Lion Stout

This looks absolutely beautiful. Pitch black body, with a foamy toffee coloured head, which cleared up to leave lacing of the same colour. Nice espresso and malt aroma The flavour packs a punch of coffee, chocolate, and perhaps licorice. The finish is long and warming. A great beer.

Had this beer on 4/11/2001. Aroma is slightly metallic with light roasted back tones. Color is a solid black with light carbonation and head. Taste is roasted, toasted and dry. Starting with a medium body it goes down with a sharp feel. Finish is dry with a mild bitterness that comes from nicely roasted malts and ends clean. It’s not bad but also it’s not all that good.

Bottle @ GBBF upon Kendall’s recommendation. Deep brown with a tan head. Nose of sweet roasted malts and oatmeal. Taste is toffee, chocolate, coffee and malt with a little hop at the end. Medium bodied. Was a good beginning to the session.

##600 Excellent night cap at the Cleveland’s Winking Lizard; wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Nuwara Eliya & Biyagama, Sri Lanka, but this one was a pleasent surprise. Dark chocolate and figs with a quote from Micheal Jackson on the back! Lacing and oileyness concerned me at first, but it was much grander in flavor. A surpising only 8%-- there are real bourbon like flavors, smooth warming finsh.

3/14/05 bomber. Gem Deli Manhattan. Black with large brown head. Very prominat coffee aroma. Coffee, dark chocolate, somewhat vinous flavor. Some alcohol present but not distracting.

Pour: deep chocolate. Head: dark tan, creamy. Aroma: woody, soy, charred, moth balls. Flavor: burnt, char, soy, smoke. Palate smooth. Finish: char.

Black, a bit of brown glow. Generous tan layer that leaves a viscous lacy ring and lingers all the way through the glass. Aroma is exotic and complex: raisins lead, with smokey molasses and a bit grilled meat. Almonds, cola. Heavily black roast flavor, creosote, smoke, but a surprisingly dry, utterly clean finish, that is almost refreshing (quite a feat for such a strong dark beer). Lots of sparkle to the mouthfeel, but fine textured and not aggressive. Been looking for this one for quite some time--fun to finally get to try it. I have to give this a bonus points for having a good story; the treacherous mountain journey to get ingredients to the brewery. Then the treacherous journey to get this bottle from Sri Lanka, to Aarhus, Denmark where I found it, to London (narrowly escaping a last minute baggage weight purge--other bottles were not so lucky), coach to Oxford, to Woodstock, to my glass, which I raise back to these intrepid brewers.

Pours a dark brown with a medium creamy light brown head. The aroma is sweet, shows soy sauce, a slight smoked character, wood. the flavor is soy sauce, a mild sweetness, warmth, some chocolate and coffee. Cool smooth palate. A bit underwhelming.