“Honey, why don’t you pick up another beer to review.”
YESSSS.

Todays choice is Lion Stout. As imagined, there is a proud lion’s head on the front of the bottle and gold lettering. I poured half the bottle (it is a big bottle) into a pint glass and watched the chocolate milk head settle down over the opaque black beer. Mmm, this ought to be good.

The first swig gives the huge roasted barley flavor expected in a stout, nice bittering on the back of the tongue. Once its gone there is the faint glow of alcohol (8.0% ABV) then the chocolatey roasted barley taste lingers on. Some sips give off some strange tastes, but that could just be me. This stout is thicker by far then Guinness Pub Draught, but no where near thick as the extra stout.

I recall a friend bringing over a bottle a few years ago for a brewing session, but I couldn’t remember if I liked it or not. We didn’t open it until the wort was cooling, so it wasn’t our first beer, either.

Overall impression is, of course, yummy. Not particularly appealing on a summer afternoon, but I opened the air conditioning vent in my office and closed the blinds to give me a winter-like atmosphere. I should settle on a convention for rating beers I drink, how about mug up or down? I give this one a mug firmly up, waiting to be filled again. This is a beer I wouldn’t buy regularly, but certainly once in a while for a nice stouty treat without the sour notes of a Guinness.

Cheers!