Lion Stout is from The Lion Brewery in Sri Lanka, and was one of my Beer of the Month Club selections. It’s a classic Foreign/Export style Stout, with a nice kick at 8% alcohol—but smooth enough so you don’t notice.

Appearance: Opaque dark brown, nearly black—no light is getting through this. Topped by a luscious thick, cocoa powder head.

Smell: Chocolate and mocha notes… sweet dark syrups and lightly roasted grains.

Taste: Very rich and creamy and sweet… roasted malt astringency tempered very well by the dark chocolate body. Caramel, a hint of smoke, black licorice, a touch of alcohol warmth, burnt coffee, toffee, milk sugar.

Mouthfeel: Thick and full-bodied and chewy. Great balance of sweet and dry.

Overall: An excellent, drinkable stout. Top class; I really liked it.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.82 out of 5, and is in their 97th percentile.