Lion Stout
BB NOV 2006. Served lightly chilled in a broad-rimmed goblet. A: pours a very dark brown, almost ebony hue, some ruby hints are seen against light; the tan head comes effervescent and foamy, gradually settling to a thin carpet and leaving tight lacing. S: lovely and intense aroma of roast nuts and roasted barleys upfront, on top of more settled sticky toffee, coffee-flavoured milk, and burned sugary coating as on cream-brulee~~ True to the style, the aroma is dense but still manageable, albeit a touch too sweet for me and slightly short of complexity. T: an effervescent-textured maltiness flows onto the palate, introducing peanut-flavoured toffee, crushed roast almond, lightly bitter-sweet root-spice (licorice), burned sugar, and roasted barleys; the nutty edge speaks out loud, providing a different kind of bitter-sweetness from other burned-malt-dominated Foreign Stouts I've had. Only in the end does a tinge of restrained sourness emerge, complementing the bitter-sweet flavour just well. M&D: although the texture falls a bit thin, the very light body sits in contrast to a semi-strong flavour, and the high alc. content doesn't leave a wee bit trace throughout the drink, making this a very approachable stout. Somehow my impression of this beer is compromised by (unintentional) comparison with stronger and fuller Imperial Russian Stouts, and robust, less sweet and dryer English Stouts. In a sense, interestingly, its texture and flavour remind me more of Sweet/Milk Stouts instead--I mustn't be the only one to speculate that, surely? A nice, but not great, foreign stout worth trying once in a life time.