Lion Stout

Brewed by Lion Brewery (Ceylon)
Style: Foreign Stout
Nuwara Eliya & Biyagama, Sri Lanka

Pitch black with a beige head. Aroma is roasted malt with a bit of chocolate. Medium carbonation. Taste of chocolate and coffee with a bit of a sour aftertaste. Not bad.

Wow, great big head of brown dense bubbles. About 3+ inches. Light milk chocolate aroma with some roasted grains. Very dark brown in color. Medium bodied with lots of roasted grains, more chocolate and a bit metallic. Finishes creamy and roasty. Not too shabby for a brew that comes from a 3rd or 4th world country. Actually, I am not even sure where Sri Lanka is. Decent brew though.

My first, and perhaps only beer, that I will ever rate from Sri Lanka. Smoke, sausages, nuts, small hints of raisins and roast in the aroma. Palate is thick and roasted. There´s a lot happening in this glass, chocolate, espresso beans, and loads of roast. Complex and very very very nice

Taste 2007 bottle. Looks: Black body with a tan top. Aroma: Smoke and chocolate. Taste: Smoke and chocolate with some bitter and musty hops and yeast. Not a very balanced flavor. Not bad, but beaten by very many other more balanced stouts.

Can’t really make up my mind about this one. I feel almost as if I alternate every other sip being turned off and turned on by it... which suggests a nice complexity. This could be one that I need to drink 3-4 times to get. I’m enjoying this one, and admittedly I was a bit turned off by it the first time I had it. Dark pour with large bubbly mocha head. Strong roast smell: burnt coffee and bitter chocolate. Also strong grain and creamy presence on the nose. Taste reveals a milk chocolate-y sweetness and a somewhat sour milk/metallic note that’s not entirely unpleasant. A little dark fruit. More roasty bitterness and some hops as well. A little too sweet for me. Points for complexity, and I agree with a review below that says it’s surprisingly refreshing for a strong stout.

Thanks to MrManning for the bottle. Pours black and slightly watery with a thick fluffy tan head. Roasted grain, slightly sweet malt, chocolate malt aroma. Light roasted grain and chocolate malt taste. Not overpowering, but subtle and tasty. I find it to be more of a baltic porter, but without the heaviness. Really good.

Aroma: smoke and dark fruit. Palate: Mild smoke, prunes, warming alcohol. On the sweet side, but rich and well composed. Lovely smoky tail.

Not quite black, but close, with large tan head. Traditional sweet, coffee, chocolate and roasted malt aroma, with a hint of alcohol. A definitely roasty flavor with a hint of bitter makes it memorable, along with its heavy carbonation. I have come to expect a kind of watery finish with a beer like this, but was pleasantly surprised at the balanced palate.