts. It has an acidic burn of alcohol, deep, dark rich chocolate, amber waves of grain, plums, apricots, ginger, soy, spinach. It’s amazing. Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: drying warming Body: full Carbonation: average Finish Length: long Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Notes: Bitter depth of finish is one of the key reasons to find this beer again. It is murky with depth and history of flavors. General Impression: 20 out of 20 Craftmanship: excellent Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: loved Notes: Perhaps outshines even Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast.

Batch one. Dark beer in the snifter with a short lived brown head that shrank to a lasting whisp. Holy crap. This thing is a Demon. Huge nose of molasses, cinnomon roll, over ripe plums, and I’ll say vine-ripened grapes and chocolate covered cherries since I’m in a susceptible mood. This tastes like the juiciest, most alcoholic fruit cake your coolest grandmother ever sent you for Christmas. Dried fruit, rum, toffee, almost burnt caramel, molassess, Raisenettes, whiskey, alcohol, and so many other complex flavors. This is a real sipping beer; meant to be contemplated over a long period of time. Much like an abused spouse, I will want more of this.

Pours black with a small brown head. Aroma is of coffee and bourbon, lots of bourbon. Flavor is somewhat tasty, but its hard ot overcome the overbearing alcohol. This reminds me of an attempt at DFH WWS gone wrong.