Avery Mephistopheles' Stout

Yesterday, I was reading an interesting article about extreme beers and the battle for the world-record highest alcohol brew. That got me thinking about a beer that I had sitting in the back of my fridge, waiting for a session. While it's not as high in alcohol as some of the 60+ proof beers in the article, it is still a healthy and naturally-fermented 16.83% ABV. Today's beer session is with Avery Mephistopheles' Stout.

This beer is part of Avery's "Demons of Ale" limited series. There are 3 brews in the series, all of which are above 14% ABV. I can count on both hands the number of beers I've tasted which are that strength or higher, and all of the Avery demon beverages are on that short list. The subject of this session is the best in the series, in my humble opinion.

What's behind the name? Well, each "Demons of Ale" beer sticks to the theme with a very demonic label. A little research shows that Mephistopheles is a powerful demon who serves Lucifer and was the "devil" in the legend of Faust. Avery's website calls Mephistopheles "the crafty shape shifter, the second fallen angel."

The label states this brew was bottled in December of 2009. I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my snifter. A 1/8 inch thick layer of tan head is generated. It falls fairly quickly into a thin, wispy patch and a ring of foam around the edge of the glass. The body is opaque black, with the edges showing a little dark brown when held to light.

I don't even have to bring the glass all the way up to my nose before I start detecting the amalgamation of scents. I smell caramel and faint chocolate, along with a subtle coffee character. There is also the nicely complementary aroma of dark dried fruit with just a hint of acidity. A strong whiff of alcohol is present, but totally expected.

There are a lot of sweet things that come to mind on my first taste. Toffee, brown sugar, and molasses with just a slight touch of chocolate are present, leading into a bit of tart fruit. Then the flavor of light roasted coffee arrives before the "just right" amount of bitterness takes hold. Avery's website lists the IBUs at 107, but I never would have guessed that because the beer is so well balanced. The rich sweet malt is washed away by that bitter character and leaves some obvious alcohol in your mouth, which is by no means unpleasant.

This beer has a velvety, heavy viscosity that coats my mouth with all the wonderful flavors. There is a mild level of carbonation, which I tend to expect from high alcohol beers. Speaking of which, the booziness really warms me up from the first sip on. Some slight lacing is present as I drink.

Out of the short list of 14+% ABV beers I've had so far, this one is my favorite. That is due in part to it's excellent balance of rich sweet malt and bitterness. Some of these types of beer seem to lose balance and become much too sweet and boozy, almost like a liqueur. This brew still tastes like beer to me. It has much of the imperial stout flavor I enjoy, along with the bonus of an extra strong alcohol kick. Make sure to be careful with this demon, as it can knock you on your butt. I drank the entire bottle myself, but sipped it slowly over the span of about 90 minutes. Even over that amount of time, it still gave me a little buzz. You definitely should try this beer, but I recommend sharing the bottle with 1 or 2 good friends. I'm pretty sure they'll appreciate it!