Bottle from the November 2006 batch. Strong roast malt aroma, blended with caramelized sugars and something strongly dusty. Pours the darkest brown, downright black in the glass with brown highlights at the edges. Even in a broad sniter, puts up a finger of coffee-brown head. More roast malt complexity in the aroma. Raisins and other dark fruits are there.

The first sip is mouthcoating, dominated by bourbon and thick, sweet caramel. The finish turns really buttery, like movie theater popcorn or butterscotch brandy. By the fourth sip, the booze is beginning to hit me, the caramel is becoming cloying, and the flavor of bitter melons is accumulating in the beer. I continue, but after about 4 oz desist. Mephistopheles has bested me in this round.

Yet for what I paid for this, I am unwilling to throw it out. So I cover the mouth of the snifter and let it sit. In the morning, at a cool room temperature, the aroma components are more present in the flavor; there’s a lot more roast malt, raisins, and dark fruit now. The thickness, alcohol, and caramel are still there, and again by about four sips, I have to stop. My palate is choked by the now-dusty finish. In small quantities (a teaspoon or so) it is delicious, yet by the fourth sip while I have to suppress the gag reflex to swallow. Here we have a beer that is actually not even a sipper. And I’m still unwilling to pour it out.

Afternoon. Mephistopheles is mocking me from under its shroud of Press ’n’ Seal. Unwrap. Now familiar aromas and dark fruits and butterscotch. A day out of the bottle, it has mellowed considerably. Front now vinous, smoked raisins, finish still caramel, butter, and dust, with accumulating warmth and bitterness. It can be savored in the mouth indefinitely, but swallowing is still an act of will. I’m going to make onion soup this evening, and perhaps Mephisto might do an excellent job of deglazing the stock pot, but it’s an untried quantity, who knows how well this devil cooks up, and if it cooks up badly, I will have ruined my entire week’s worth of lunch.

This is only going to end by taking it like a man. There’s perhaps 6 oz of liquid and two beers’ worth of alcohol left in the snifter. Bottoms up. Goes down hot and vinous, leaves a taste of cold coffee grounds in my mouth. I reel slightly, but 24 hours after opening Mephisto, I have earned a pyrrhic victory.

Bottled 11/2007. Black, thick liquid topped by a creamy tan head of half a finger that does not diminish, despite lacing beautifully. It’s a beautiful beer. The mouth is fairly thick with creamy carbonation. I smell viciously burned malts, chocolate, pleasant booze, lots of dark fruits. I taste lots of fruits, like stewed cherries and prunes, chocolate, bitter and burned malts, and an undertone of booze. The fact that it’s an undertone in a 16% beer is impressive. Deep, rich, fruity, and rather balanced. Not as complex as some other big IStouts. Very winy as it warms up, in both aroma and flavor, resembling a carbernet sauvignon in mouth feel and flavor, although it is still clearly beer with definite hops and heavily roasted malts.

Pours deep black and viscous. Probably the thickest beer I’ve seen. Thin brown head, but much more than expected. Aroma of chocolate and slight fruitiness. Flavor is chocolatey and coffee. Fairly alcoholic flavor which got stronger as it warmed. Overall just awesome, especially with that ABV.

Pours jet black from the bottle with a toasted brown head of foam. Loaded with dark fruits and zinfandel on the nose with flavors of bakers cocoa, cherries, black licorice, and faint coffee. Mops your palate with alcohol on the finish. Very aggressive, almost as if the beer is staring at you and daring you to drink it.

Bottle. Black colour with a light brown head. Lots of taste, lots of different aromas. Slightly alcholic finish. Strong, but very good.