Shoes of a Clown

Clown Shoes are a brewery based in Ipswich, Massachusetts who are largely unheard of in the UK but fairly well regarded across the pond. Recently some of their beers have been available via the Brewdog online store; so grabbed a few  and my thoughts follow below. All of these score above 95% on RateBeer*, so would expect them to be decent.

Galactica is a galaxy hopped IPA 8% hazy mid amber with a lacing of off white head. i didn't get a picture but I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like. A fruity tropical citrus  character (think clementine and grapefruit) on the nose. Fairly fruity malt and red berries sweetness, pithy hops, flavours don't quite lieup with my expectations of the hops, but decent nevertheless.Not too boisterous bitterness wise, its a decent IPA and wears its ABV well but  as with many American beers it seems to be there as a selling point rather than being needed to prop up the beer, I'd much rather a sessionable version.

Hoppy feet is of  that oxymoronic style Black IPA. Some people may loathe them but I generally enjoy them. This one was okay, it didn't blow me away, I've certainly had better black IPAs at 7% ABV from both home and abroad. Its a dark brown with pillowy beige head, gentle carbonation and  moderate body. Piney and orangey, chocolate malt, dry, slightly burntified, toast, bitter hops, its in the right ballpark but not outstanding.

Next up, Tramp Stamp a "bodacious Belgian IPA". I'm not sure how the name relates to the beer and the latent sexism and lower back shot certainly isn't required. Dodgy name choice aside the beer doesn't quite work. The alcohol is pretty obvious for starters, finishing quite hot and those Belgian yeast esters romp all over the hops. The orange peel does work nicely, especially within the aroma, but this beer (and the choice of name) just isn't for me.

The best of the bunch was Clementine, a white IPA with the eponymous fruit immediately apparent on the nose alongside more traditional belgian yeast and corriander notes. Its very full bodied, creamy from the wheat additions, with fruity hops and orangepeel. If you'd written off hopped wits as one step too far in the hops arms race, give this one a try. It works really well,perhaps due to the alcohol being lower than in their IPAs allowing the hops and yeast to sing together.

As a bonus review (sampled last year via alesela) Chocolate Sombrero is  a 9%  belter of an imperial stout with all manner of added spicings. Its a hazy ruby, tinged brown, beige lacing. The nose is chocolate and kola cube like someone has melted together a bar of Bournville with cola bottle sweets. As its warms there's also a rich breakfast coffee coming through In the mouth its dry cocoa powder, sweet malts, smoky chipotle and a slight chili bite on finish It doesn’t taste its strength but certainly packs a punch. I certainly enjoyed it but had perhaps expected more from it - you can't always believe the hype.

So overall a fairly disappointing bunch this time around, with only really the Clementine recommended to buy if you see it. They're fairly priced given their ABV but would rather spend the money on tastier UK releases. Of course I can't speak for freshness of the beers, all were within date and Brewdog have a decent distribution chain but perhaps the hop-forward beers would give a better showing in their native habitat. Up to you to decide.

Clown Shoes

@clownshoesbeer

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*Make of that what you will.  NB Clementine is above 95% within its style, not overall.

Liquid Americana Whisky tasting

My third whisky tweet tasting experience was something a little different from the previous two: not only were the 5 samples on offer American in origin, they were also unknowns. I don't know much about American whisky anyway; so the evening was a great learning experience. Whiskys were provided by Arkwrights and as ever compèred by taster supremo Steve,cheers guys! Review after the group shot.

First up was a weighty perfumey jasmine rice and coconut milk number that was quite boozy with an interesting Parma Violets finish. it tasted like a fiery sweet potato until doused with a splash of water, allowing spicy wood, mashing barley and vanilla to come to the fore. I wasn't all too impressed but suggested it as a cocktail base, which got some nods of approval. Turns out this one is a bourbon, Elijah Craig 12 y/o, available for a reasonable £31.50.

Moving on swiftly we reached an elevenses whisky, spicy Seville marmalade on wheaten bread. It tasted completely different - BBQ'd pineapple with black pepper, heavy on the char and an oily textured finish with oriental spiced nuts. This whisky is another bourbon and the priciest at £54 - Noah's Mill.

Third up was actually my favourite of the evening, much gentler on the nose with strawberries, turkish delight and candied angelica. Lighter in body and finishing sweet, this is the only one that didn't need the additional water. A novelty this one being a wheat whisky it turns out, Bernheim original £52.25 though I probably wouldn't splash out for the bottle when a Speyside would do it for cheaper.

A bargain at £23.50!

The penultimate whisky offered up a smorgasbord of healthy fruits including satsuma, peaches and blueberries, liberally drizzled with honey. Towards the back was a brooding slightly smoky meaty note. In the mouth was coriander seed, cardboard, oak smoked ham and a lot of cereal...so much so that I guessed this was a grain whisky...wrong again! Rye this time, Pikesville to be precise and at a bargainous £23.50 I'm considering picking up a bottle to work through the various rye cocktail recipes I'm dying to try.

We finished up with a whisky of intriguing nose, peppermint, turps and almonds finishing quite fiery with a whack of booze. After adding a touch of water geraniums and orange flower water became apparent on the nose, very full in body though perhaps lacking in subtlety of flavour. This was High West Double Rye, so called as it is a blend of two straight rye whiskys.

So an interesting experience, but helped to confirm my suspicions that I am a Scotch malt man rather than a whiskey man. Thanks to Arkwrights for providing the samples, if you fancy trying them at home they're available through Arkwrights for £16.75, that's less than £3.40 a double stats fans! Follow the nights' shenanigans on #LiquidAmericana.

B is for...

Ben is running a weekly beer alphabet series on his blog, open to anyone who wishes to contribute. I had no "a" beers at home but have plenty of "b's". Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is a Barley wine, perfect for sipping in front of a crackling log fire as the nights draw in and the days are laced with frost.(I think I should score double as both the beer name an dthe beer style begin with b! )

It begins unassuming as if a regular bitter, bit the Seville orange marmalade and toffee notes hint at what lies within its mysterious ruby-mahogany depths.Dusty candy sugar and Turkish delight on the nose. A fluffy tan head which soon collapses to a lacing. The first sip, oh my, what is this? Pithy bitter bomb. This is not what I expected! One of the hoppiest beers I've come across from Sierra Nevada and plenty of booze too at 9.6%. Crisp carbonation thick body sweet and pithy. Alcohol punch, big bitter finish.