theorangedog.net

St. Peter’s Cream Stout and Avery Mephistopheles

by theorangedog on Nov.28, 2008, under Spirits

Additional holiday tasting notes include St. Peter’s Cream Stout and Avery’s Mephistopheles Stout.

Starting with the Cream Stout -

cream-stout.jpg
Things start out on a good foot, with 16.9oz instead of 12oz. But that’s just sizing. The taste is a bit interesting being a milk stout. It reminds me of a very weak latte with a disproportionate amount of heavy creme. Almost as if the barista put in half of the recommended amount of grinds, and used a very mild breakfast blend. There is a mild bitter flavor overlay, slightly more bitter than the Obsidian Stout from Deschutes. Like the Obsidian Stout, it has a decent, lingering finish.

Next, the Mephistopheles Stout from Avery-

mephistopheles.jpg
Ok, if you’re looking for bitter, this is the stop. The Mephistopheles is an exercise in bitter. The initial taste is bitter. The finish is bitter.

art_spitzer_gi.jpg
Spitzer’s Bitter Beer Face
Once you get past the bitterness, there’s a range of flavors. There are notes of berries - dark berries like raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc. There is also a sweet flavor, much like black licorice or anise compounded by raw sugar. The sweetness of the berries and licorice stays through the finish, where there’s a hint of frosting, like vanilla frosting. Bitter vanilla frosting.

Overall, the Cream Stout is a great beverage, and would likely pair well with any carb-laden meal. Mashed potatoes with cheese, dinner pancakes, etc. The Mephistopheles is exceptionally complex, with great sweet notes. But the bitterness overpowers it, making it outside of my preferred palate.

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