Let My People Go - Clown Shoes

corby112

Pennsylvania

1.53/5  rDev -56%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.75

Pours a dark copper color with faint amber edges and a one finger off-white head that slowly settles into a lasting ring. Sporadic streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Slightly earthy, spicy hop aroma with a surprisingly strong malt backbone for the style. Strong onion like presence followed by grass, caramel, toffee and biscuit. Really malt forward with an unpleasant hop profile. Nothing about the appearance or aroma suggests pale ale.

On the fuller end of medium bodied with an odd combination of earthy, onion-y hops and dark caramel malt. Not reminiscent of a pale ale at all with a really strong roasted malt presence with a soil/dirt like taste. Just really harsh and unpleasant with hardly any sweetness or balance. The malts taste off and the hop presence is really dirty and one-dimensional. It's really hard to describe how bad this beer tastes. Dry and bitter with bland malts and rotten vegetables. Drain pour.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 08:16:51 | More by corby112

ommegangpbr

New York

3.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

The label got me. A Moses figure wearing clown shoes and holding a beer? Had to give it a try. The beer itself isn't as riveting as the label. A malty and mild yeast body. Very mild hops. The bottled on date is from 5 months ago; perhaps that's on the unfresh side for this beer? Because it flirts with tasting a bit old. This beer makes me a touch concerned that this brewery is all gimmick labels and mediocre beer. I hope that isn't the case

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 04:23:18 | More by ommegangpbr

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from total Wine in Tampa. A Good amount of head. Smooth mouthfeel, bottled August 2012, but yet a little skunky. Likely why there were so many bottles of this and their IPA I noticed around the USA.
Still able to drink it and it was OK with food.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 17:25:00 | More by northyorksammy

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A: mild cloudy, dirty orange/copper, trace off-white head,
delightful lacing display

S: earthy grainy malt, hint of grassy and floral

T: dab of lemon, earthy malt, mild grassy bitter finish

M: med body, mild bubbly/blended smooth mouth

O: Clown Shoes = great beer for your money.
Nice to see another US craft brewery making a
flavorful lighter brew. (Killer combo with my lamb vindaloo!)

VERY GOOD; GRAB A FEW BOTTLES!

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 17:05:36 | More by BeerLover99

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottled 8/12. Consumed 12/12.

A: Washed out orange pour sits a dense apple-orange in the vessel accompanied by a healthy 2 finger tall light tan head that was foamy, rocky, and incredibly well lasting. A good strong sign of visible effervese is noticed within. A thick, foamy band of lace smoothers the glass.

S: Strong pineapple and mango fruitiness upon uncapping and pour. Some passion fruit, pear juice with a hint of herbal wet grassiness.

T: The flavor was fruity with some tropical notes. Sweet citrusy flower, marmalade, fresh pear juice, mango is most evident. Passion fruit and caramel mix together nicely with some red grapes. Tropical greenery, fresh and wet, with a light mention of herbal appeal, pineapple and apricots follow with a nice complexity. Upon warming a touch of apple-pine hops come through. Bright and spicy hop usage, the british pale malts are crisp and lightly bready. Closing of spicy floral notes.

M: Mouthful provides a good tingle, medium body, gentle warmth of alcohol and hops shine though.

O: Overall a nice change up for a pale from the traditional american citrus hop bombs. Light, fruity, kent and fruggle hops? shine through more then other examples of british style pales. Crisp, bright hops, nice repeatability, let my glass be refilled many times over.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 00:28:11 | More by beerthulhu

jsanford

Georgia

3.55/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy orange-amber with a dense white head that settles to a squat cap. Clean aromas of crisp toasted malt, caramel, dry bread, and some grassy hops. Nice and uncomplicated. Taste is similar, more sweet malt, grain, candy, and grassy hops. Very drinkable, with a medium body, good carbonation, and very lightly bitter finish. Solid English Pale Ale, nothing new but very drinkable and quenching.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2012 21:13:41 | More by jsanford

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.38/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

This was served from the cask at The Old Toad in Rochester, NY. It arrived in a house pint glass glowing a hazy golden brown. Flecks of a head were visible, with the same noted for lacing. No sediment was found, and carbonation appeared light. The aroma came with bittered phenolic plastics, pale malts, dirty woodiness, mineral sandiness, strawberry and cherry sugars, booze, caramel maltiness, and a very faint grassy hop. Our first impression was that the flavoring was light and mild, but smooth. As we sipped, the flavoring opened with nice woody notes from the cask, with lighter brushes of fruit and weakly roasted malts. The middle peaked with metallic coffee twang, hollow woodiness to dry and cut any initial sweetness. Residual malty sugars come to pull us to the finish, where bitter grassy hops enter to further cut any remaining seriousness of toasted caramel, pale malts, and ghostly coffee malts. The aftertaste breathed of warmed alcohol, grassy hops, sweet cherry, bittered woodiness, and drying tannins. The body was light, bordering on watery, and the carbonation was light. There was thin slurp and smack, with little cream or froth to the lips. The coating was initially wet but made way for a final astringent bite. The abv was appropriate, and the beer sipped easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the ease of drinking, and the smooth blend of flavoring. The most robust thing about it was actually the phenolic smack to the nose. While this woke you up it did tend to overpower some of the more subtle notes of hops, and any depth to the malts. The cask did add a nice woody flavoring, but it too took from the “pale aledness” just a bit too much. This made for a relatively thin and rather weak offering.

Serving type: cask

12-03-2012 15:06:04 | More by TheBrewo

argock

Virginia

3.43/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap in a Shaker pint at Sunset Grill and Tap (Boston, MA).

A: Dark amber-red with short cap of oatmeal head leaving substantial lacing around the top of the glass

S: Very light aroma overall with some mild herbal hops and caramel toffee tones.

T: The flavor puts even emphasis on herbal hops and caramel malts to provide a balanced but unspectacular beer overall.

M: Creamy and easily drinkable with medium body and integrated alcohol character.

O: This seems more like a slightly hoppier herbal amber ale without a lot of personality.

Serving type: on-tap

11-13-2012 04:40:48 | More by argock

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a fluffy looking 1 finger head that fades at a med to slower pace, lots of lacing, somewhat hazy reddish orange colored beer.

Nose light grassy hops, little citrus and floral, juicy pale malt, touch fruity, light herbal grasys hop like, some caramely reddish candy malts.

Taste starts with big malts, not dark just a big malty flavor, reddish toasty caramel malts, little aromatic like malt flavor even, touch grainy, some sweet syrupy candy malts as well. Then hops, light fruity and a bit herbal grassy touch but barely. the fruity flavors really come through with the candy flavors. Finish is drier, semi bitter with more grassy slight earthy hops, more fruity flavors, and some caramel malts lingering.

Mouth is med bodied, decent but lighter carb.

Overall OK but not great. An average everyday drinking ale with more malts than hops, but a fairly balanced overall take, and a bitter finish. nothing special, nothing wrong either just doesn't do anything to really step up.

Quick added comment, increased the overall from 3.5 to 4 as it really changes and gets better when had with food. I'm eating chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and it goes pretty well with it.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 22:44:45 | More by jlindros

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A pretty good beer here made in the English style.
Amber in color with some ruby high lites. Carbanation features big bubbles and gentle. A smallish head, white sits on top but doesn't last long.
Aroma is hoppy and malty. Hops have a floral bouquet and malts hit at toffee.

Taste is balanced with toasted malts and a light hop bite, and in this case I can taste pine.
Medium on the palette and a dry finish. A well made EAPA even if they did use used water.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 14:33:17 | More by micromaniac129

Mora2000

Texas

3.2/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The beer pours a reddish-amber color with a white head. The aroma is full of toffee and some light amounts of cocoa. The flavor is a little bit different. I get some hop notes (mainly orange and pine) as well as some biscuit and toffee. There is also a hint of grapes. Overall, the flavors just don't meld together too well. Low bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 01:53:26 | More by Mora2000

shand

Florida

4.2/5  rDev +20.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Let My People Go pours out a hazy orange-red color with a tiny head. The aroma has a strong toasty and caramel aroma along with some citrusy malts. The taste is excellent, this is fully an English pale with the toasty malt being the centerpiece, but Clown Shoes don't disappoint on the hop front, providing a full herbal bitterness along with some citrus notes. Very balanced and flavorful. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a sharp carbonation and a dry finish. The drinkability is very good. This is a great English pale ale with a bit of an American twist. I enjoy that the American twist isn't really on the variety of hops, it's just the amount instead. Very nice, and different from the rest of Clown Shoes' ultra-American hoppy stable.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 02:37:37 | More by shand

oberon

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Iam not sure what the label means but it dosen't matter I guess.Poured into an imeprial nonic a dull deep copper color with a nicely formed one finger off white head that settles nicely into a creamy mass.Big herbal hops along with brown sugar and caramel malts in the nose,it's a bit rough around the edges.Green herbal hops really stand out once again on the palate over top of a pretty dry malt base,a hefty dose of earthiness in the finish.This beer has alot of potential but seems to miss the mark a little,it's like an EPA on steroids.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 17:22:04 | More by oberon

Dope

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 08/24/12

A: Pours a medium hazy amber with a big, huge, fluffy tan head. Fades very slowly, leaving nice swaths of fluffy lacing behind. Excellent head retention.

S: Strong and sweet caramel malt with heavy resinous hops. A little bit of floral aroma and then a touch of brown sugar perhaps?

T: Resinous, almost herbal up front with caramel backing it up. Mildly bitter in the middle but not IPA-level. Little bit of biscuit. Finish is resinous as well.

M: Medium bodied and sticky.

O: Pretty simple beer, clearly meant to be a sessionable, mildly hoppy pale ale. Pretty straightforward and tasty. Don't let the scores fool you, it's just mild and simple. Balance is nice. Drinkability is excellent.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 03:04:55 | More by Dope

silentjay

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

huge beachsand colored head on top of a hazy amber brew. the head sticks around forever and sticks to the glass in chunks.

caramel and crackery malts with a bit of honey and candy sweetness come before the citrus and floral qualities from the hops.

again caramel (smooth) and crackers come first on the flavor juicy citrus from the hops and some flower petals and some lemon herbal tea.

rather soft and supple mouthfeel with a medium body and nice carbonation and just a touch of sticky sweetness that is rather pleasant on the finish.

as far as style designation, this seems more like a staple amber ale, but pale ale, amber ale, whatever... it's tasty and drinks easy.
I see this as a candidate for 12oz bottles as its not quite worth the bomber premium, but is a decent "gateway" to their more aggressive offerings.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 03:44:10 | More by silentjay