Lion Stout - Ceylon / Lion Brewery Limited

putnam

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Milk-chocolate colored head that sticks to the glass. Deep spicy, exotic aromas of incense, chocolate, allspice and raspberry reduction. Sweet alcohol flavor drives notes of coffee, cane and grape. Good, mild, balancing bitterness on the medium-long finish. A decent stout to drink. Much better if you just smell it though.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2002 17:29:03 | More by putnam

dpend

Florida

4.18/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The first mistake I made with this stout was to compare it to other stouts(mostly Northern European).My second sampling was taken without the considerations to the others and provided a more non-biased analysis.
This beer is now one of my favorite stouts and will probably work its way on to my top ten overall.A well balanced beer that offered pleasure all the way through.I even enjoyed watching the head give off red rings around the bubbles while dissipating.I think even Alcopop drinkers would like this beer.
My only complaint would be the somewhat fizzy carbonation,but that again is noticed because of comparison to other stouts.I will definitely be having more of this.With cooler weather coming, I may have to stock some.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2002 07:57:57 | More by dpend

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thing & black with a stable beige head. Smell has notes of roasted malts and sweetness. Smooth, soft mouthfeel, very creamy. For the most part, a very good beer. I swear, however, that my bottle had a small metalic-tasting flaw. Still, the beer has great balance. Very tasty. This is the first beer I've had from Sri Lanka.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2002 11:47:13 | More by Suds

Jason

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

330ml / 11.5oz brown bottle with an expiration date printed on the bottle. Stellar lacing on the glass with a ring being left nearly every sip. Coal black with virtually no light coming through.

Sweet molasses, prunes and black currants, thick roasted coffee, baker’s chocolate and a estery alcohol are all aromas I pick off of this stout.

Full bodied with a moderate carbonation. Smooth and creamy without a doubt, coffee and unsweetened chocolate come to mind at the first taste. Fruity twang in the middle of black currants, this twang doubles with a roasted grain flavour that is perfectly balanced. Hints of charcoal and earth run middle to end as the alcohol as kicks in with a warming estery character. Finishes slightly sweet with vague remnants of roastedness.

Not as complex as I thought it would be but that is finish being that a brew with such strength can be so drinkable. I’ll going back to this beer for sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2002 11:28:19 | More by Jason

pbrian

Connecticut

4.33/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sweet, fruity nose with hints of burnt malts. Many flavors present that all mesh quite well. Chocolate/cocoa, raisins/plums. It's light bodied for its complexity and strength and drinks quite well. I think my package store did me a favor by aging it for me(it was 4 months past its "exp." date).

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2002 06:30:17 | More by pbrian

Andy

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Creamy aroma, yet with some smokey hints. Big, bubbly tan head. Slightly sweet beginning, fruity yeast flavor. Smooth drinking.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2002 19:14:28 | More by Andy

packetknife

Idaho

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I was underwhelmed with this beer. I was expecting more. Its got strong hints of chocolate and smells slightly burnt. It's thinner than it looks but still have a good feel. An ok beer but I wouldn't make it a habit.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2002 16:07:53 | More by packetknife

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

QXSTER1

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

As a fan of full bodied stouts this beer didn't impress me as much as it's reputation in the beer publications indicated it would. I felt it was on the dry Irish stout side but without the creamy head and roasted malt flavors. Bitter roasted barley, but not much malt backbone left me wanting more and not getting it.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2002 10:10:29 | More by QXSTER1

Thrasher

Oregon

3.88/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer from Sri Lanka, eh? I'm game. This is a solid, sweetish stout with a rocky, fragrant head and a nice oiliness to it (from the hops maybe?). Different enough from other brews to make it interesting, although slicker than perhaps the very best stouts. Milky, juicy, with what I imagined as a rummy, sugar-cane undercoat. I thought it very drinkable. Perhaps not worth a trip to Ceylon, but definitely worth picking up out if you find it in your local store (as I did). Bottle had a drink-by date of September this year (bought it in February).

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2002 22:51:27 | More by Thrasher

Todd

Massachusetts

3.15/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Presentation: 625ml brown bottle with a gold foil neck. MJ, the beer hunter, is pictured on the back of the label with a cheesy endorsement. Expiration date printed on the bottle.

Appearance: Black with brown hues. Pours a massive tan head with a creamy/foamy consistency, lots of glass stick and great retention. Unfiltered.

Smell: Caramel, light roasted notes, wet paper, touch of musty fruit.

Taste: A malty sweet brew, smooth and mature in character. Caramel, chocolate and mocha flavours are dominant with a touch of blackstrap molasses in the background. Wet paper flavours pull-thru revealing some oxidation of the beer. Soft, even mouthfeel. Alcohol is not evident in taste, but you can feel it working the brain. Mild astringent bite and dryness. Finish is chocolaty, a bit metallic and dries up.

Notes: Over-promoted by Michael Jackson and over-hyped in general. A pretty average sweet stout that has potential to be something better, but it never gets there. It sits somewhere between a dry Irish stout and typical sweet stout, leaning a bit too much towards the dry with its flat, one dimensional malt profile. Still at least worth a try for all of you stout lovers out there.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2002 15:18:01 | More by Todd

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