Lion Stout

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

Very dark brown with medium tan head that goes away quickly. Smells of coffee and smoked wood, tastes sweetly malted with a touch of smoke. Nicely balanced with a mild bittersweet aftertaste.

(6/21/08) Bottle at my hostel in Leipzig. Black color with a big brown creamy head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee and notes of cocoa. Sweet flavor of roasted chocolate, malt and some caramel. Medium-bodied. A very nice stout.

Pours jet black (no light shines through) with a thick light brown head - just beautiful. First you get the aroma of milk chocolate, then raisins and ends with hops and a slight whiff of alcohol. Flavor has notes of plum, raisins, roasted malt, mocha, coffee and plenty of hops. The taste has a really nice citrusy twinge on the back end. Perfectly sweet with the right amount of bitterness to balance it out. Alcohol content in the flavor is very well-hidden. Body is full, round and creamy with moderate carbonation. Great head retention. Really nice stuff.

Bottle at my 1000 Rates Celebratory tasting, 8th Jan 09, courtesy of tashi. Pure black with a creamy/tan head. Loads of malt character but with a wonderfully smooth palate and a delightful creamy finish. Lots of soft chocolate, lighlty roasted malt.

Black opaque color with a beautiful thick creamy head. Some slight lacing on the glass. Dry roast aroma that is very enticing. Smooth rich palate that makes it exceptionally easy drinking. Simply brilliant.

2004 Bottle. Best Before Date of Feb 2005. A little over 3 years old. Aroma is still rich and roasty... maybe a touch faded. Flavor still has plenty of chocolate and roast. This has aged well - perhaps a little faded but this is more than expected after 3 years in the cellar. I’m pleasantly surprised.

22 oz bottle. Deep dark brown, tan head. Big roasty, nutty aroma with a hint of alcohol. MMM. This is smooth and creamy. Lucious malts. Creamy chocolate. Roasty, with some malt bitterness. Really like this one.

Dark fudge brown, nearly black, thin and firm light brown cap, a slight skim remains once it settles, lacing in thin sheets. Aroma of slight roast, stale raisin, parched prunes, dry cocoa, and anise. Taste is mild with tame roastability and soft chocolate, slight floating sweetness of dry dark fruits, touches of molasses and toffee roast. Doesn’t withstand too much in the flavor dept. or in its length, over far to quickly, but it does incur a certain broad range of capable character. Feel is smooth, a bit sweet and tangy, lightly roasted edge, just shy of a medium body mostly, seems to pick up a bit towards the finish where it drys out with some light cocoa. A fairly decent effort; quick stout flavors and a somewhat healthy body, but good be better. I would consider this over a Guinness on nitro-tap I think?

Opaque dark brown body topped with a thin but lasting beige foamy head. Decent but rather unidimensional dark chocolate/coffeeish aroma. Taste is quite pleasant and hides the alcohol pretty well, but it also lacks complexity. It leaves a short bitter/roasty aftertaste. Not bad at all.