Lion Stout

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

Bottle; poured a dark brown/black with a frothy medium brown head. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, molasses, and a hint of roastedness. Nice mouthfeel, palate a little light (for style), but worked well. Alcohol completely hidden. Flavors were good, not overly bold, but nice flavors of chocolate, coffee, caramel, roasted malt, vanilla and some general sweetness. Very enjoyable.

Bottle. Black with ruby tints and a lush and grand brown head. Lots of chocolate and a sweet malt aroma with some lingering liqueur mist. A thick and creamy malted chocolate flavor.

Fully ebon hue, rich, tan hand, thick and rocky...good looking stout, so far. Nose, soft and creamy, with notes of nuts and cocoa. Taste is smooth at first, but fills the mouth well. Huge malts, caramelly, thick and nearly chewy, very full bodied. Perfect integration, wonderful balance, sweet and tasty, but never too, with a delicate fruitiness, just underneath. The ABV peeks in just a bit, but doesn't mar the enjoyment of what's nearly a perfect stout! Beats the hell out of Guinness, but gets me yearning for an Expedition. Hearty and proud as it's namesake, Lion is a stout fit for a king. Lightly spicy in the end, nutty, and never-ending tastiness.

Bottled. Opaque black. Sweet, malty and roasted aroma with rye and apple. Flavor is full and sweet with coffee as well as chocolade. Salty licorice in the finish. Tasty, calls for more bitterness though.

I hadn’t had this in years, glad to see it show up again, even if it was being sold in the same month as its best by date. Black, light passing through edges is dark brown, lush tan head fades slow and leaves decent lace. Aroma is assertively coffee, with a slight charcoal note. The flavor is also coffee oriented, with faint bitter chocolate underpinnings, some dried dark fruits, and a hint of ash. An excellent brew, very enjoyable. Extra point for the efforts of the brewery during the tsunami relief effort.

This was bottled as SINHA Stout. Deep black body with a large frothy light brown head. Head didn’t last the distance but left good lacing though. Aroma was of lovely roasted malts. The taste was exceptionally smooth and definitely to my liking, flavours of coffee, rich chocolate, liquorice, it was medium body which meant you could drink more than 6 , just watch how many you have as you dont notice the alcohol. The only bad thing about it was that I only bought 1 stubby to try.

Thanks to Sammy for this bottle. Shared with him as well as Tim and Rudy. Vinous chocolatey aroma with some maltiness. Dark chocolate color with mild transparency and a nice tan head. Roasty, chocolate flavor to start with slight astringent vanilla flavors fading out. Very rich and a pleasant beer to consume.

10.22.04 625ml bottle. Totally black beer with thick, fluffy, biege head that lasts and clings. Maybe the best looking stout I’ve poured. Big chocolate and coffee aromas; rich smelling and deep. Slight aromas of olivey brine and far-off lamp oil smoke. Less attenuated flavors than I expected: charcoal, chocolate dusted truffle, coffee finish. Palate begins damp and easy but expands to a creamy goodness that coats and fills the whole mouth. Very nice, a world class stout to be sure. Definitely the best beer I’ve had from Sri Lanka.