Lake Louie Mr Mephistos Imperial Stout

Pours pitch black and completely opaque without even the slightest hint of lighter hues when held to a light source and a 1.5 finger frothy light beige head that slowly fades into a thin lasting ring, leaving chunky rings of lacing. Roasted malt aroma that is very hoppy for the style with hints of dark chocolate, burnt toast, roasted coffee, oatmeal and toffee. The hops provide an earthy pine presence with a bit of citrus sweetness. Pretty hop forward for the style with some nice roasted chocolate malt flavor. There is a sweetness from the bitter dark chocolate along with some citrus peel, orange and lemon with some grapefruit notes. The roastiness of the malt is really well balanced by these flavors. There is also a bit of oatmeal, coffee, tofee and burnt toast underneath. Alcohol is very well masked. This is a very unique beer that I enjoyed. I usually don’t like stouts that are hoppy because they are usually very dry and piny, taking away from the silky viscous malt mouthfeel that I enjoy but this beer has a completely different sweet citrus hop profile that compliments those flavors very well.

Bottle - Pours a thick, creamy tan head atop a black pour. There’s lots of booze on the nose, though it’s sweeter than I’d expect. There’s a touch of dark fruit in there too. Taste is sweet too, with caramel and a roasted malt finish. There’s some good heat that compliments the sweetness well, but overall I wanted it a little darker and nastier. Still solid, with that medium-full body and creaminess I’m looking for.

Sweet malt with a savory saltiness like soy sauce. Tickleish hoppiness. Faily typical, but well done and hides the alcohol well.

12oz bottle courtesy of Gillard poured into a tulip. Pours close to black in the glass with a big beige head that leaves decent lacing and leaves a solid cap for a while. The aroma is oddly sweet with licorice being the dominant smell. Maybe it’s slightly oxidized, but the dark roasted malts are in the background. There’s also some sweet vanilla and chocolate sweetness as well. The taste has the same initial sweetness that featured in the aroma with lots of caramel, vanilla and licorice. There are lots of dark sweet malts with a slightly roasted character. Very, very sweet overall. The mouthfeel is slick and on the lighter side of things as RISs go. There is very low carbonation and a very sweet aftertaste. This one disappointed me a little bit and came across much sweeter than I was expecting. It’s a decent beer overall but nothing outstanding.

12oz bottle. The aroma is warm and hints at the big chocolaty alcohol within. The taste is quite smooth though. When I had this at the bar, I estimated it was around 8.5% or so. Creamy, mellow carbonation and very little hop character. Smooth, drinkable, challenges the sipper notion. Malty, almost a touch lactic, traces of Milk Stout.

Bottle wife got or me from Wis. Good roast and nut aromas. Black body with tan head. Alcohol hidden but alot of sweetness appartent. Some molassas and nutmeg in the flavor. Carbinated beer not bad.

Tasted 6/11/09. 12oz bottle. Pours opaque with a deep super dark brown hue. Layer of beige head. Roasted aromas. Maple and nutty aromas. Full bodied and big! Big roasted malt flavor. Alcohol is prevalent and makes for a grapey vinuous nuance. This is thick and rich. Subtle bitterness, but good acidity. Mildly estery. Good, but a bit hot. Good.

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet with notes of roasted malt and wood as well as lighter notes of soy sauce. The flavor is sweet malty combined with notes of roasted malt and lighter notes of soy sauce and wood. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.