Avery Mephistopheles Stout

12 oz bottle. heavy bittersweet, toasted slightly oaked aromas. Bangin’ on the nose. taste yielded more of a heavy bittersweet chocolate with an extremely fruity appeal. mid palate was rather sweet, surprisingly actually, and the finish lingered for quite some time, hitting the bittersweetness over and over again. minus the price point, i highly recommend the experience, as this is a brew to definitely be shared by many, yet loved by few.

Dark oily pour. Small brown caramel head.This stout is very complex. Lots of flavor in this stout. I detect chocolate, cherries, caramel, fruits, brown sugar, coffee, espresso and a cherry hint. Presence of alcohol is definitely noticable. I believe this stout fits perfectly in "The Demon of Ale" series as it truely is a demon of an ale. This is truely a treat to drink. I do not recommend drinking more than one.

Thick black with a tan nice head. Great aromas of coffee and chocolate. Smooth on the palate. Rich complex flavors of smoky malt, chocolate and alcohol. Definitely sipping time with this alcohol content.

Bottle, 2006 vintage (#2), 16.03%. When opening the bottle, a burnt, chocolate aroma immediately finds its way into my nose, leaving anticipations of something wonderful. The oily pour does it best to strenghten the anticipations, filling my glass with a black liquid, topped by a dense, finger-thick tan head. The head diminished slowly, but it never disappeares, there’s always a thin layer of bubbles covering the beer. The aroma feels quite sugary when inspected closer, but with all that burnt malt, chocolate, coffee and dried fruits, it’s needed. There’s a touch of alcohol and licorice in it as well, and there’s molasses too. The hops, who must be there somewhere are well hidden in the aroma, but more evident in the flavor. That’s a pity, I love it when my stouts smell a bit like sticking your head deep into a hop-sack. In the mouth, it’s thick, oily and warming, with flavors of heavily roasted coffee, dark chocolate, lots of sugar, a pleasant hoppy bitterness trying to balance the wast amounts of malt, and there’s also dried fruits and, of course, alcohol. It leaves an alcohol bite in the mouth, deliciously combined with bitterness from both hops and the burnt malt. As the glass is emptied, I find a fragrant touch of vanilla in both the aroma and flavor, almost like if it was oaked, and reading the commercial description, the thoughs of rum-soaked raisins comes to my mind. Even thoough it took me close to one hour to finish this 12oz bottle, I felt like I was drunk. Damn, I love those rather unbalanced, strong, dark beers with all its flavors and aromas, and even though I never drink to get drunk, (that doesn’t say I don’t get drunk) they give this good feeling of being relaxed and slightly out of control with my own mind and body. It cost me 66.6 DKK to buy this bottle at the lovely shop Ølkonsortiet in Aalborg, Denmark. I think that’s a fair, appropriate price:-). Hell, after finishing this one on a warm, March afternoon (warm to Norwegian standards that is), I feel almost as content as I could be.

One could ask what could have been done better with this one. First thing that comes to my mind is that there should have been more evident hops, meaning both hoppy bitterness, flavor and aroma. Especially the latter. Second, the alcohol could be toned down a bit. It’s not annoying, it’s just a little bit too much of it. Third, maybe it could be more complex. It might be just that it’s a bit low on hops, but I’m not sure. And finally, the bottle should be bigger. :-) All that being said, as I fought my way to the bottom of the glass, I raised my rating from 4.1 to 4.5, and I don’t think a bigger bottle would have lifted my rating, but at least it supports the idea of not rating at festivals and tastings. (Even though I do rate at festivals and tastings.) Big thx to Avery for brewing Mephistopheles. (080316)

Pour-dark, oily, caramel brown head Aroma-chocolate,coffee, dark fruit,roasted malt Flavor-bitey alcohol, roasted,chocolate Mouthfeel-thick, creamy Alcohol is way too apparent. Gives it a puckering tannic feel. Just a bit too much for me.

Pour is dark, oily, with a caramel brown head. Aroma of chocolate,coffee, dark fruit and roasted malt. Initial flavors of chocolate and roasted coffee, followed by a port-like finish. Alcohol is very prevalent throughout. Very warming and powerful...almost overwhelming. Nice thick, creamy mouthfeel. Overall, a potent and powerful brew...very nice on a cold winter night.

Bottle, Small light brown head, mostly diminishing. Black color. Moderate malty aroma. Full body with creamy texture. Heavy sweet and bitter flavor.

Batch 2: Pours as dark as sin. Thick tan almost brown head that fades slowly and leaves a lingering tan film. Extreme chocolate nose with a strong coffee component as well. Initial taste is a blast of chocolate followed very quickly by coffee/espresso, with a hard and powerful port finish. The alcohol is very prevalent and gives an almost immediate warming sensation. Greatly enjoyed this tasting and will definitely buy again next time I see this laying around!