Lion Imperial Pilsner (Lager)

Brewed by Lion Brewery (Sri Lanka)
Style: Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils
Biyagama, Sri Lanka

Serve in Lager glass

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Wow ok. Dark golden with foamy white head that subsides fast. Aroma of dust, plastic, and creamed corn. Mouthfeel is sticky, but not hugely so. Flavors are mainly sweet and oily, but thankfully vanish fast after the phenolic finish.

Deep gold with a chill haze. Well, it smells like a champ. The aroma is full of sweet grains and some sour canned fruit stuff. Malt-accented palate with reasonable alcohol. Tastes a bit cidery, but also really sweet, and with some paint-like phenols. It’s going to lose points for a distinctly gluey finish. Not much good in this, time for me to move on.

330 ml bottle which I received as a Christmas gift from my friend Russell. Pours a hazy antique gold with a thin white head that disappeared before my eyes. Strong aroma of skunk, black pepper, sweet malt and sugar. I opened a second bottle to make sure the skunkiness wasn’t specific to the bottle I was sampling, and got a good whiff in that one too. Thankfully, the skunk is not an issue in the flavor, which is sweet malt, overripe apples, sugar and alcohol. Definite warming from the alcohol at the finish along with moderate bitterness. If you need a rating from Sri Lanka, try to locate the stout. This one is really not very good.

Clear golden coloured body with a super-thin white head. Aroma of caster sugar, wheat, corn, alcohol and a bunch of funky clean fruits.Medium to Light-bodied; Strong assertive malts up front fading to a pleasant sweetness and an odd maltiness. Aftertaste shows more fruit and malt than anything else, although no harsh bitterness. Overall, for a beer at 8%, I was expecting much more bitterness, but this was fairly muted. Granted, the stout is MUCH better than this one, but this isn’t a horrible beer. Overall, good to try; I wouldn’t purchase this again, but I’m glad I tried this. That said, if you need to choose between this and the stout, DEFINITELY choose the stout! I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from Ramsey Liquors in Ramsey, New Jersey on 19-January-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 29-January-2009.

UPDATED: JAN 31, 2009 The aroma is alcoholic with flowers and sweet malt. The appearance is golden with a large head. The taste is like the aroma. It is also like fuel from the alcohol. This beer does not try to hid the alcohol in any way. The palate is smooth. Overall bad stuff. This is like a malt liquor only better than OE or Colt 45 because it lacks corn taste and has some flowery hops.

Aroma of grass and hay with a hint of vanilla, mild and neutral. Golden-yellow color with a 1/2" white head and lots of splotchy lacing. Sweet on the palate with a nice bite after the swallow, mildly bitter. Premium malt liquor taste (in a good way). Sweet and dry malts that are pale and grainy. There is a sprinkling of grassy hops to help provide some balance to this monster lager. Smooth, drinkable high octane lager.

Tasted 11/9/08. 330ml bottle. Filtered with a golden hue. Actization brings about a finger with of billowing bone white head. Aromas of cereal grains and subtle esters. Touch lemon candy. Decent aromas. Medium bodied with a surprisingly pleasant first sip. Sweet and smooth with an odd Frankenberry Marshmellow flavor. Sugary malts and moderate effervescence. Rather tangy, bitter finish.

[bottle - 330 ml] Clear golden color with a fizzy white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with a touch of grains and hops. Flavor is rather malty at the beginning with a very small alcohol presence, an even smaller hop bite, and a light warming effect. Finishes sweet. Does not taste like 8.8% at all.

Bottle from Total WIne in Roseville. Darker gold color with a 3-finger white head. Aromas of grain and spicey hop. Medium body with creamy carbonation. It’s certainly different. It shows heat. It is grainy. It suggests a malt liquor in effect, but a top end version. Interesting.

12 oz bottle. Pours a straw color with a thin white head. Some cloudiness, but looks more like a dirty cloudy, than a tasty cloudy. Aroma is light and grainy. Flavor is sweet grain and malt, with hints of raisin and dried fruit. Not much alcohol flavor for an 8% brew. Palate is medium bodied, kind of dead. Overall a drinkable beer, but not one of my favorites.