Lion Stout at Longbeard's Bar & Grill

Last night I had dinner at Longbeard's Bar & Grill, 5040 Carolina Forest Boulevard (it's on that piece of Carolina Forest Boulevard that sits near U.S. 31, on the east side of River Oaks).

I tried the Breckenridge Avalanche amber ale for the second time. A pint from the tap was $4.25. It's a decent amber, but I should add a precaution for those who like such beers: it's the least-sweet amber I have ever had.

The highlight was Lion Stout in the bottle for $4. This stout from Sri Lanka was, to borrow the words of the late beer critic Michael Jackson, "soft, fresh and quite delicious."

Of course, stouts aren't for everyone, because they tend to have formidible accents of coffee and/or roasted nuts, which strike some palates as mere bitterness.

In the case of Lion Stout, it had just enough chocolately sweetness in the malt to take the edge off the bitterness.

But for those who like the darker beers, Lion should be King of the Stouts.

By the way -- my wife and I loved Longbeard's fried catfish, and we gave our server, Amanda, high marks.