heinz57
Well-Known Member
After reading Evan!'s thread about this beer I've always kept a keen eye for a bottle. I was lucky enough to find one at a fantastic store called The Corkscrew in Urbana, Illinois. I was in town for my brother's graduation from U of I. The staff there was extremely friendly and once I mentioned home brewing they immediately took me over to the beer coolers. I couldn't believe their selection, it was small as it is mainly a wine store, but very nice. Dogfish Head, North Coast, Dark Horse, Rogue, and of course Avery were some of the notable brews. Their prices were amazing too. The two bottles of Meph that I bought only ran me $13. From what I've read in other posts it was a more than fair price. If anybody is in the area and doesn't know about this place, it's almost mandatory to stop by. They even do weekly beer tasting events.
This particular batch was bottled in January of '06, so it was just under two years old. The pour was thick and heavy with about an inch of head. The color was pitch black, even when held up to the light. I have to say, this beer had one of the most complex flavor profiles I've ever tasted. Fruity, malty, and roasty all in the same beer. The fruit flavors were the first. I couldn't pin down exactly what types of fruit, but it was very interesting. I've never had nor heard of anything but coffee/roasted descriptors associated with a stout. I want to say it was due to their yeast selection. I read in a previous thread that Avery uses Wyeast 3787 for this beer, which seems appropriate. The sweet malt flavor transitioned quickly into the roasted character, which balanced the beer out very nicely. I didn't pay too much attention to the 15.1% ABV stamped on the bottle because I was too focused on the flavor, but man you really start to feel it halfway through. Next time I plan to drink this one a little slower and really let the beer open up as it warms a bit.
All in all a very good beer. Expensive and very hard to find (if you're not in Colorado) but worth every penny in my opinion. I definitely plan on brewing this beer at some point.
This particular batch was bottled in January of '06, so it was just under two years old. The pour was thick and heavy with about an inch of head. The color was pitch black, even when held up to the light. I have to say, this beer had one of the most complex flavor profiles I've ever tasted. Fruity, malty, and roasty all in the same beer. The fruit flavors were the first. I couldn't pin down exactly what types of fruit, but it was very interesting. I've never had nor heard of anything but coffee/roasted descriptors associated with a stout. I want to say it was due to their yeast selection. I read in a previous thread that Avery uses Wyeast 3787 for this beer, which seems appropriate. The sweet malt flavor transitioned quickly into the roasted character, which balanced the beer out very nicely. I didn't pay too much attention to the 15.1% ABV stamped on the bottle because I was too focused on the flavor, but man you really start to feel it halfway through. Next time I plan to drink this one a little slower and really let the beer open up as it warms a bit.
All in all a very good beer. Expensive and very hard to find (if you're not in Colorado) but worth every penny in my opinion. I definitely plan on brewing this beer at some point.
