Feature Beer Friday! - Clown Shoes Clementine 1.5

Welcome back to another Feature Beer Friday, and today we feature our first repeat (kind of) brewery!  This offering is from Clown Shoes (facebook - twitter) out of Massachusetts and they were part of the Pimp, a collaboration effort with Brash Brewing.  

Clown Shoes is relatively new to the Baton Rouge market, but they have been making a big splash on the shelves and there will be an upcoming beer dinner at Juban's featuring the lineup.  And speaking of beer dinners, tomorrow night there will be one at Fleming's that I helped pick beers out for... and this Clementine 1.5 is featured, so check it out!  And if you think I'm shamelessly using this beer to plug a beer dinner, you're sort of right.  I chose this day to feature it for that reason, but it was brought to the Raise A Glass radio program by friend and frequent guest Dustin Davis, so blame him!  

On to the review?  I think it's that time.

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), James Lawson (Whiskybomb.com), Jeremy Spikes (Whiskybomb.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 22 ounce bottle.

Appearance: "hazy unfiltered orange w/ nice white head" was Dustin's comment, and the appearance scored three 13s and one strong 14.  Off to a great start, but we've seen more than one beer start strong and fizzle...

Aroma: "Orange, wheat, a little spicy," was my comment, and Dustin noted that he picked up the characteristic Belgian yeast.  

Taste:  Good citrus & spicy notes, a little bitter with the orange rind but then it finished a little back toward sweet.  All of us rated it above a 30 here so this beer is headed for a solid score!

Mouthfeel: Jeremy described it as a "good oily mouthfeel" and this one was certainly easy to drink despite being an imperial witbier. I really enjoyed the sweet finish of each sip.

Overall: Excellent beer, one of the strongest offerings yet on Feature Beer Friday.  James summed up his review by saying, "better than clown shoes under the bed... scary good."  I think we all agree that this is a keeper.

Overall Rating:84

My Rating: 82

Feature Beer Friday! - Brash / Clown Shoes Pimp

If you don't know how the BR Beer Scene in conjunction with Raise A Glass Feature Beer Friday posts work, go check out the first one! 

Up today is a locally available Texas-owned and Massachusetts brewed collaboration beer, the Pimp Imperial Brown from Brash Brewing and Clown Shoes.  Brash Brewing (facebook - twitter) was created by the owner of Petrol Station with help from Clown Shoes (facebook - twitter) out of Massachusetts.  

Both brewing companies are "gypsy breweries" meaning they contract brew at facilities they don't themselves own, but both put out some good beer.  The funny thing though, is that because Ben also owns Petrol Station, he isn't allowed to distribute his beers in Texas.  Their loss is our gain though, as Louisiana is the closest market to Houston and their beers are on our shelves!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), James Lawson (Whiskeybomb.com), and Blake Winchell (Brasseurs A La Maison)

Serving: 22 ounce bottle.

Appearance: "Dark brown, nice lingering off-white head"  was one sentiment and all appearance scores were 12/15 or better for this brew.

Aroma: Jay described this one as "roasted nuts, caramel, chocolate - like a snickers" while I wrote down "malty, roasted, slightly harsh & bitter" in giving it at 20/25 on the nose.

Taste:  Unforunately the taste was "weaker than the aroma, a little out of balance bitter" and didn't live up to the expectations.  We all scored it above average but the appearance and aroma were hitting top 25% where the taste was in the next quarter down.

Mouthfeel: "Nice texture, finishes bitter" was one comment and I agree.  Still solid above average scores but falling short of elite.

Overall: We all enjoyed the brew, but as Blake said, "Was hoping for more.  can't put my finger on what is lacking."   I think the biggest problem was that the body of the beer didn't back up the strong 10% alcohol that it packed.  A decent beer that fell short of being a really great beer.

Overall Rating: 72.5

My Rating: 70