Avery Mephistopheles Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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12oz serving. Batch 6 poured into a snifter. A - Pours an evil black with a 1 finger espresso head that leaves sticky patches of lacing. S - Bold chocolate and espresso, robust roasted malts, boozy vanilla vapors, caramelized sugar. T - Intense roasted bittersweet chocolate, cocoa dusted dates and raisins, woody hop bitterness, toasted brown sugar, anise seeds, warming alcohol and espresso on the finish. Hints of bacon come out as it warms. M - Full body, a bit syrupy, low to medium carbonation. Intense sweet flavors that are balanced by a robust roast character and hints of bitterness. Very complex malt and dark fruit flavors. Serving type: bottle 10-23-2011

Bottle, 2012 vintage batch 8. Aroma is chocolate and some coffee, but no hint of booze which surprising given the content. Pours black with a lingering light brown head. Taste is chocolate malt with some hints of coffee and dark fruit with a strong boozy finish. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Drank in snifter poured from 12oz bottle. Aroma - roasted coffee/chocolate malt. Appearance - very dark brown with light colored frothy head. Taste - whooo. Very potent with alcohol and sweet coffee. Very good and im bout to be drunk. Palate - heavy booze and heat. Nice chocolate taste. Overall - very hot but still great to sip on. Very enjoyable.

Bottle, 8 years old, pours like a good Americano, fresh piney nose with hints of milk chocolate, beef extract, slight mustiness, body is full, with dry mustiness again but also Bovril, milk chocolate, dry earthiness, wintergreen, rum and plum wine, pulled down though by a musty barrel note.

This is a stout's stout. Reminds me of that special Sam Adams stout in the special blue bottle that came out many years ago. Doesn't have much of a head, which is disappointing, but the taste is great. A special beer for a special occasion. But not the Super Bowl. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle, 2010 vintage

pours a thick black with a small brown head. When held up to the light, it does yield a red tinge near the edge of the glass. aromas of a shit ton of roast, some booze, some cocoa. very malt forward. Huge hit of roast bitter malt overwhelms you upon first sip. Tons of marshmallow, black cock, some sweetness but not overwhelmingly sweet. Some anal rape, but no prison sex. A few years has mellowed this thing out, nowhaddameinga? good.

pours black with a thin off white head. sweet, syrupy aroma with notes of soy. body is thick as hell with only a light carbonation. taste is bold, boozy, woody and chocolatey. finish is long long long. what a beer.

Batch 8 (Nov. 2012). 12 oz. bottle. Served in a snifter. Pours jet black with a slight tan head. Thick, syrupy mouthfeel. Aromas of alcohol, soy sauce (!), and a light, smoky quality which manifests later in the flavor of campfire smoke. A little burn on the finish. Love it.

Rated 4/1/13. My bottle was from the Nov. 2012 vintage, and was 16.2%. Poured into a tulip. A: Pours a very dark ruby color. It’s not the thickest looking pour I’ve seen, especially taking its gravity into consideration. The head it an amazing 4 finger mocha shade with retention belying its strength. There’s even some lacing left on the glass, as well. S: My first impression of the aroma is how insanely chocolaty it is. Given a chance to open up, it develops a breadier tone, with plummy sweetness being a constant throughout. I’m really impressed how well concealed the alcohol is, too. T: Initially, chocolate drapes over the palate heavily, before it gives way to notes of yeast and dark fruits. Where it falters is in the finish - it’s almost obnoxiously alcoholic (certainly nothing like the nose indicated). It certainly feels like it’s every bit of the advertised 16.2%, unlike some massive stouts that do a decent job of hiding the gravity. Actually, it’s the lack of impressive depth that’s the real killer here...still, gotta love the chocolate character. M: It doesn’t feature the thick sweetness I half-expected given its 16.2%. Naturally, this helps bring the boozy nature to the forefront. Still, the drinkability is quite reasonable considering everything that’s occurring within the flavor profile. O: Right now, it’s pretty damn harsh and unrefined. But, it has a lot of potential to improve. Given a few years of age, this one could become extremely impressive.

Black in the glass. Alcohol esters with some maple, coffee and cocoa aromas. Cocoa and Kahlúa flavors followed by a dryness on the palate. Overall, I love it... great stuff.