Hoppy Feet 1.5 - Clown Shoes

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Boozy black IPA. Delivers on the style, not the favourite I have had on the style. What's with the high abv? Rich black malts and roast, its dangerously drinkable. Would have liked more hops flavours rather than roasted malt. Looks good with dark body and thick head.
Above average mouthfeel.Thanks Dr. Jay.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 13:23:53 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

part of the epic weekend of tastings between me and my family, this was an early casualty having fallen on friday night. poured into a pint glass.

the pour was a deep and dark black color with a nice and even tan coating of lace that left nice concentric rings of lacing up and down the sides of the glass.

the aroma is a huge blend of rich smoked malts and ripe hops that blend together flawlessly. really just an near perfect blend as the first notes come across as a nice smoked and molasses ringed cascade of dark malts. warming pushing this through and brings out nice touches of pineapple and piney hops. the flavor carries through perfectly. rich roasted malts are washing over the palate with a lush and decadent sweet flavor. as you move pass this you become overwhelmed with light, crisp and fresh citrus hops. the finish really brings this out as the dry, semi bitter finish begs you to sip more as the smoked malts suck you right back in.

overall what can i say, this was slammin. a tremedously good beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 02:22:54 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Bobby.

A: The beer pours a dark brown color with a massive light brown head that leaves some nice lacing.

S: Floral and piney hop notes with some mild citrus and grass. There's a fairly pronounced roastiness to this beer (not super surprising), but it sort of becomes too much and overwhelms the hops.

T: An enormous amount of roast and some bitter dark chocolate really kill any chance of this being super hoppy. As it stands, that's okay to me in this case. Pretty bitter but only a mild citrus and pine hop flavor.

M: Heavy on the tongue with a medium to high level of carbonation.

O: This was a good beer, but it's not a terribly good black IPA. Far too heavy and too much roast without enough hop flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2011 00:13:03 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked this bottle up at Julio's before EBF. Served in a Bruery tulip.

Pours nearly black with a light tan head and some good spotty lacing. The nose brings forward some piney hops and a bit of roast. There is a mild earthiness to the nose as well. The flavor has many of the same characteristics, but also has a bit too much alcohol flavor. Quite a lot too much, actually. Bitterness and alcohol layer with a medium body. Lots of bitterness carries through the finish. Decent, but not something I would seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 20:21:26 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.23/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Another fine pour from the Clown Shoes folks, with a massive tan head that sits atop the black liquid, leaving strands of lace behind

Smell: Burnt chocolate roast and piney hops

Taste: Lots of fusel alcohol, up front, that overwhelms both the roasty malt and hop flavors; underneath, there are some nice elements but it is hard to discern them

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation and considerable heat

Overall: I am giving this beer the benefit of the doubt as I suspect I may have an off bottle; would like to try this again sometime but I am having a hard time drinking this one

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 02:00:43 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

3.81/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 3/29/13.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thick rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, citrus fruit, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa and citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of roasty and hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that packs a bit more of an alcohol kick but otherwise is almost indistinguishable from regular Hoppy Feet in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 02:56:23 | More by UCLABrewN84

oberon

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a deep dark brown with a thinner beige colored head atop that left a broken ring of lace as it settled rather quickly.A great mix of chocolate,roast,and earthy/resiny hops all come together very well.Resiny hops are strong overtop of a roasted base,earthy hops and chocolate round out the palate,the alcohol gives off a little sweetness and zip as it warms a little.A great ABA,maybe one of the top 2 or 3 I have had to date.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2011 23:42:06 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Mercury Brewing / Clown Shoes
Hoppy Feet 1.5
22 oz. bottle; $7.99 @ Total Wine & More, Claymont, DE

Well.. wow. I wasn't expecting much, but damn, this is a nice black IPA. Or should I call it a black Imperial IPA?

It looks like a stout or porter in the glass, and it's got some pretty good head retention and lacing.

In the nose it's hoppy (leafy and floral with a hint of grassiness), but it also has some very nice malt notes (anise, almost burnt sugar, dark and oily coffee beans, and bittersweet chocolate.

The flavor follows suit, and it's a hoppy bitch. There's a citrusy side but I find it mostly spicy, floral, piney, and leafy. The malt beneath is dark (burnt caramel) with a mild edge of acidity. It's nicely balanced and rounded. I could drink a lot of these except that the well cloaked alcohol does take it's toll.

In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp. The alcohol does lend a bit of spiciness to the tongue though.

Overall: Quite nice! Impressive. I can't exactly say it's like no other beer I've tasted, but it is very unique. Really enjoyable - I'll have to go get more ;)

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 22:00:04 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in a Three Floyds tulip pint glass.

Thanks to taiyed for sharing this bottle!

Part one of the SwillFest 2011 after-party. It pours a dark ruby-tinted brown topped by a finger of tan foam. The nose comprises chocolate-covered pretzels, light roasted malts, blueberries, black grapes, balsa, and juniper berries. The taste holds notes of dark chocolate, rubber, vinyl, Pine-Sol, molasses, and menthol. Whoa, what happened here!? The body is a rather light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a scratchily dry finish. Overall, a nice-looking and -smelling beer, but it just tastes downright awful to me.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 19:53:49 | More by TMoney2591

WesWes

New York

4.15/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a dark brown/black color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a nice mix of black and roasted malts along with an excellent citrus hop nose. It's not too powerful, but the dry hopping comes through well. The taste is good as well. It has a smooth, black malt earthiness surrounded by an intense hop flavor. It hits you up front, but the malt character tames it. It goes down easy and resinates in the finish. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with perfect carbonation. This is an improvement over the original Hoppy Feet. It's an extremely drinkable 11% abv. beer; scary drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 22:25:23 | More by WesWes

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Glad to finally have Clown Shoes distributed in Texas.

The beer pours a black color with a tan head. The aroma is about what I expect from a Black IPA. I get a lot of roasted malt and chocolate notes, with some strong pine coming through as well.

The flavor is more of the same. The bitter pine from the hops goes nicely with the the chocolate and strongly roasted malt. The bitterness is low to medium and the beer is easy to drink.

Medium, creamy mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 03:35:54 | More by Mora2000

MasterSki

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Adam and Aliza for sending me a bottle of this. This was the batch from late December. Served in a Russian River tulip.

A - Half-finger of light tan foam that settles to a thin ring and partial cap, leaving behind spotty lace. Near-black opaque body.

S - Faded floral and herbal hops over top of a roasted black patent and cocoa-laden malt backdrop. Some alcohol is present as well.

T - Burnt and lightly tarry malts, cocoa, roast bitterness, and some of the burnt cardboard flavor I get from black patent malt. This is a bit to harsh and astringent for my liking. Alcohol is better hidden than in the nose.

M - Medium, smooth body, with lower carbonation. Resinous residual feel from the hops. Not much alcohol heat here either.

D - This is a pretty solid Black Ale. Not sure if I prefer this over the regular Hoppy Feet, but that may be because this isn't the freshest bottle. I may try the second batch that made it to Chicago in late March. Still, it's one of the better Clown Shoes offerings I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 18:36:32 | More by MasterSki

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.93/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep black color, with a short beige head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is an excellent robust mix of floral hops, roasted malts, citrus and chocolate.

T: The taste starts is complex and very nicely balanced starting with sweet flavors of chocolate, coffee and citrus. Then a strong hops bitterness quickly follows. The malt character is very hearty and not only creates the great balance, but also masks the high ABV. The after-taste has that bitter-sweet hoppy and malty quality that to me has defined the style.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky but this is the type of beer where you embrace rather than discount the sticky finish.

O: Very tasty, goes down dangerously easy, not too filling, strong kick, excellent representation of style, not all enhanced versions of a good beer work much less show an improvement, but this beer takes a very good beer and takes it to an incredible level. I like Hoppy Feet. I love Hoppy Feet 1.5.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 04:32:55 | More by TheManiacalOne

emerge077

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bomber, "Bottled the end of March 2011" on the label.

Into a tulip glass, it certainly appears bold and black. Creamy layer of tan foam on top, larger cluster of bubbles to one side. The skim remains unbroken after a period of time, and there's a generous amount of spotty lacing all around the sides of the glass.

Roasty aroma, some pine and candied orange sweetness.

Moderately bitter and big on roastiness, blackened malts, dark roast coffee, unsweetened bakers chocolate. Dry earthy hop bitterness in the aftertaste, mingling with the dry roasty elements that linger... Something vaguely green and minty about the hops in here. Very smooth and creamy here, definitely doesn't feel like 11%.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2011 00:49:26 | More by emerge077

Gavage

New Jersey

4.23/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: pours a black color with a one finger head.

Smell: roasted malt, chocolate, and some earthy and pine tones rise from the glass into the nose.

Taste: roasted malt, pine, dark chocolate, prunes, mild citrus, and a bit of an earthy tone. Bitterness is bold and pleasant.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp to start and smooth and a bit dry at the finish. Aftertaste is long lasting.

Overall: very quaffable beer. Bold flavored and satisfies the need for a black IPA.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 03:35:34 | More by Gavage

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Beige head with a Guinness-like cascade. Beautiful. Nice ring lace after each sip. Near black color where no light shines through.

Nice burnt caramel aroma. Semi-sweet cocoa. No notable hop nose.

Powdered sweet chocolate flavor. It's chewy with a low level carbonation. The swallow gives a shot of bittering hop that balances the overall darker flavors. Overall, very flavorful, but not my style.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2011 01:29:34 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to portia99 for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Bottled End Of Mar 2011

Pours a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy light tan head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, with some very nice malt notes, chocolate/toffee, and licorice. The taste is hoppy, slightly bitter, nice malt blend, some licorice, very slight citrus note, and a good dose of chocolate/toffee upfront. Medium body, nice litte dry finish, ABV is hidden pretty well. This is a pretty complex brew overall. Very Drinkable, not a major hop bomb like a West Coast DIPA, but it sure is tasty. Well done brew from Clown Shoes. Thanks again Bill!

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 21:58:19 | More by Wasatch

Billolick

New York

3.88/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ouncer bomber, w/o freshness info.

Pours near black, dark mocha head, and fine wispy lacing.

Dark chocolate nose.

Dense, dark, sweet malts, big, bold and boozy yet flavorful. Dark chocolate, dark coffee. lighter smokey notes all picked up. A hint of rum picked up in the finish.

Nice night capper or with a chocolate dessert.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 00:30:11 | More by Billolick

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice darker colored frothy 1 finger head with a slight bit of lacing, over very dark almost jet black beer, just the slightest hint of light at the edges producing a light reddish glow.

Nose erupts with some fresh-ish hopes, earthy, light pine, light grassy and a slight bitter citrus aroma. WIth all the hops is an earthy dark malt aroma, crystal malts, light oats perhaps, not much by way of roast or coffee as I almost expected, a slight sweet malty aroma too, light porter like aroma too.

Taste starts with a nice bitter hop hit, lots of deep earthy and spicy hops, chewy hops, a fairly strong bitterness that ramps quite a bit, and a little bit of citrus and pine. The malts start strong as well, but get pushed into the background by all the hops, the malts bring some creamy dark malts, lots of medium roast and a little bit of a very dark roast but not much roasted malt or coffee, light oats and fluffy nougat like flavors, fairly rich, light minerality, fairly bitter. The finish gets a bit hot and a little booze but not heavy, a little sticky and sweet still, with some spicy earthy chewy hops and pretty bitter.

Mouth is a bit heavier bodied, slightly creamy, and good carbonation for the style.

Overall pretty good, quite bitter and hoppy but earthy and spicy hops, the booze comes out a bit on the finish but is mostly hidden well.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2011 02:13:05 | More by jlindros

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.23/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark bodied beer. Chocolate brown head with good retention. Aroma is quite nice and typical of a well done Black IPA. Chocolate and roast mix with juicy hops. Nice. Flavor foundation is layed down quite nicely with the chocolate/caramel malts. Hop notes of pine and citrus accent nicely. Moderately carbonated and medium to medium-full bodied. For 10%, the alcohol is well hidden. Quite solid.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 05:34:02 | More by Bighuge

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It never gets tiresome writing the appearance portion of a black ale. Pours. . . black. With tan head too! (Gasp). Aroma was much a fruity alcoholic whif on the first attempt. Came back around, pulled a little bitter roastiness out of it complimented with some pine in a faint way.

Taste, alcohol not as in your face as I thought it would from the aroma, but the hoppy notes still are kind of like they always seem to be with Hoppy Feet, there, and not "skimped" but also not giving any type of green vegetal/dry or flavor hop addition situation, just bittering c hops apparently. Maybe its just the substantial amount of black and chocolate malt to the beer, but the hoppiness just doesn't stand out here like I would like it to.

A pretty big beer, a worthy adversary, maybe a second level black ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 07:44:57 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Capone's, Norristown, PA

Oily black in color with dark brown tints, and a small, bubbly cap of off-white head; not much in the way of retention or lacing. Aroma thick with resinous hops, notes of herbs and dark roasty malts. A decent hit of piney hops right off the bat, quickly taking a back seat to a surprisingly strong chocolate profile, the two eventually duking it out and coming to a nice balance, with lesser notes of charcoal and herbal hops coming through as well. Medium body, some alcohol warmth, a little astringent, but not intolerably so. Overall pretty enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

02-29-2012 02:04:58 | More by Rifugium

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.76/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Double black india pale ale bottled 8/12. consumed 1/13.

A: Cola coloring with burnt auburn highlights glisten upon the exit. An opaque coloring, tall rocky foam pecan head sits steadily. Visible micro carbonation beads quickly make thier way upwards. Lacing is 50% coverage.

S: Fresh hoppy pine, sweet chocolate with some burnt earthy soil.

T: Flavor of big coffee roast, burnt chocolate and dried hoppy pine. The chocolate backing is big, with light burnt wood and burnt pine cones. A bit of earthy soil comes on the swallow.

M: Malty roasty and bitter mouthful has a alcohol laced portion of burnt pine and a lingering sense of burnt roastiness behind.

O: Overall a burnt bitterness of pine and chocolate with a 10%abv that is well played and hidden. Hoppy and bitter though flavor is somewhat shallow in hop complexity and wished it showed more variance.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 00:23:25 | More by beerthulhu

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Looks nice. Very dark, nearly black, with a tan cap that really lasted. Tons of foamy lacing clung to the glass in solid sheets. Hoppy aroma, pine and citrus, raw powdery hops (like breaking pellets apart), but with a lot of chocolate and toffee notes as well. Bitterness was strong, kind of sharp, lots of citrus flavour and toffee/molasses. Light roast and pine, malt and caramel. Alcohol flavour and warmth lingered. Some astringency from the dark malts, carbonation was on the creamy side, full bodied but not heavy. I liked this. Powerful but still quite drinkable for a big beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2011 23:37:55 | More by DrJay

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.47/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

'American Black Ale', 'Black IPA', 'Cascadian Dark Ale' - whatever you call it, it's indeed a dark, blackish looking ale that is entirely opaque, forgiving the occasional glint of deep ruby or violet. Even the head is beige enough to be considered dark relative to the standard white foam of conventional beers. The lacing leaves one hell of a mess.

Hoppy Feet 1.5 (disappointingly) smells like regular Hoppy Feet (divided into itself, if anything). While it benefits from a little warming, I initially smelled most, but not all, of the minty, piny, citrusy "C" hop aroma that I noted only an hour or two before in the standard Hoppy Feet. Granted, the beer is still so expressly hoppy that I'm not that upset about it.

The beer tastes like a salad of leafy greens, sauteed in pine oil and drizzled in a citrus-infused balsamic, combined with chunks of candied grapefruit and browned pumpernickel croutons. Maybe even meaty wild mushrooms. The whole thing is washed down with a cold espresso and bite of chocolate-hazelnut tartufo. It's a meal worth top dollar, plus tip.

The only thing distinguishing this from regular Hoppy Feet is an extra little dose of alcohol - hardly worth the extra $3 if you ask me. Nevertheless, both beers drink exceptionally easy for their strength (this one even more so) and both have a full-bodied hoppiness that provides enough resins to pull the plug on the sweeter, roasted malty elements.

Considering this costs more than a third more than standard Hoppy Feet, I was hoping Hoppy Feet 1.5 would be at least 1.5 times better; it's highly unusual to be disappointed by a beer of this quality. It's essentially the same beer and as they say: all cats look the same in the dark. I called Hoppy Feet one of the best Black IPAs so that certainly makes this one of the best too, but don't pay the extra dinero if you don't have to.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 01:53:35 | More by biegaman