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

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

Paint It Black

Instead of a specific seasonal this year Eight degrees have launched a limited edition trilogy of dark beers - Back to Black. I've picked them up from Drinkstore and am unselfishly drinking them to let you know whether they're worth getting!

 

Going up in increasing ABV order then we first come to Aztec stout, 5.5%; so called because it has cocoa, cinammon, chipotle chili and vanilla.dark cola brown with lacing latte head. Roasted barley with a fruity chili note, touch of marmitey Autolysed yeast. More fruity notes on swirling. Medium bodied, low carbonation, fairly sweet fruitiness, touch of chili heat, dry dark chocolate malt. Missing the vanilla and cinnamon in taste but an enjoyable winter warmer.

Next up was Zeus Black IPA at 7%. Its fantastic, not just the best BIPA I've tried in Ireland but one of the best for these islands combined.Rich citrus and guava with slight chocolate undercurrent. Cola with a lacing of beige head. Full bodied, tingling carbonation, tangerine, pithy bitterness, long bitter finish. Spot on BIPA. Highly recommended a steal at €2.80!

Rounding of the trilogy we have Imperial Russian Stout at 9%.  Pouring resplendent with fluffy tan head in the glass and an inviting aroma of rich chocolate cake. There's also leather and a touch of citrus peel. Unctuous mouth feel, thick bodied, gentle carbonation, rich fruitcake malt, plummy, molasses, tobacco, boozy hit, dry. Will probably age well, a beer this big needs some more complexity...Brett would work well here.

Eight Degrees Brewing

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Whilst we're on dark beers I may as well tell you about Porterhouse's new release: The Devil's Half Acre - a monster of a beer at 13.5%! Pours hazy dark cola coloured with a frothy tan head. Initial fresh citrus aroma followed by treacle toffee, rich boozy whisky, vanilla woody notes, marzipan. Full bodied, medium carbonation, sweet, powerfully bitter, big whisky kick, bourbon biscuits, dry roast barley notes. Long dry barley finish. Its a big bruiser of a beer but really well made, with the whisky deftly controlled. This should still be available in porterhouse bars for €4 this week and in a few off licences if you're lucky.

Porterhouse Brewing Co

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Tune in next week for some beers from the lighter side of the spectrum!

Brewed at Home

This post marks one year of blogging!

Gone is the association of homebrew and dishwater, today's homebrewers are much more likely to produce something close to commercially available ales than say ten years ago. They too have taken inspiration from overseas in using more "exotic" hop varieties and yeast strains to produce and eclectic number of beers. In fact, due to the small batch size, home brewers can take more of a risk on experimenting with novel ingredients and recipes. 

A number of homebrewers have gone on to become full time brewers or had their beers picked up by a full brewery as the result of a competition.  I was fortunate enough to try a few bottles from two future head brewer candidates: Broadford Brewer (Dave Bishop) and Hardknott Alex (Routledge).

Up first, a black IPA from David. Nebulous pours a brown-tinged black with decent sized head. David was worried it'd be past its best and if that's the case It'd have been fantastic in its prime. As it was it was a very good beer, well balanced citrus hops and chocolate malt with a touch of bitterness in the finish. Certainly better than a number of commercial BIPAs I've tried.

Alex provided me with a bottle number two. No label to this one but I'm informed its Fitzroy IPA (7.2%). Hopped with Apollo, Cascade and Citra. Good dose of piney hops on the nose, very smooth in mouthfeel with little bitterness at all and plenty of tropical fruit flavours. Reminds me quite a bit of Roosters Baby Face Assassin. Hazy amber in colour and forms a good sized head.Alex is now brewing under the 1248 banner.

 
Final beer is another of David's; DamnNation, a Belgian Strong Ale. Its hazy golden with a typical Belgian yeast aroma of fruity esters and some spicy hops. Carbonation is spot on and its far too easy drinking for its ABV. Another fantastic label and now customised bottle caps too...the collectors will be pleased!




All in all I'm very impressed and would have been happy to have paid money for these if I'd seen them in the shops. If anything 330ml was too small a serving! Thank you Alex and David and best of luck in your future endeavours, I shall certainly be watching closely!

More Bottled Magic

Having tried the majority of the Magic Rock range (both in draught and bottle form) I was looking forward to trying the final two "specials" as sent to me by Dan Glover (@dandanglover), cheers!

Unpredictable

First up, the Magic 8 Ball which plenty of people have been reviewing positively. It pours very dark brown with bubbly tan head. Some citrus and pine on the aroma but fairly subdued to what I was expecting. Flavour full of mango skin and lime pith, its pretty astringent actually. A touch of chocolate in there underneath it all. I wasn't all that keen on this but can see why it appeals to others.

Dark and mysterious

Bearded Lady is the bigger sister of Dark Arts (a firm favourite of mine in the Magic Rock range) and the family resemblance is certainly there. Chestnut tinged dark brown with creamy tan head that soon collapses to a lacing. Rich coffee and roasted barley notes on the nose. Spiky carbonation obscures initial flavours but finish is coffee, chocolate and tobacco. As it opens up there's some vanilla and caramel with watermelon flavours developing in the after-taste. Thick and warming, certainly a sipping beer but one of the better UK Imperial Stouts I've had the pleasure of supping.

I'd recommend adding both of these to your wish-list and look forward to other new releases this year. For a brewery that's still less than a year old to produce beers of this calibre is excellent work.