Panther Fine Extra Stout
PT Bali Hai Brewery Indonesia

 

500ml Can from Bintang Supermarket, Seminyay, Bali (Rp 34,000):
A dark ruby colour that borders on black with a half centimetre, beige & foamy head that's a little patchy at one side. The nose is dark & sweet, there's definitely a foreign extra stout type aroma coming through with some sugars & a little caramel but it's relatively light. The taste kicks off in a similar way but seems watered down & weak at times, with too much water showing before the caramel sweetness & malts start to show. It's a medium bodied beer with a smooth, well-carbonated feel & despite the can describing it as rich, I'd have to disagree.

 

 

 

 

I brought a can of Panther Extra Fine Stout home from a trip to Indonesia. The beer pours a deep opaque brown with a thin tan head that laced. Smell is mostly roasty sweet malt. Taste has some black licorice up front followed by roast, malt and hints of coffee slightly acidic on the back end. The mouthfeel is medium body with good carbonation. I am pleasantly surprised by this stout out of Indonesia. Its not a great stout....but it is decent.

Picked this one up at the local market where there was a decent assortment of brews. Smell is a malty sweet rice adjunct like brew. Pours to a deep opaque brown with a thin tan head. Taste has some black licorice up front, not really any roasted malt flavor that I was expecting, its there but very faint. It has a clingy bitterness after the initial taste that continues throughout the finish into the aftertaste. The AC is only 5% but tastes like more. A decent brew but not a keeper.

Panther Stout is known as Bir Hitam (black beer) locally in Indonesia. Most Indonesians will mix it with lemonade and ice before drinking.

For me, I was impressed with this stout considering the quality of most local beers. It has a burnt caramel/molasses aroma and is very smooth. In fact, it's even a bit dry. The head is brown and small, but the colour is worthy of the stout name.

For historical reasons that are a mystery to me in this humid tropical country, Indonesian stouts are usually quite drinkable.

Appearance: A very dark brown, opaque, with a two finger head. Mediocre retention, but leaves some lacing as compensation.

Smell: Roast coffee, nutty with a bit of caramel. A very very refreshing change, considering what I've been drinking here lately.

Taste: Roast, caramel. A bit too cola-like at the finish, but not bad. Moderately bitter.

Mouthfeel & Drinkability: Medium body, appropriately carbonated. By far the best Indonesian beer I have had so far. Salvation in Jakarta! I suspect my rating here is skewed by the dearth of good beer recently, but I'm okay with that.

The can proclaimed "King of Stout" around the top. Let's see if the boasting is warranted...
This beer poured a basic black with faint mahogany edges and was topped by a thin cap of tan bubbles. Some sticky lace clung to the glass and the head retention was quite good. The aroma was on the sweet side, some toffee and roast, nutty with a hint of licorice. Bitterness was medium to low, becoming higher towards the finish. Roast carried the flavour, but there was a faint hop character. A bit thin, but still tasty. Ample carbonation with a lightish body, creamy texture and dry finish. A good stout (I wouldn't go so far as "King of Stout" though), easy drinking, and one of the better beers I tried during my recent trip to southeast asia.