Avery Mephistopheles’ Stout
The story behind this brew, or rather this particular bottle of Avery’s Mephistopheles’ Stout, was an interesting one. I purchased it back in August of last year thinking it was a recent bottling. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I realized upon closer inspection that this was a bottle from the brewery’s second batch, back in 2006. So, not only was I able to get a bottle of a beer I’d long sought, but it was also a well aged vintage.
The only problem with my lucky predicament was that I don’t have anything to compare it to (i.e., a fresh bottling). From what I’ve read, however, this is a brew that needs to be set down for a while. And after 3 years in the bottle, it’s still a mean son of a bitch.
Appearance
All imperial stouts, in my opinion, should pour black as night. This one, however, pours an oily black like the deepest, darkest pits from which it comes. The small light brown head faded almost instantly.
Aroma
This beer has a huge nose on it with a ton of booze (16.03% ABV), chocolates, light roast, some anise and subtle dark fruits in the background.
Taste
It never ceases to amaze me when a beer with a few years on it remains actively carbonated. Mephistopheles’ Stout is no different — the carbonation is tempered only by its slick mouthfeel. Even after three years, this beer is still pretty hot. It could have sit for another three in the basement and I’m not sure the alcohol would have mellowed that much more. Along with the warming booze are roasted coffee and dark chocolate notes. There’s also a nice bitterness in the finish like a dark coffee.
Overall
This will probably be a once in a long while experience for me. This beer was hard enough to find, let along being able to grab another 2006 vintage. It was definitely a big, big beer that required a long while to sip slowly and fully enjoy every aspect of it. Needless to say, I loved it. It’s a huge beer, but any self respecting fan of stouts needs to find a bottle of this one — if you can find it.
Rating: 4.5/5