Lion Stout - Ceylon / Lion Brewery Limited

mashedpotatoes

Ohio

5/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Yikes!

Definitely in my top 3, all-time favorite Stout list. Right up there with Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout and Young's Double Chocolate.

Pours an immediate 4 fingers of head and leaves an impenetrable quilted layer of pillowy, chocolately goodness. No need for lacing because the head stays to visit for the entire vacation. The smell and taste is 100% chocolate. Mouthfeel is silky and luxurious. Drinkability is incredibly high however at 8% I was feeling tingly pretty quick.

I was definitely shocked and pleasantly surprised at how good this beer is. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2008 01:01:10 | More by mashedpotatoes

cubsfan2004

Illinois

5/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A- An inky black with a mocha colored head. Nice lacing.

S - An exceptional mocha coffee smell.

T - Vanilla and mocha coffee. Slight bitterness on the back end.

M - Appropriately thick. Well carbonated. Goes down extremely smooth.

D - Exceptional taste, slight alcohol presence and extremely smooth. Dangerously drinkable.

One of the finest stouts I have had the pleasure to enjoy. I have a feeling that the six pack will not last long and I will be going back for more.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2008 02:02:10 | More by cubsfan2004

Ottoman112579

Massachusetts

4.93/5  rDev +25.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is an exceptional tasting stout. The mix of roasted malts, vanilla, cherry, coffee, and chocolate make this stout among the true leaders in taste. Very easy on the pallet making this stout a good compliment to desserts.

The appearance is pitch black and the aroma is very distinct. The smell of chocolate is strong but does not overpower the subtle aroma of cherry and vanilla.

I would highly recommend this to any fan of stouts!

Serving type: can

06-10-2010 01:41:00 | More by Ottoman112579

irishbrendan

Minnesota

4.93/5  rDev +25.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Found at local store wanted to try the difference between Guinness foreign extra stout, and a non-Irish foreign extra stout found that Lion was and exceptionally smooth drink with enough kick to make the stout very well in the winter. I've referred this beer to other to definitely put on there list to try

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 04:56:37 | More by irishbrendan

saintwarrick

South Carolina

4.9/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Had this beer back in the day from a beer of the month club and I always wanted to get my hands on it again. This beer pours black with a nice light brown head. Smell is great: coffee, chocolate, caramel and brownies. Taste is even better, sweet dark chocolate with roasted coffee, perfectly balanced so its not overly sweet. Very smooth and drinkable; pair this with chocolate chip brownies at you own discretion cause it may cause a diabetic seizure. This is probably the best stout I can remember having. Near perfect.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2007 07:42:21 | More by saintwarrick

BlueHammer

Connecticut

4.9/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

In one word: Excellent. I do love stouts and I was excited to try one from a country I do not usually purchase beer from. The beer was poured dark brown, almost black with a thick tan head that left decent lacing. It smelled of caramel and raisins. The taste had a tangy start and a malty finish, giving it a great balance. It was fun each time I put it in my mouth and I looked forward to each new sip! The taste, much like the smell also had hints of caramel, raisins, and espresso. The finish was like bittersweet chocolate. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2008 03:49:03 | More by BlueHammer

keithmurray

Louisiana

4.88/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Got 2-6pks from BOTW in Rochester.

The beer pours an opaque nearly jet black colour, very little head.

Smell is of burnt toffee, coffee, chocolate and mocha

Taste is malty upfront, full robust flavours of caramel, chocolate, coffee and toffee. taste is slightly sweet (but not too sweet) with a nice balanced bitterness, this is nearly perfection in my book.

Mouthfeel is excellent, the flavors just explode into the mouth, thick and chewy, for a 9% ABV, this is really drinkable.

This is one of my top 3 beers to drink at any point. This will be a staple in my fridge for the forseeable future.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2009 02:22:33 | More by keithmurray

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.88/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Lion Stout has an extraordinarily thick, creamy, beige head and a black appearance (light reddish-brown around the edges). The aroma is of dark-roasted malt, licorice, and confectionery sugar. Taste is of licorice, dark-roasted malt, dark chocolate, dark coffee, cream, brandy wine, and grain. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, and Lion Stout finishes heavy, sweet, syrupy, and awesomely delicious. Overall, this is one of the best beers I have every had the pleasure to drink. I rate it about as high as one could rate a beer. Terrific!

RJT

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 17:21:25 | More by RonaldTheriot

tendermorsel

Massachusetts

4.8/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is awesome. Truly a great and unique stout.

I found this beer in a 22 oz bottle at a local liquor store. I drank it in two servings. It was ice cold for the first glass. Poured brown with a nice thick head. Sort of creamy with distinct coffee notes.

The second glass (slightly warmer) was much more complex. Simular coffee notes but also subitle fruit flavors appeared. Very easy drinking beer for a stout. Strong in alcohol but not overpowering in alcohol taste.

All in all an awesome and unique beer. I haven't seen it around. I heard rumors that the brewery was not producing it any more. If you see it get... If you like stouts you won't be disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2006 05:19:06 | More by tendermorsel

yesyouam

New York

4.8/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This stout is the black of black chocolate. The head is huge, mocha brown, creamy and frothy. The head has great stamina and leaves excellent lacing on the glass. The aroma is of roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee and a dash of lemon peel. The mouth feel is full and creamy with soft carbonation. The flavor is that of everything in the aroma. It is well bittered and the long aftertaste tapers to the semi-sweet of dark chocolate. Incredible beer!
(rated Feb 13, 2007)

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2008 14:24:38 | More by yesyouam

mambiso1123

Florida

4.8/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I bought a bottle of this on impulse at a bar that sells beer from around the world. I'd never heard of this brew, but I decided to give Sri Lanka a try.

Wow.

This blew me away. It has a nice chocolatey flavor, but it's thick and smooth at the same time. It's strong enough that you can only have 2 without getting plastered.

I just bought a six pack from a high end liquor store for 9.99. Imagine, swill sells for about 2 dollars less. This will be on frequent rotation in my fridge. A great find!!!!

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2009 23:58:03 | More by mambiso1123

Sigmund

Norway

4.78/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

330 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Label says for some reason "Lion Dark Beer" in stead of "Lion Stout", but there’s no doubt that this is the very same beer. Otherwise the label is exactly the same, so is the ABV and the characteristics of the beer. Pitch black colour, impenetrable for light. Large and thick brown head. A real beauty! Excellent aroma of various types of wood, tar, leather, tobacco. Full and rich flavour where the roastiness and hops are perfectly balanced with the velvety sweetness. Extremely drinkable. It’s debatable whether "the perfect stout" exists, but the Lion must be pretty close!

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2005 20:49:36 | More by Sigmund

americanwolfdrea

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This beer poured a near black and relatively thick consistency. It produced a nice head, and just looked great in the mug. It had a deep flavor that paired exceptionally with my cheese plate. It had a filling mouth feel(which is great to me) and finished really clean.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2008 21:09:50 | More by americanwolfdrea

Beerking721

Minnesota

4.78/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Man... Michael Jackson's favorite stout of all time. What more can I say?

Absolutely phenomenal!

A = Midnight out in the middle of the country (with no light polution). This beer is as black as they come. Rich head and lace upon pour and consumption.

S = Wonderful scent of deeply roasted malts complimenting with a buttery richness and essence of wood (hickory?).

T = Highly concentrated flavors of holland chocolate, roasted expresso, and a hint of oatmeal. This beer is all about the roast.

M = Rich - viscous - creamy - smooth.

D = Definalely not a session beer, this quaff is best served at cellar temp and allowed time to "breath." As this occurs, a velvety smoothness will eminate. To be slowly savored!

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2008 14:40:19 | More by Beerking721

Bestuurder

Ontario (Canada)

4.78/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Exceptional beer! Poured from a standard brown bottle into a 350cl dunkel glass.

The colour was dark, black and non-luminous. With a beautiful brown head about an inch thick, with balanced lacing throughout consumption.

Excellently balanced with hard malt and chocolate notes. Mild off-bitterness to the nose and moderate coffee aroma.

Flavour is pronounced and affectionate. Chocolate, coffee and oak are very apparent. The higher alcohol can be noted on swirling, but not over-powering.

Drinkability and mouthfeel go together very well. Very easy on the palate and another bottle is of easy consumption.

Overall, this is fantastic brew that deserve higher credit amongst all dark brew drinkers. Very balanced and original.

Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2010 02:16:12 | More by Bestuurder

hbis2gut

New Hampshire

4.75/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

For me, this stout fits exactly in the middle of the two extremes. Namely dry and milk/sweet stouts. It has both a dryness and a sweetness. It has a creamy texture that is not cloying. Lion Stout would be by far the best stout to ever cross my lips provided Guiness had never existed. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2001 12:36:47 | More by hbis2gut

Baileyuk

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

tasted a full bottle at a beer tasting (it was my first drink so my tastebuds were clean).

poured an excellent looking black with a great off white/brown head. Lacing was superb.

Smell of alcohol, roasted malts, oak and cider.

sweet taste with some of the cider smell definately displayed.

was very smooth, especially for a stout. I could, and did drink a couple. I am not the greatest stout fan but will have this again in the future.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2008 01:12:19 | More by Baileyuk

WilliamPhilaPa

Pennsylvania

4.72/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(4 months past BB date)-This stuff is not over hyped at all...rather it's good!
Pours a huge and beautiful beige head. The aromas literally exploded as I poured it out of the bottle, notes of caramel, chocolate and mocha. All of the same sweet flavors can be found on the palate and it all blends together so well, perfectly hiding a high 8% abv. In the mouth feel there’s an amazing velvety type of texture…so smooth. This is one superb stout!
$2.99 for a big bottle–conditioned 625ml bottle was not much to pay at all! This stuff is great. Overall a superb stout, IMHO....

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2002 14:46:15 | More by WilliamPhilaPa

meowimakittycat

Florida

4.72/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Loved this beer! Went to Independent, a local classy bar in downtown St Petersburg for St. Patty's Day to celebrate. Came across this magnificent find. I prefer drinking from the bottle but Lion Stout is best suited for a glass. It had slight head, maybe an inch at most, thick and frothy so I didn't mind it. Chocolate/coffee aromas. dark not in any way translucent. Flavors of natural bittersweet chocolate, smooth texture, not too filling, settles well so I could probably drink a few. Coffee aftertaste without leaving residue behind. An extremely quality beer. Highly recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

03-19-2009 15:42:14 | More by meowimakittycat

Lauthaha

Michigan

4.72/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: A heavy pour at a 45-degree angle yields an ultra-thick head; nearly two fingers. The beer is opaque-brown and pours moderately thickly. Minutes after pour, head dissipates leaving heavy lacing on the sides of the glass. Head is a beautiful tan color which fits perfectly with the opaqueness of the beer itself.

Smell: Reminiscent of a bakery. Roasted malty character interwoven with hues of dark chocolate, coffee, berries, maybe even caramel. Tastes like something I should be biting into. Simply angelic.

Taste: There is a solid roastiness that is the perfect foundation for the rest of the taste. Chocolate and caramel swirl and effervesce upon my taste buds. Aftertaste is berry-flavored on top of the malty foundation. One of the best tasting beers I have tried.

Mouthfeel: Sits a bit heavy on the tongue, as it should. Leaves a gentle coating on the cheeks and palate which is not easily replaced. Very, very good.

Drinkability: As far as a stout goes, this one is VERY drinkable. In terms of beer in general, however, it IS a bit heavy. One or two should suffice; any more than that would put you up for a long night. ;-) Tasty, good mouthfeel, but not an everyday thing.

This would probably be a great beer to age in a cellar or to keep in the back of the fridge. Like I mentioned, one or two is all you really need. It's a great beer to start a night with as it's both flavorful and high in ABV. One of the tops!

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 03:24:34 | More by Lauthaha

DUBinMIA

Florida

4.72/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a plain pub pint glass. 1 in. dark brown head. dark black color with lacing.

Smell was heavy in malt, coffee, and a hint of chocolate and hops at the end.

Initial flavor of roasted malt with coffee and chocolate flavors. finished with some residual sweetness.

Thick and creamy mouth-feel

Wow.... really good stout!!! That's all i can even say... On my list of new favorites for sure. I can't wait to have another

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2011 16:01:58 | More by DUBinMIA

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.7/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is one of those beers that are just classic. I love it, possibly my favorite all around stout that I have tasted. It really is amazing, hell, even Michael Jackson endorses this one, but then again his opinion is just that another opinion. The Lion Stout pours a very dark opaque tone of deep blackish brown with hints of ruby at the edges when held to the light. The head that complements the body is an incredible milk chocolate hue of brown head, and leaves a sturdy even lace down my imperial pint. The aroma is saturated with dark malts especially the chocolate roasts. Very well done, and the flavor of this brew contains the perfect combination of sweet creamy chocolate, full of coffee roasts, and a smooth dryness that mellows the finish so nicely. With the medium light body and the creamy mouthfeel to each sip, this beer is so drinkable that besides the ABV there is no reason why it shouldn't deserve a five. Quite the impressive work of art straight from who would have thought Sri Lanka. MJ make some room cause this BA would like to sign his seal of approval on the Lion Stout.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2003 15:00:54 | More by WVbeergeek

Skidz

Wisconsin

4.7/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

330mL bottle with freshness date: Best before Feb. 2005. A very heavy bottle for the size, nice packaging.

Pours out dark brown and sits nearly black, with only a bit of deep crimson showing through the very edges. A large, fluffy dark tan, going on brown head sits a top this nice looking beer. Great lacings on the sides, a very attractive brew.

Smells of light roastiness, chocolates with a bit of creaminess, and just a small amount of peppery aromas that pick up on the chocolatey sweetness. Some coffee and other bitter hues present as well. All these blended with nice floral aromas that bring it all together. I'll also note that even with the higher 8.0% ABV, it goes without a trace in the nose.

Tastes of roasted grains and coffee, but is initially sweet, with chocolates and minor fruity tones that breifly introduce you to the beer. Warms the stomach nicely, but, as in the smell, the alcohol slips through without a trace. Finishes with a mild bitterness that houses some nutty, maybe a bit of smoky flavors and overall earthy tones that go hand-in-hand with the roasted grains and coffee found near the front. Excellent flavor, complex in flow and just tastes so good.

A big, full body is the package for the abundance of flavors and aromas that take this beer to another level. Perfect carbonation makes its easy to drink, and allows you to wade through the ocean of flavors presented. A high-quality brew that stands out from most competition. Drink at cellar temperature for best results.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2004 22:37:15 | More by Skidz

scruffwhor

Illinois

4.7/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I haven't heard of this beer before, but when I went to DiCarlo's Liqours in Willowbrook, IL. I saw the six pack with beer dork Michael Jackson on the cardboard and had to pick it up. With a plus to the exotic locale the beer is produced.

Appearance- Poured a 0ne and a half finger head into a chalice/oversized wine glass very similar to what M. Jackson was drinking from on the cover. The almost complete liquid black with hints of a reddish-brown at the top of the beer.

Smell- Excellent roasted malt sweetness nicely subdued by a hint of hops. Hint of whipping cream to help define the malt induced aromas.

Taste- Was much better than I would ever have expected beautiful blend of smokey malt with excellent bacjup by the hop bitterness although there wasn't much. Creamy vanilla notes with an overall whole milk nuance.

Mouthfeel- Medium palate, but not filling.

Drinkability- I would love to have a couple of these with in a day. Maybe with a chocolate pecan tortie.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2005 02:07:30 | More by scruffwhor

treedoctor5002

Michigan

4.7/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Trying this beer from a 330ml bottle.
The pour is nice, very dark and luscious. Head is light brown. When swirled around the glass it leaves some small bubble groups.
Smell is bourbon and chocolate. Very nice and sweet.
This beer is really smooth. None of that overdone burnt coffee flavor. Chocolate mocha and molasses rule the day here.
Mouthfeel is very smooth. For as big of a beer as this is you don't hardly taste it at all. I could drink this all night, seriously that good.
One of my new go to stouts.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2007 01:00:12 | More by treedoctor5002