Pimp - Clown Shoes

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

3.54/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

appearance: Quite dark brown with some cola highlights. big messy mocha head.
smell: A bit of cocoa but mostly, not much happening.
taste: A lot richer than the nose. Nice combo of nutty chocolate and a little hoppy bitterness.
mouthfeel: noticeable carbonation.
overall: not bad, not great.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 22:26:03 | More by cindyjeffsmith

scruffwhor

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Very dark brown, cola ruby highlights, somewhat black in color brown ale. Beige head, that leaves a strong ring for all 22 ounces.

Mild chocolate aroma, maybe a little coffee. Some yeasty, caramelized fruit lingers around with the high abv. % to make a nice smelling sipper of a beer.

Fruity, yeasty chocolate, with a warm boozy finish. The finish has plenty of abv%, but its not overwhelming by any means. Pretty good sipper, tailor made for a pimp I guess.

Well carbonated mouthfeel, but has some smooth roasted notes as well.

Pretty good, flavorful sipper in my opinion. I like it.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 20:08:47 | More by scruffwhor

JackieTH

Minnesota

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep brown pour, khaki head, good lace. Chocolate and roast malt nose. Caramel, lightly roast malt, chocolate and biscuits on the palate. Fairly straightforward brown. Light sweetness yet a citric hop appears late to balance the malty goodness. Decent brown.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 07:01:45 | More by JackieTH

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Small, off-white head. It settles to rim bubbles. It has some streaky and spotty lace. The liquid is ruby brown where light barely passes through the center of the glass.

Plenty of chocolate and powdered cocoa aroma.

Lots of darker cocoa up front. Not quite bitter, but it isn't sweet either. The swallow features a bit of a taste explosion. There's significant creaminess, a hop presence and a richness to the beer that wasn't apparent initially. The alcohol is completely hidden with the rich taste. Complex and deceptive.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 22:42:54 | More by smcolw

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

-double brown ale. bot on 6/12. consumed 1/13.

A: Dark otter brown pour shows auburn highlights as it exits the bottle. A tarnished-bronze mushroom head sits at 2 fingers with a frumpy textured nature, bready and porous if you will. Good show of micro bead carbonation rises along the glass walls rebuilding the head which showed remarkable retention. Thick spongy coating exists for lacing afterwards.

S: Dark chocolate, rich level of aromatic appeal, soft roasted bean bitterness. Not terribly complex, though soothing and roasty forward. Caramel chocolate coffee best sums up the first impression. Fresh roasty nature, rich chocolate with deep tones are brought out with some cocoa with just the right amount of bitterness. Fresh dark roasty coffee bean fade comes with compliments of vanilla, hazelnut that lingers about with a silty touch. Some spicy dark fruit is noticed while flashes of sweet dark malt interludes thoughout the experience.

M: Nice carbonation presence and tingle, creamy chocolate malts are smooth on the tongue with a warmth of alcohol nature.

O: Overall rich deep chocolate tones with a fresh roastiness really makes this shine out with a fresh nature. Abv is well hidden, very nice drinkability and enjoyment factor and bomber worthy to the last drop. Worthy to pimp out to your friends.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 01:12:54 | More by beerthulhu

argock

Virginia

3.23/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 22 oz brown bomber into a clear glass snifter. Bottled on 6/2012 on bottom corner of label. Purchased at Total Wine (Norwalk, CT) for $7.99.

A: Pleasing chestnut brown with staunch 1-2 finger sof tightly bubbled, cola-like light beige head with decent retention and some scraps of lace.

S: Subtle chocolate and coffee grounds aroma mix with light caramel bready almost doughy malt qualities. Not much but mild earthy hopping. No real alcohol aspect.

T: The flavor is not well-integrated and has a heavy alcohol/booze that muddies the flavor further. The chocolate and coffee in the nose, mild to begin with, are even more masked by a cardboardy, slightly metallic alcohol -like, chemical flavor. The nuttiness is very strong too and really doesn't mesh with the alcohol and the other malt flavors. This would be a lot better beer at 8% -- to me the alcohol is too forward and blunts any subtleties that might be there. The finish has a little finesse with a little more chocolate presence, but overall I think this one misses with me: it just lands like a big thud on your palate.

M: The mouthfeel is somewhat better with a smooth creaminess, but the booziness does hamper this aspect a little bit as well. Carbonation is low and well-done. Pretty chewy overall.

O: Not really what I was expecting -- the flavors don't really work well together and it is way to boozy for me, which gets in the way of the flavors that should come through in a very big brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 04:21:07 | More by argock

greenengineer

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

22 oz bomber into my Notch 0.5L shaker. Served refrigerator temperature.

A- dark, opaque almost black. Yeasty looking head, light brown, good persistence
S - roasted malt smell, hops, milk sugars, a little sweet
T - oh...more than I expected. After sampling a few watering black ales, this is something else entirely. Dark malts, with a strong bourbon taste. Warm alcohol flavor. What's the ABV? 10% - well that explains something. Hints of coffee, toast, but a strong bourbon/whiskey taste predominates.
M - chewy, with a biting fizz. Perfect.
O - fine brew for slow sipping by the fire.

Not really just a "brown ale". Should be a double, or something.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 22:24:22 | More by greenengineer

chugalug06

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Nice lacing! Head is fluffy mocha color while brew is near black..

Lots of roasty chocolate. Malty, caramel, bread-y dominate.

A nice thick brown ale.. Well done! Roasty (almost burnt) chocolate and deep caramel bread bursts. Lots of coffee flavors too. Not your typical Newcastle. A very heavy burn lingers well past the initial flavors. Carbonation is high too. Body is medium and dry.

I love this brew, it's damn good! Clown Shoes gains respect for having their name on this one. Thanks Vande for making it happen!

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 02:25:27 | More by chugalug06

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Been eyeballing this one at the store. Finally taking the plunge!

Served in a Delirium Tremens shaped-glass.

A: It was dark brown, very cloudy, and will a wispy off-white head that surrounded the liquid below it.

S: More nutty than anything, more chestnut actually, and fairly strong at that.

T: Yeah, the nuttiness takes center stage here, the sugar takes stage right, and the yeast takes stage left. You know what I need in this? Bourbon.

M: Fairly prickly, considering the style. The lacing was absurd, yet the sweetness was subdued.

O: Very good entry from Clown Shoes. However, if they were to bourbonize this, I think it would be money!

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 21:58:34 | More by Chaney

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.93/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a very dark brown, appearing black in the glass. Fine one finger brown head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark roasted malt, chocolate and a hint of vanilla. Flavor of roasted malt with slight char, chocolate, dark stone fruit; finishes with charred coffee and light hops. Medium bodied. A rich flavored dark ale straddling the line between a brown ale and stout. Flavor is integrated and covers the alcohol well.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 03:27:24 | More by LiquidAmber

billab914

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle poured into my Three Floyd's glass. Dark brown, mahogany color with a frothy tan head filling the top half inch of the glass. Nice looking color to it.

The aroma shows some pretty bold malt flavors. I get more sweeter caramel and milk chocolate to it at first, but I also get some roasted malts that add some coffee and dark chocolate. Pretty nice aroma overall, the malt flavors are bold but well balanced with each other.

The taste also mixes sweet caramel and milk chocolate with a more bitter and roasted malt flavor. They don't seem to compliment each other as well as they did in the aroma, but still pretty good overall. Both the milky chocolate and roasted coffee flavors are really good in it separately but it just doesn't seem to come together as well as it could have.

The mouthfeel is leaning towards the heavier side with carbonation being moderate. Overall it was a another solid and interesting beer from CS. The roasted malts seemed to make it lean towards the porter style, which I thought was a good and interesting take on the style. Pretty enjoyable beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 15:27:18 | More by billab914

GuyIncognito

Maine

3.4/5  rDev -15%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a big, boozy beer. Tastes more like a stout or a porter. I've noticed that the last few dark beers from Clown Shoes have tasted like slight variations of the same beer- Hoppy Feet 1.5, Blaecorn Unidragon, and Pimp all taste the same to me. It's like the Simpsons joke at the Duff brewery there are 4 spouts coming out of the same barrel filling 4 different bottles. A virtual brewer doesn't need to make 13 beers year round in my humble opinion.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 13:38:13 | More by GuyIncognito

BEERMILER12

Maine

4.03/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 6/2012

Apparently a mix of a Belgian brown ale by Brash and a beefed up version of Brown Angel from Clown Shoes

A: Pours a mahogany color with just over a fingers worth of tan head that lasts for a long time

S: Moderately roasted malts, some light coffee and chocolate, dark fruits, and a decent amount of earthy hops

T: Starts off with a big rush of dark fruits and then mellows out into the roasted malts, light coffee and chocolate, and earthy and floral hops. Alcohol is very well hidden

M: Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth

O: This surprised me with how much the dark fruits stand out. I'm guessing that is the Belgian brown part of the beer, which is particularly nice and goes very well with the Brown Angel. This borders on a BSDA and American Brown mix (which essentially is technically what it is comprised of), which is something completely new to me. Very good, and very complex. Definitely worth seeking out if you're a fan of either style

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 02:55:49 | More by BEERMILER12

tlazaroff

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Wonderful aroma of chocolate and light roasted espresso beans. Light bakeshop type aroma is hidden behind the main aromas.

Dark brown to the point where the beer is virtually black. Nice tan head and weird lacing, but not too bad overall. The head leaves a ring around the glass at the meniscus and clears out in the center.

Chocolate and toffee are in the forefront with coffee coming in as a close second. Brown sugar and a nice toasty biscuit flavor rounds it out. It's lighter than I expected in body, and has a happy moderate level of carbonation. The beer kind of dances on the tongue but doesn't foam up. Quite delicious.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 20:40:46 | More by tlazaroff

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pimp pours a very dark brown, almost black into the glass. A small tan head forms on top and quickly fades away. Only a few spots of lace cling to the sides.

The aroma is not very strong. Dark malts, brown sugar chocolate and a touch of dark fruit are present.

Each sip of this medium bodied beer is smooth, soft and velvety with mild carbonation. The flavor is rich with notes of chocolate, dark fruit (raisin, strawberry), a touch of roast malt and a hint of smoke. It finishes moderately bitter with a touch of grassy hops. Once gone the chocolate and bitterness linger on the palate.

This is a tasty beer that's leans a little to the porter side. It's very drinkable and hides the 10% abv very well.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 19:32:27 | More by WanderingFool

cvm4

Mississippi

4.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours cola brown, huge dark tan head that lingers and leaves good lacing.

S - Milk chocolate and light roasted malt.

T - Brown sugar, bits of milk chocolate and malt. Very focused but good!

M - Lighter body and medium carbonation.

O - I loved this beer. It's not mind blowing or show stopping but definitely worthy of a high rating. I mean, for a double brown it's pretty double awesome!

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 01:02:44 | More by cvm4

lordofthewiens

Maine

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I've had several Clown Shoes beers and, while they've been enjoyable, I haven't been blown away by any of them. Well, this one is spot on.

In a snifter the beer was near black in color. It had a small tan head with a smattering of lace.

Big roasted malt aroma. Some sweet fruit and chocolate. A little bit of oakiness.

Where do I begin with the taste? Raisin bread for certain, very much so. A lot of chocolate. Could not discern any hops. Alcohol not particularly noticeable, but the beer became more boozy as it warmed up.

Heavy mouthfeel, but in a nice way. It felt great rolling around in my mouth.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 21:57:41 | More by lordofthewiens

ThickNStout

Georgia

4.05/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle from Hop City (Atlanta, GA). 8.99. Bottled 06/2012. Served in a Founders snifter. 

Pours dark brown with two and a half fingers of pillowy tan head that leaves nice clumps of lace. 

Smells of sweet milk chocolate, bread, lightly roasted malt and an almost dark fruit note. 

Taste delivers on the pleasing sweet nose. Chocolatey, raisin bread, roast malt and brown sugar. A good balancing hop bitterness and a touch of alcohol. Much smoother than I expect from 10% abv. 

Creamy full bodied with mild to moderate carbonation. 

I'm no typical fan of brown ales but this is really good stuff. A worthy brew from start to finish.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 23:53:01 | More by ThickNStout

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle opened on 8.19.12.

A - Pours a very dark brown with a light brown head. Good retention.

S - Nutty and dull coffee.

T - Nice roasted malt and again some dull coffee.

D - Decent carbonation with a nice medium body. Finish with some nice smokey tones.

O - Coffee, nuts and smoke. Solid, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 06:35:12 | More by HuskyinPDX

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque dark-chocolate brown with a thick and rather persistent yellowish-wheat head. Strong aroma has malty, earthy and caramel tones and a nutty hint. Rich flavor fills the mouth with malty, caramel, nutty molasses and bourbon tones plus a hint of - Coca-Cola? Firm, smooth texture has plenty of life and fizz. Kick off your clown shoes, be brash, try this one!

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 15:17:57 | More by Cyberkedi

tdm168

North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to jtd1969 for sharing this bomber.

A - very dark brown with a little brown head that has decent retention

S - roasty, caramel, toffy, alcohol, sweet

T - caramel, toffy, nutty, bitter coffee, roasty

M - medium to full bodied, well carbonated

This is a rather complex Brown Ale. The ABV is well hidden. My only complaint is that the complexities each fight to be independent. There doesn't seem to be an cohesive flavor. A bit of balance would not only round this beer out but add a good deal of drinkability. In the end, I enjoyed it and wouldn't turn it down in the future.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 14:41:58 | More by tdm168

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.85/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark brown, almost black, but you can see some ruby tinges. Medium brown head. Didn't stick around long, but with the ABV, not all that shocking.

The aroma is big and roasty, with plenty of chocolate malts. Some brown sugar in there as well, with some nuttiness.

The taste is sweet and nutty, plenty of chocolate in there too. Hints of booze, but it's subtle. Roast with a slight vanilla/amaretto quality.

It's nearly full bodied, but does have some carbonation that's noticeable. Some slick creaminess.

It's a nice double brown, really.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 01:26:50 | More by EgadBananas

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: coffee body, finger khaki head,

S: caramel, toffee, nut, malt

T: caramel, chocolate, malt, roasted nuts, mild bitter finish

M: med/heavy body, chewy/smooth mouth

O: Delicious brew/fine collaboration. Would get again
and highly recommend. Very nice autumnal offering.

QUITE GOOD, GRAB A BOTTLE!

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 16:41:36 | More by BeerLover99

Kromes

Georgia

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A hazy dark brown color with a thick tan colored head that dies down to a thin line of bubbles and leaves lacing on the glass. There is a nice roasted malt, nutty and toffee aroma with some alcohol.

Very nice flavor here. There are roasted malt, caramel, anise, alcohol, and hazelnut flavors. The finish is a bit bitter and warm from the alcohol and roasted malt. Maybe a bit too bitter. Medium-heavy feel with good carbonation to give it a full feel. Overall a pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 20:51:22 | More by Kromes

Bung

North Carolina

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz. Damn near black pour, solid finger of off frothy off white head.

Aroma, malty, nutty, some roast of both. Some milk like chocolate.

Taste, a Roasty brown for sure. Malt, heavy nut, peanut. Bakers chocolate and woody smoke. Not too charry though. Finishes with some bitter and coffee.

Solid medium body, carbonation lightens it up a bit. Semi-coating with minimal warming from the abv, drinks pretty easy for the size.

Much better than their standard brown.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 02:49:19 | More by Bung