Miasmatic Review

Good Bye 2009

I really hated 2009, it was not a good year for me. Nothing good seemed to happen and I really am looking for it being over. It's fitting that the year is rolling out in pain. I had a follow up treatment yesterday that involved a really long needle being jammed into my stomach. Yea, I hurt.

So here's to 2010. May this year bring about some Happiness and Joy for everyone.

Lion Stout

Tonight I’m reviewing a beer that I bought, but was highly recommended by Anthony Artale of Artale Wine Co. Those of you that were at the Beer Tasting may recall Artale Donated some beers to the tasting. It is Lion Stout by the Ceylon / Lion Brewery in Sri Lanka.

We have our standard 12 oz brown bottle. There is a black label with gold trim. There is a picture of a lion on it, with the name “Lion” in silver lettering and “Stout” under that in red. There is a neck label that boasts three quality awards. On the back label there is a quote from Michael Jackson the beer hunter, not the singer, “…the stout was soft, fresh and quite delicious. This was the top-fermenting Lion Stout … it was bottle-conditioned and had an extraordinary chocolaty, mocha … character.”

The beer itself is a rich dark brown color that is almost black. No light passes through at all. When I poured it a thick, foamy head about ¾ inch formed. It was a dark tan in color and slowly faded. A spider web of lacing formed on the glass. Overall it has an absolutely beautiful appearance that is both enticing and inviting.

The first thing you notice is a chocolate malt smell. Some coffee malts and a touch of mocha is detectable. A molasses scent is noticeable in the background that rounds out its very appetizing scent. The flavor sets up a well balanced flavor. It starts off with a sweet flavor of coffee and chocolate malts. Molasses accents the flavor and brings the malts as well as a slightly mocha flavor and a hint of hops. AT 8% Alcohol By Volume, you can only slightly note the taste of alcohol

This is a full bodied beer; there is a creaminess to it that coats the mouth. The carbonation is a little heavier than what I normally expect in a stout, but not unpleasantly so.

This beer surprised me. I wasn’t expecting an Asian stout to be this pleasant to drink. It wasn’t as dry as an Irish stout, but not as strong as a lot of American Stouts. I found myself really enjoying drinking this beer. I give it 8 out of 10.

Moose Drool

Sorry, it’s been a while since my last beer review. No excuses, just lazy and busy. The beer I will be reviewing tonight is from Petey of Petey’s Powderhorn. He donated Moose Drool Brown Ale by the Big Sky Brewing Co. in Missoula, Montana.

It came in the standard brown bottle with a label that shows a moose wading in a lake with what looks like a waterfall of drool coming out of its mouth. Presumably it was drinking from the lank it was standing in. There is a forest background to it. The name of the beer is in the middle in a cursive style script.

The beer has a nice chocolate malt scent to it. A mild nut flavor is detectable and there is a slight biscuit scent. The smell is kind of mild and a little on the week side. For a brown ale I was expecting something a little stronger scented. The flavor is a mixture of roasted chocolate malts with a hint of nuts and a nice hop finish. It tastes almost like an English brown, but not quite as flavorful. The aftertaste is barely noticeable.

It is a medium bodied beer. There is a slight creaminess to it that coats the mouth.

This is a nice beer. It’s nothing fancy or all that impressive, but it was nice to drink. It’s something that I wouldn’t pass up, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for. The flavor could have been more impressive. I give it 5 out of 10.