Brown Angel - Clown Shoes

SkeeterHawk

Texas

4.05/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I believe that I picked this beer up at the Woodlands Spec's, but it may have been at Central Market. Regardless, I have been pretty happy with the beer from Clown Shoes so far, so let's give this one a shot:

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown color with a small 1/8" head of tan bubbles on top that was quite active as I was pouring and faded quickly to a small ring where the beer meets the glass. When you hold the beer tipped to the light, you can see through the corner that the beer is pretty clear overall and has a defined brown (as opposed to Red) hue. There is a pretty decent amount of lace left on the glass after drinking, and it is a bit lighter color than the head itself, which is a little unusual to note.

Aroma: I initially got a pretty decent amount of American hops mixed with some defined dark caramel notes and some subtle toasty notes to accentuate the whole ensemble. There was also a chocolate malt presence that was obvious. As the beer has sat for a little bit, the dark caramel is moving more toward toffee, and there is a little bit of alcohol noticeable already as some spice.

Taste: The flavor follows the aroma pretty closely. There is some hops up front and they challenge the malt a bit, but overall the profile is balanced pretty solidly toward the malt. There is some balance provided as much by the roast acidity and alcohol as from hops. The carbonation is a bit low, so the beer comes across a bit watery with regard to mouthfeel; however, there are a lot of residual sugars left in the beer, so it won't ever come across thin. The hops and roast acidity are getting more pronounced as the beer warms up, and the chocolate is definitely coming out more.

Opinion: This is a pretty well made beer overall. I personally like that the balance is biased toward the malt. The contribution from the dark malts is a bit strong, and maybe just increasing the carbonation would change that impression. I am going to hold out by saying that this is a pretty darn good American Brown Ale, and I would like to try it on tap where the carbonation would be a bit more controlled. Otherwise, I would recommend that you give this one a shot anyway.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2011 04:21:25 | More by SkeeterHawk

William85

Texas

3.26/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

Overall, I found this beer to be only slightly better than average -- certainly better than say, Newcastle, but not as complex/interesting as I thought a 'double' brown ale from Clown Shoes would be (I'm still not sure what 'double' means in this context, aside from being a bit hoppier and having a marginally higher ABV than most browns).

Given that my favorite styles are DIPA, American Black, Barleywine and Imperial stout, it's possible that I am underrating this beer due to purely personal preferences. However, it also seemed to be significantly over-carbonated, resulting in a suboptimal mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 23:07:45 | More by William85

zrab11

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

05-10-2013 11:46:45 | More by zrab11

gbrill

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

05-04-2013 23:28:00 | More by gbrill

BYOFB

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

05-04-2013 18:27:46 | More by BYOFB

beergoot

Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Dark amber body displaying a thick, creamy and sticky light tan head. Deep, rich malt nose; caramel, roasted nuts; touch of spicy hop scents. Strong roasted grain flavor; slight burnt undertone; some alcohol notes; decent hop bitterness at the finish. Solid medium body.

A rather good brown ale. The alcohol heat becomes increasingly more noticeable after a few sips and somewhat distracts from the malt and hop character, but by and large, it lives up to its “double” styling with big, bold flavors.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 23:47:04 | More by beergoot

Kelp

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +4.4%

04-29-2013 05:45:54 | More by Kelp

In_Control_Mike

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

04-28-2013 04:55:09 | More by In_Control_Mike

SaCkErZ9

Florida

4/5  rDev +4.4%

04-26-2013 21:00:25 | More by SaCkErZ9

ryanpj

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

04-20-2013 05:04:29 | More by ryanpj

civicm87

New York

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%

04-17-2013 01:16:53 | More by civicm87

beertardis

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

04-17-2013 00:39:36 | More by beertardis

wrightst

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

04-15-2013 01:01:26 | More by wrightst

WoodBrew

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +11%

04-09-2013 04:15:29 | More by WoodBrew

sparx1100

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

04-06-2013 03:27:07 | More by sparx1100

bacasnax

Florida

4/5  rDev +4.4%

04-01-2013 23:53:09 | More by bacasnax

sammy806

Maryland

3/5  rDev -21.7%

03-29-2013 13:37:08 | More by sammy806

milkbone_underwear

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%

03-29-2013 00:57:38 | More by milkbone_underwear

wckneeshaw

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +4.4%

03-26-2013 21:57:52 | More by wckneeshaw

barefoot71

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-25-2013 22:27:32 | More by barefoot71

Sparky44

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-24-2013 03:18:02 | More by Sparky44

BGsWo22

New York

2/5  rDev -47.8%

03-23-2013 18:19:17 | More by BGsWo22

herman77

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-19-2013 15:27:01 | More by herman77

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-12-2013 03:13:53 | More by marlinsfan4

drt72

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

02-23-2013 19:08:24 | More by drt72