Leon
Photos Photiades Breweries

 

Larnaka 12/7 2017. The City of Pale Lagers it seems. I selected a handful of cans from a minimarket and it seems they all were pale lagers. 50 cl can from Habang minimarket. A Lion with an oversized Crown on the Can. I assume that’s how you have to look if you are the Self Appointed "King of Happy Times".

Pours clear yellow with big white bubbly head. Subsides quickly leaving lonely patch of foam. No Lacing.

Aroma is sharp and sourish. Hay and citrus. Slightly acidic.

Medium strong carbonation and watery palate.

Flavor is rather bland. Lightly sweet balanced by light bitterness. Not much taste to speak of.

Fine when you are real thirsty - and that happens from time to time in Cyprus.

 

July 2007: 440 ml can, brought home from Cyprus by my wife. Pale golden colour, large head. Sweetish aroma with notes of candy, grass, flowers and honey. The flavour is relatively crisp with a slightly spritzy mouthfeel, somewhat better than expected. Light bodied. Could have been worse.

Drank in a Greek Restaurant in the Greek hub of Melbourne CBD
Right setting for a quaffed
It looked smelt and felt good but was pretty low on taste unfortunately
Was not expecting a gob smacking surprise but it was underwhelming

 

 

 

Pours a finger of head on a clear straw body.
The aroma is lots of dry grains.
The taste is sharp metallic bitterness and bit of malt sweetness.
The texture is crisp but too fizzy.
The higher carbonation and unremarkable flavor define this brew.

This is probably the oldest beer produced in Cyprus, and its brewery stopped producing it in favour of brewing Carlsberg when they got the license, but this beer saw a comeback in 2003 with a major redesign and ad campaign in the last 2-3 years.Despite its long history however, it's rather obscure even in Cyprus. It's also slightly hard to find, and some markets don't have it in large quantities. The price is pretty cheap though.

One thing it has over its main competitor KEO, is that unlike KEO, this is an all malt beer and not an adjunct. It pours a bright , slightly amber gold colour and small head that dissipates fast. The taste is unsurprisingly very comparable to that of Carlsberg. Generally an average brew.

 

 

 

I have been to Cyprus a number of times and have always mainly stuck to Keo beer. But on my recent visit I decided to sample the newly re-invented Leon.

Upon pouring it was an amber colour with an off white head, however this was not complemented with a nice nose, a faint smell of malts and not much else.

The taste was very pleasant, nice and malty with a slight hint of refreshing fruit in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel was a bit watery for my liking, but acceptable.

The two main things this had going for it were the taste and also the drinkability, wow this was consumed all night, but there were no after effects the next morning. Very drinkable beer, best suited for a hot climate, give it a try if you are ever out in Cyprus, it is better on tap than in the bottle.

This beer's history goes WAY back. It was first brewed in 1937. The brewery stopped brewing this beer in 1965 and started again in June 2003. The recipe is the same as the one in 1937. You can tell that this beer's recipe is quite old. Once you taste it you get the feeling that you had this beer in the cellar for 10 years. Pours a pale golden colour topped by a poor head. Aroma consists of hops and malts. Nothing impressive really. What surprised me about this beer is the taste.

I poured the beer in my mug. Observed it for a while and watched the foam settle down very quickly. Disappointed at this stage. Then i smelled the beer both ways with mouth open and closed. Dissapointed². According to what the beer offered me so far i was expecting a very poor taste. I was wrong. This beer tastes OLD. If you close your eyes and taste this beer you get the feeling that you are in a medieval castle wiith a wooden stein in your hand enjoying your beer before the night feast. Mouthfeel of this beer is average and goes down like water.

Acceptable brew.