Avery Mephistopheles Stout

this is (as far as i’m concerned) as close to perfection as any beer will ever be.

i was in love with the first batch, so when i heard another was out, i immediately went to my favorite local brew store (yankee spirits, south attleboro, mass...if you’ve never been, go), and picked up 6, i have 3 aging, the others were enjoyed on three different nights.

now this batch definately came out with a much more powerful aroma than the last batch, now when i say powerful, i don’t mean alcoholic smells, i just mean all the same smells from batch one were present, and much more potent

first, i poured it into a brandy (style) snifter glass (one of the ones that came with the rapscallion 4 packs for a while)

the pour was beautiful, dark, black, smooth, with small reddish/tan head, (which quickly died down) leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

i give it a swirl, a deep sniff BOOM! dark chocolate, marachino (spelling?) cherries, cappucino, alot like the first batch, but with more of a chocolate smell, and far more intense.

taste...beergasm! i never thought it could get any better than batch one, god damn i was wrong. beautiful, like someone made a sam smith’s imperial stout, but doubled everything in the recipe (besides the hops), and added chocolate covered cherry flavoring.

so many suddle complexities...

if you clear the palate, and do not smoke, eat, or drink (with the exception of water of course) anything for an hour beforehand, and enjoy one of these over the course of an hour, i swear, you will discover a new flavor with every sip. espresso, cherry, chocolate covered cherry, rasin, plum, dark chcocolate, milk chcocolate, dried apricot, and cherry syrup, along with the light background flavors of brandy, bourbon and rum...it makes me shiver, i am in love with a beer.

the only huge difference in flavor is that batch one had the finish of a real strong imperial stout (as i expected), this one has the finish of a red wine...not necessarily an aftertaste, so much as just a little hint of a red wine flavor at the tail end of every sip, which is quickly replaced by a light chocolatey inhale

mouthfeel, thick, lightly syrupy, like a beer shake.

drinkability, simple...sip it, love it, enjoy it, it will last at least an hour, if you try to drink it like you would a brown session ale, or a sam adams boston lager, you will ruin the experience....but for such a strong sipper, this is perfect as far as drinkability, especially with such a low carbonation level.

I tried this the day after trying Avery’s potent Grand Cru of the same line, and was much more impressed by this offering. This beer concealed its potent (16%) alcohol content far better than the Grand Cru, was far more drinkable, and offered a much more pleasant drinking experience. The beer poured only slightly viscous into my goblet, with a small amount of tan head despite a pretty hard pour. I got a lot of toffee in the aroma, with a surprisingly mild amount dark "burned pizza crust" character and only a hint of roasting coffee. Flavor was also surprisingly mild, smooth and balanced. Flavor was very complex, with notes of raisin, toffee, and coffee all intermingling in a very harmonius way. I don’t think it’s easy to make a beer this high in alcohol this drinkable, and I would say this beer is a brewing achievement, although it makes me think far less of its sister product, the Grand Cru.

Sampler at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/frankfort/united-liquors/1120.htm>Cardinal Liquors, Frankfort. Deep black color with a coating of oragne foam. Taste and smell are big, with prune and slightly sour cherries. Nice alcoholic brandy character. Yet it goes down insinuatingly smoothly. After a big stout howdy at the front, it mellows out toward the end.

Batch 2 - 12 oz bottle. Pours a deep black with a minimal brownish head. Dense smell of burnt caramelized sugars, molasses, and alcohol. Flavor is amazing in it’s depth, with overlying deep roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. Underlying rum fruit cherry like notes. Body is chewy and thick. A big heavy hitter to match the other big imperials. Some have detracted points for various negative attributes, but I’m not really getting any of those with this beer. I think I may have to go to the store and pick up another!

Batch 2, aged one year. Pours a thick, dark, inky black body with faint mahogany edges that only show against a bright light source. A small, frothy, chocolate milk head fades to a murky, patchy, thin film with a thick edge. Minimal sudsy lace mostly rejoins the body. The aroma is massively chocolaty and roasty. Melted dark chocolate, coffee liquor, licorice, molasses, scorched caramel, and alcohol soaked figs all flood the nose in an avalanche of massive scents. Big, complex, and boozy, the only real problem with the aroma is a slightly salty soy sauce component that creeps in on the back end. The flavor is equally huge and complex. Bittersweet dark chocolate and rich, roasty espresso provide the foundation. Molasses adds an earthy sweetness, and vodka soaked dark fruits add a huge amount of complexity. Again, however, some soy sauce infiltrates the palate and deters from the overall blend. The mouthfeel is downright thick and viscous, leaving a sticky feel behind. Very similar to DFH WWS, though not as smooth or drinkable. Bottom line, this is a massive, sugary beer that, while pretty well crafted, is just too over-the-top to reach for on all but the rarest of occasions and moods.

12 fl oz bottle (batch 2). Pours black with a dense and chocolate brown head. Aroma is chocolate, a note of vanilla, roasted malt, slight note of alcohol - and a cheese like note - a bit off it seems. Full bodied and creamy mouthfeel. Flavour starts sweet chocolate malty but soon gains in strength and turns to a darker liqourice and slight salty flavour. Underneath is a distinct coffee flavour and bitterness. Finish is sharp liqourice and with a distinct bite from the alcohol. A sharp alcohol flavour and warmth keeps lingering down my throat - slight burning. Smooth at first but bites back in a for me too sharp fashion, too brutal, but I reckon this is exactly how it was intended to be.6-5-6-2-13=3.2

From bottle #9 at sk8vikings American blind tasting. Pours dark brown with lacing chocolate brown head. Light chalky and roasted malt aroma, light smoked too. Sweet initial and hard roasted malt flavour. Roasted and solid dense flavour after the initial sweetness. Warming alcohol bite before and into the finish. Light smoked finish. Sticking sweet flavour on the lips into the finish. Solid alcohol warmth in the finish.8-4-8-4-17=4.1(adopted appearance score from first rating)

12 oz. bottle- poured black as midnight, formation of thick one finger dark tan head, very nice. Thick aroma of malt, coffee, and mild chocolate. Hits the mouth with a massive body that doesn’t stop, mild alcohol, and seasoned malt. HOME RUN.

Batch 2 16,03% Sort og tyk øl, som laver gardiner på glasset. Duften er kraftig lakrids og alcohol. Let viniøs. Smagen er tyk og fyldig og meget lakrids. Kaffe smag og godt humlet. Alcohol tydelig, og meget sød, tung og varm eftersmag. Som en Gl. dansk/Jægermeister. P.g.a. styrken minder den mere om små grå end øl, og kan kun drikkes i små portioner 10 cl ad gangen. En anelse for flad. Super øl til lagring, og kan bruges som desertvin til vanilieis.