Mayan Goddess
Avery Brewing Company

 

 

Had a 5 oz. sample of this yesterday at the tap room- I believe this is not yet bottled. (Hopefully they release this at some point.) I believe the sample's ABV was listed just over 8%, not the 10%+ listed on the initial review.

L: dark cocoa with feint tan/off white lace. not great head retention, guessing the oils from the chilies detract from this. medium carbonation.

S: Lots of dark roasted malt and some sweetness. you can pick up on spice/ chilies as well. Not sure what type they use but you do get some heat in the nose.

T: nice rounded sweetness up front, both from malt and clearly vanilla beans. smooth roasted flavor. no astringency. the chillies come in at the end/back end of your palate and add a slight heat. There is spice here too, maybe pick up cinnamon but somewhat non-descript.

F: medium body, somewhat oily/slick going down. not very chewy.

O: Very cool offering that I could easily see sticking around or becoming part of their botanical series. Not sure where the ABV would end up, as this tap room offering was around 8%. not a bad thing to not blast you with alcohol because there is a lot going on here already. The complexity adds a lot to this and you could spend some good time analyzing the various flavors.

Served on draft at Avery brewery

Appearance: obsidian black with a light tan head with large bubbles. The body turns blood red (ruby) when held directly in line with the sun.

Aroma: very little present. Such a big beer, but nothing comes through in the nose.

Flavor: the spice is great - spot on. The heat is present but by no means overpowering. The heat is at a level to contribute to the flavor without being so mild as to be only a fleeting thought. All told, the flavor was fairly generic. Vanilla comes in as the beer warms. The heat from the chilis is there but roast malt or cocoa is absent.

Mouthfeel: medium - where it should be.

Overall: meh! The heat levels are spot on. Other than that, this beer should go back to the drawing board. Overall, this beer was underwhelming and generic.

 

 

everyone seems to be getting in one these chocolate chili stouts these days. the mexican hot chocolate thing again here, vanilla and cinnamon and all, its pretty good, and a bit different than the rest of the herd. i liked it quite well. looks enormous, hugely dark without a ton of head, but a sort of reddish ring around the edge of the glass. smells like cinnamon and smoke, hints of pepper and raw dark chocolate, with sweet vanilla as well. i pick up a little drip coffee, and some booze as well. the flavor matches the nose basically perfectly, the chocolate and the cinnamon lead the pack, but all elements are there, well enough united. i think it could be a little less strong, i mean, at 9% abv this would be a little more drinkable, but its meant to be huge i suppose. one thing i really like about it though is that it somehow has a lighter mouthfeel. nothing is too sweet in here, which helps, but its nowhere near as heavy as it looks and tastes, feels almost more like a brown ale than a big stout, bright carbonation is not out of place here, and it finishes on the drier side. i really like that element. overall not something i need more than one glass of, but another well executed taproom exclusive from avery. i wish they would release some of these more far out beers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This imperial stout I have found is unmatched while blending chiles with vanilla. The mouthfeel of this beer is very creamy and the taste is vanilla forward with just the right spice at the back of the throat. Very well done