Lion Stout

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

Deep black/ruby body with a tall foamy tan head. Burnt smell, chocolate, coffee. Nice and thick beer here. Quite bitter and you can taste the alcohol. Tastes of burnt marshmallow, caramel. Perhaps a little bit of a chocolate flavor here. Very nice stout.

Pours black with thin mild tan head. Nose is of chocolate and sweet malt. Flavor is velvety smooth, oily and rich, coffeish and dark chocolate. Vibrant hop bitterness lingers in the finish.

330ml brown bottle. Opaque black colour, deep shade of tan head, foams up quick then settles to a fine layer of tight bubbles. Slightly oily appearance. Sharp scent, somewhat fruity, and coffeeish, trace alcohol. Medium body, very light and gentle carbonation. Flavour of dark roasted coffee, some sweetness - brown sugar and chocolate notes. Dry finish, lingering roasty coffee bean taste with back of the throat bitterness. Quite a nice stout.

This is a beer that I had wanted for a while and was delighted to find it in Chicago, and it was cheap! 625ml bottle. Served in an imperial pint glass at 63°. Black color with a small khaki head. Lots of foam dots and plenty of lacing. Just tought about it, but this is my first beer of 2006, last night was celebrated with ice cider and wine, but this is beer #1. The aroma is roasy malt, coffee, with some bright citrus and dark fruits in the background. The initial taste is roasty and mildly sour with some bitterweet chocolate. The citrusy hops and dark fruit mingle with the roastiness next and the finish is moderately bitter and fruity. The mouthfeel is nice and not overly thick. This is very flavorful, but easy drinking, the 8% could certainly sneak up on you... RERATE This is not a 3.8 beer, it is 4.0. I love it everytime I have it.

Bottle: First rating of 2007. Dark brown to black pour with a medium tan head. Aroma, chocolate, toffee, rye, and some earthy notes. Flavor, earthy, chocolate, coffee, some some roasty bitterness on the finish. This is surprisingly good, wasn’t expecting much from it, but I like it.

(Rather old bottle, best before 04/2007, one million thanks to Maria) Pours black with a light brown head. Rather sweet and complex aroma of friendly roasted malt that brings chocolate and smaller notes of coffee. Also tones of sweet liquorice, leather, suede, cellar, mushrooms, horse light smoke and dark fruits like plums and raisins. Some sugary hint of molasses, brown sugar and caramel. A light alcohol warmth. Nice chocolate flavour with tones of brown sugar, liquorice and dark, dried fruits. Some coffee and raisins in the finish. A bit vinous. Soft, silky and round mouthfeel with a gentle carbonation. Light bitter and some light acid tones. Medium full body. I can’t remember this leather/suede/cellar/ mushrooms nose from previous samples of this beer but it’s probably a vintage question. Anyway, nice and rather complex.

330 ml bottle - pours black with a smallish mocha head that soon fades. Huge aroma of coffee, also plum, dark chocolate, and a sweet malty undertone. Alcohol is well hidden in the aromas and the taste. A big coffee hit in the flavour, but also an underlying vinous quality, a well as cocoa. This is quality. Surprisingly smooth and sweet. For the bold scents and tastes, I expected a longer finish...it fades in the mouth relatively quickly. Excellent beer.

Black with a fluffy disappearing tan head. Strong roasted aroma, sweet coffee, bitter cocoa, a bit ethilic that disappear quickly. Medium bodied, flavourful, starting with a firm roast maltiness to a bitter dry lingering end. A very good stout.