Avery Mephistopheles Stout

Batch #2: Pours as perfect as I can imagine. A dark black with a dark brown head that’s huge, thick and long-lasting. Amazing head for a 16% beer. Nose is surprisingly herbal to me with some black tea, licorice/sambuca, and some vanilla and a hard roast. Surprisingly spicy. Tastes of vanilla and some chocolate right away, quickly followed by some licorice/anise with alcoholo content heating things up just a bit. Finishes with a real dark bitter cocoa flavor, like eating a tun of truffle dusting without the sweet chocolate inside. Actual hop flavor is faint, but it’s there, which considering the intense sweetness, is admirable. The overly thick and creamy mouthfeel is what I like about these big Avery beers. Cloying? Yes. Does this work for the beer? Yes, to me it’s fine in this context. Hotter as it warms, but nothing terrible. Great beer, love the sweet flavors and perfect pour, but it’s too anise-heavy. Some more milk chocolate or oaky-type qualities could help smooth this beer out, and then it would probably be a favorite of mine. Till then....

In my opinion, batch 3 is really nice and corrected some annoying poky herbal flavors that came through too strongly in batch 2. Much more espresso and dessert-like this time, and a bit more seemless. Basically, it’s like a concentrated Old Rasputin, in terms of flavors and balance (aside from the heat).

Okay, batch 1 kicks the ass of all other versions, hands down!! Sure the aroma is more oxidized than it should be, but aside from that, this is awesome. Strong sweet flavors of vanilla, molasses, coffee liquer, raisin, and NOT A BAD FLAVOR anywhere to be found. Despite my preference for batch 3 over 2, it’s still not the best this beer could be. However, this is, and I don’t know what happened since. It’s lost the molasses and vanilla that make batch 1 so damn decadent. The booze and oxidation only make it seem barrel-aged and mature (as far as the flavor goes). Overall, I’m reminded of a much sweeter GI Bourbon County Stout. I have daydreams of beers like this, so it’s nice to be drinking the actual thing. I’d rate this a 4.7 out of pure enjoyment.

Batch 1. January 2006. Dark like motor oil with a big chocolate ice cream looking head. This is truly terrifying. I’d feel like a picky son of a bitch for not giving this a 5 on appearance. The nose isn’t quite as awe inspiring, but it certainly ain’t half bad. Big ass sweet malt with obvious caramel and chocolate malts. Nearly cloying. Alcohol is relatively subdued for the ABV. Raisins and some cherry. Creamy chocolate over the roast. A little bit of grape, and a hint of port/oxidation sorts of notes, which I don’t usually pick up in the nose, but is pleasant here. The mouthfeel is superbly fully, a bit rich and creamy, with an oil slick sort of chewiness. Perhaps a bit of grit, but it’s probably just my imagination as this drinks like a milkshake. The heat strikes, but not as hard as one would think at 15% ABV. Really cloyingly sweet, broken mostly by the alcohol, and some tart fruity roasty aspects, though there’s some piney hops hinding in there. Big chocolate, oaky roasty cherry and vinous oxidized port. Really nice and round. The alcohol compliments what is going on in here, and I really enjoy this. Some bit of coffee roast, though it’s not the star of the show, which I like to see. Dark fruit sneaks in, more on the raisin to date side than the fig side. Creamy, sweet finish moving into alcohol and dark fruit with a lingering roasty to burnt aftertaste with cherry and tannins sneaking in. If I see this for less than 4 bucks a bottle, I’m buying a couple more. Up there with Thomas Hardy’s in terms of complexity, though it may not age so long. As this warmed up, I particularly noticed a strong anise character, particularly in the nose. Really very pleasant.

A great beer... Quickly has become one of my favorite stouts...pours a bloodish black...nice and thick...The 16.03% alcohol is nicely masked by the mixture of fruits and black coffee...needs to be sipped slowly and over time keeps its consistancey... a nice finsh with just a tad of afterburn

12 oz, bottled Nov 2006 Batch 2. Pours coal black in color with brown head. Aroma is very complex of chocolate and sweet. Taste chocolate and black cherrys with dry finish and with a alcohol warming, you will feel the alcohol.

Pitch black with a huge, creamy, light brown and lasting head. The mouthfeel is oily and the aroma has notes of licorice, soy sauce, dark fruit and roasted malt. The flavour has notes of dark roasted malt, a light sweetness, salt (soy sauce), salty licorice and the alcohol is subdued. the bitterness is licorice-like and it’s a powerful and nice stout, that doesn’t beat around the bush, and because it’s so direct it lacks just a little bit of charm. But nice for sure!! 2068

Rating #100! Poured pitch black with no head. Smelled like rum soaked fruits and caramel. Taste was the same with some chocolate , coffee and smoke. There was a taste that hit the back of my throat that I couldn’t put my finger on. Really sticky, stuck to the side of the glass. Big and nice beer.

Sweet chocolatey aroma. Very sweet caramel and chocolate taste with fruit hints and a very strong alcohol presence.

Bottle: Aroma is yeasty, light hints of earthy tones. Poured just about black with a foamy tan head. Initial taste is a bit tangy, the finish is more muted but has a nice bitter feel that spreads on the tongue. Not bad