Lion Stout

Brewed by Lion Brewery (Sri Lanka)
Style: Foreign Stout
Biyagama, Sri Lanka

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

pours almost pitch black with a decent but slowly disappearing dark beige head. a whole load of raisins, burnt licorice, sweet and bitter dark chocolate, smoky and woody, vinous, with great hops. just explosive flavors. excellent brew!

650ml bottle. A nice Foreign extra stout. It pours a dar brownish black with a foamy tan head. It is big and roasty with a nice sweetness.

UPDATED: FEB 7, 2011 12 oz can courtesy of BadNewsBears. Pours almost black with a big tan head. Full , almost syrupy body with a big taste of sticky chocolate covered caramel and bit of a gingery spice. Reminds me of a thicker Sam Smith Imperial.

Pours black as night, with a light tan head that laceswell and dissapates to a one finger static cap. Smells boozy, and sweet, possibly of raisins and molasses. Can’t detect much else, but raisin sweetness is very strong. Taste is of very toasty malt chocolate, with that molasses in the background, and a little bit of bitterness in the finish. Quite pleasing and clean for the style, and really nicely sweet at the beginning of the sip. 8.8% abv makes itself known just a little bit in the breath initially, and helps the flavor out a lot. Coffee hints in the after-swallow breath, which is nice. Mouth feel is tingly and thick, and drinkability is not fantastic due to the abv and boozy taste, but still pretty good for the style. Bonus points for the awesome lion picture on the bottle art, very Sri Lankan of them.

Pours a dark brown/black with a modest tan head the retreats quickly lacing the glass on the way down. Smell of dried fruit, and a bit of cocoa, some phenolic or higher alcohol in there to. Tastes of bitter roasted chocolate and coffee with a bit of dark fruit, then ends with some roast bitterness and a bit of alcohol or maybe fusel, its muted but there and I can’t put my finger on it. Medium to thin body with a creamy/oily mouthfeel. Lingering roast bitterness after each sip. Good stout, a bit to vinous for my taste.

Thick, black with towering rich brown head. I get dark chocolate, and molasses (especially the latter) from across the room. Roasty, burnt sugar type notes too. Taste opens with some sugary sweetness, then the alcohol starts to kick in. Mildly peaty, whisky type alcohol. Then there’s a flash of fruitiness, before moving to a alcoholic, dry bitter finish. When I tried this years ago as a non-beer lover I hated it. Now...I feel rather differently.

Pours black with thick tan foamy head and lacing. Subdued notes of expresso and dark chocolate. Well balanced taste between the malt and hops. Smooth and creamy.

Bottle consumed a few months after best before date. Pour is almost opaque black, small tan head and lots of lacing left on the glass. The big nose of roast and coffee that has been enjoyed with ’fresh’ bottles is kind of absent here. Earthy aroma., smoke, and like a smoked oysters? Flavour is pretty similar as aroma with a little leather, slight metallic edge, with some good bitterness present. Also getting some sweet alcohol like a port or something? I kinda really like this.