Lion Stout - Ceylon / Lion Brewery Limited

Spiekerbox

Michigan

2.55/5  rDev -35.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Dark brown-black appearance with thick dark head. Head lingers for a short time not as long as many I have seen

S: Somewhat chocolaty with hits of coffee, rather bland, nothing exceptional but still decent.

T: Hints of chocolate and hints of coffee, more bitter than what I would expect of a stout, slight hoppiness that is hard to notice at first.

M: Thick mouthfeel with strong taste of alcohol, the 8% alcohol comes out strongly, not covered up well by beer itself.


D: The 22 oz. bottle I drank it from was enough for me, after finishing to bottle was full and had little desire to drink the other beer I had bought for the night.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 02:55:18 | More by Spiekerbox

SeanChouffe

New Mexico

2.53/5  rDev -35.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance: A deep dark brown color with a full, foamy, tan head (low retention. Aroma is dull and muted: Roasty and chocolaty with a light hop presence. Metallic notes. Flavor: sweet start with a dominant roasted taste, chocolaty, and a lightly dry and metallic finish. Palate: medium bodied and creamy with low co2. This beer seems to have under utilized the assets of the ingredients. Not a bad beer, but not well balanced and not memorable.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2004 22:06:44 | More by SeanChouffe

ThickNStout

Georgia

2.53/5  rDev -35.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle from the Wienhous (Asheville, NC). $2.69. No bottling info. Poured into a snifter. 

Near black with 1/2 finger tan head. Almost zero lacing. 

Dates and figs with a hint of bakers chocolate. Overall a bit sweet. 

Sweet dark fruit and mild chocolate. There's a little roast/smokeyness in there. I can taste the alcohol too- I wasn't expecting that, seeing as the abv isn't that high at all. All around flat.

Medium bodied. Heavier carbonation that is really necessary. Dry finish. 

Meh. As far as I'm concerned, Sri Lanka can keep it. It's not awful but I'll never look for it again. There are too many other worthwhile stouts out there to waste any more time/money on this. 

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2012 06:11:46 | More by ThickNStout

cokes

Wisconsin

2.45/5  rDev -37.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Much less a lion, and much more a feral cat.

A ruby shade of blackness, with a skinny tan edge.
Aromas mirroring the inside of of a raisin box. Cardboard, wax, and stale dark fruits.
Astonishes the mouth with its lack of flavor, especially decent flavor. Slightly roasted with faint chocolate covered prunes. Rummed coffee towards the back of the throat. Some oxidization, wet paper, and building vinegar sourness to round this out.
Not exciting in the least, actually, not even pleasant.

Next.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2003 22:22:13 | More by cokes

nsmartell

Wisconsin

2.45/5  rDev -37.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I enjoyed this beer while playing cards at a friend's house. From bottle to pint glass.

Appearance: Nice and dark, but with no head.

Smell: Chocolate and malt.

Taste: Too bitter with a really bad metallic taste. I felt like I was eating tin foil.

Mouthfeel: - thick-bodied.

Drinkability: I'm guessing the metal taste was only part of tihs bad batch we had. Would try it again, but am not holding out hope.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2008 16:06:02 | More by nsmartell

Onenote81

North Carolina

2.38/5  rDev -39.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

Had this beer at a cookout this last weekend. Someone knew I liked stouts, so they grabbed this for me. Poured it into a mug. Pours a thick oil-like black with a large tan head on top. Very good retention; left lots of sticky lace clinging to the glass. Scents of dark fruits, milk chocolate, and some roasted malts.

The body was pretty wet and slick. I expected more here. Too watery. The taste was not doing it for me. Some sourness present reminded me of some milk stouts. Other flavors noted were grape, and faint chocolate notes. Nothing standout here. I couldn't even finish this one. Something about it just wasn't pleasant. I'll pass on this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2010 13:16:34 | More by Onenote81

charlzm

California

2.33/5  rDev -40.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Consumed May 3rd, 2012 at The Tin Cow, Pensacola, FL. Poured into a pint glass.

Extremely dark brown with a finger-high mocha colored head.

Aroma is a little on the red grape tip with some subtle roasted malts.

Flavor is a mess. Chalky, thin, weird. Red grapes, weak, lightly roasted malts, mineral notes. Low bitterness.

Unremarkable mouthfeel, save for the chalky, chewy bit.

Think I'll take a pass on this one next time I see it.

Serving type: can

06-13-2012 05:15:36 | More by charlzm

CMUbrew

Michigan

2.3/5  rDev -41.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

11.2 oz bottle into a snifter

A: Pours very black, and looks fairly viscous. About a finger an a half of brown head which dissipates somewhat quickly. Looks like a nice stout.

S: Here's where the trouble starts. Smell is quite strange. Somewhere between skunky and slightly sour. Highly grainy. Not good.

T: Grainy, with a bad lactic sourness in there. Pretty weak roasted flavor. Some dark fruit, dates. Crappy, highly tannic coffee on the finish.

M: Might not have been bad here if it wasn't for the high astringency.

O: Not pleasant. Drainpour. Big disappointment. Pricepoint is the only reason behind the 2.5 here. Really sad I bought two bottles.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 03:00:10 | More by CMUbrew

HimerMan

New Jersey

2.23/5  rDev -43.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Bottle at the House of Brews in NYC. (Michael Jackson picture on the back of the bottle.)

Pour was a nice almost black with dark brown flat head.

Taste left a lot to be desired - as it was very different from what I am used to in a stout. Interesting to say the least, just not exactly what I prefer in taste.

I would suggest trying this if you like a less creamy more carob syrupy flavor beer with a roasted flavor (somewhat smokey).

Give it a shot - always worth it to formulate your own opinion.

Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2006 02:03:20 | More by HimerMan

pjohnston007

New York

2.23/5  rDev -43.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Poured it and then sat down to drink it while reading the reviews on here. Noticed the first swig full of flavor and inviting. It was all downhill from there. It started getting sickly sweet or something offensive. I'm not sure if it was the mouthfeel or the flavors. Before a gag reflex set in, I rushed to the sink and poured the glass and what remained in the bottle down the sink. I switched to a Sam Adams Winter Lager but that would not enough to cleanse my palate. There's a reason a large bottle of this is only $3.50. Stay away.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 02:25:15 | More by pjohnston007

wallpaperbag

Alabama

1.73/5  rDev -56.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Gross.
I don't waste beer, even bad ones, and after several attempts to hand out my 6-pack I almost threw the last couple into the woods.
I love big stouts but this was strong in a uniquely bad way. All the wrong dark fruits soaked in salt water and dipped in cheap chocolate.
The only good thing I got out of this was a deeper sleep and a lesson in buying stouts from Sri Lanka. Please give me a Sierra Nevada Stout or a Bell's Double Cream.

Serving type: can

01-19-2011 09:40:18 | More by wallpaperbag

eyefeelgood

Pennsylvania

1.53/5  rDev -61.2%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

I sure hope I just got a bad one because this was arguably the worst beer I've had in years. Color was excellent, smell in the bottle was okay but all downhill after that. In the glass it smelled like sewer water and didn't taste any better. It was bought and stored the same as a dozen great beers so it was either bad when I bought it or its just lousy.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2008 15:34:34 | More by eyefeelgood