REVIEW #55: Dragon Stout (Desnoes & Geddes)

Pours mahogany brown with a short lasting tan head. Smells of black treacle and honey, very sweet. Caramel (too much?) is prominent initially, wholemeal bread and sweet dark malt too. Creamy honey and warming alcohol in the finish. Medium bodied with a decent carbonation level. Overall a little too saccharine for my tastes; I prefer my stouts dry with the barley roasted to oblivion (unless we're talking milk stout). However in the Jamaican heat I imagine the sweetness would be quite refreshing... just a shame I'm not in the Jamaican heat. Still, the beer only set me back 50p a bottle so can't complain too much!

Desnoes & Geddes (D&G), best known for its Red Stripe 'Jamaican Lager Beer', was founded in Jamaica in 1918. Dragon Stout was created two years later. Today the company is owned by UK global drinks giant Diageo PLC. Dragon Stout can be thought of as a foreign/export stout; a substyle that's generally more malty and stronger in alcohol than a normal stout. Check out Guiness Foreign Export Stout (Ireland) and Lion Stout (Sri Lanka) for other examples of the style. Ridgeway also do an excellent one, reviewed here.

• MALTS: 2-ROW EURO, ROASTED MALT
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 7.5%`
• CARAMEL & DARK BROWN SUGAR ADDED

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