I’m finally back from my travels, and we took the kids to the zoo in Peoria today. We stopped at Old Chicago on the Peoria riverfront for lunch before heading home. Unfortunately, their draft beers were in transition, so I took the opportunity to try the most unique beer I could find on the menu. It said Lion Stout was brewed in Sri Lanka, so I thought I’d give that one a try.
The bottle said that it was 8% ABV, and there was a bit of comfort when I saw a little marketing message on the back label with a nice quote from beer critic Michael Jackson about the beer. It was dark black with some dark ruby colors when held up to the light.
When I poured it into the glass, it had a very nice sized tan colored head, which stayed fairly thick. It smelled like dark roasted malts like black patent, and maybe a tiny bit like a regular Starbucks coffee (burnt coffee bean).
The body was medium and it had a nice creamy mouthfeel. It had a sweet malty taste that reminded me a bit of molasses, and there was noticeable chocolate flavor to it. It reminded me a bit of dark chocolate cocoa powder. Although it had these characteristics, it was very smooth and drinkable.
It didn’t go very well with the pizza there at Old Chicago, but it would go very well with chocolate desserts, like cake or brownies. Overall, it was a pretty good beer, and it actually reminded me a bit of a lighter version of the Russian Imperial Stout I brew at home (with a bit more of a chocolate flavor). This is one I’ll have to try again if I happen to come across it somewhere.
