-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Billionaire
Clown Shoes
- From:
- Clown Shoes
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- English Barleywine
- ABV:
- 12%
- Score:
- 92
- Avg:
- 4.13 | pDev: 9.2%
- Reviews:
- 78
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Apr 06, 2023
- Added:
- Nov 12, 2013
- Wants:
- 104
- Gots:
- 148
English Barleywine aged in European Cognac barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by IKR from California
3.82/5 rDev -7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.82/5 rDev -7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottle stored at 52F
Appearance: Amber colored with some ruby highlights. Modest sized beige head that faded fairly quickly. Nice looking beer.
Smell: Primarily Bready notes with a touch of cognac.
Taste: Mild toffee, mild grape notes, and a touch of brown sugar. The alcohol is well hidden but the flavor elements come off as muted. Though this was cellared at 52F since it was purchased years ago the flavor notes come off somewhat muted and non-de script.
Mouth-feel: on the light side of medium-bodied with a moderate level of carbonation.
Overall: I continue to be amused when I see recommendations to sit on bal-aged beer for an improved drinking experience. I had beer that weren't harmed too much but in my experience none have been better and i suspect I really screwed up by not getting to this beer much sooner. It's not bad, but I feel the flavors are likely muted from when it was fresh.
Oct 28, 2019Appearance: Amber colored with some ruby highlights. Modest sized beige head that faded fairly quickly. Nice looking beer.
Smell: Primarily Bready notes with a touch of cognac.
Taste: Mild toffee, mild grape notes, and a touch of brown sugar. The alcohol is well hidden but the flavor elements come off as muted. Though this was cellared at 52F since it was purchased years ago the flavor notes come off somewhat muted and non-de script.
Mouth-feel: on the light side of medium-bodied with a moderate level of carbonation.
Overall: I continue to be amused when I see recommendations to sit on bal-aged beer for an improved drinking experience. I had beer that weren't harmed too much but in my experience none have been better and i suspect I really screwed up by not getting to this beer much sooner. It's not bad, but I feel the flavors are likely muted from when it was fresh.
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina
4.25/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle from 2014
A: Poured into a snifter to a deep brown with some slight mahogany highlights topped by a small light tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of huge malty notes, dark fruits, caramel and toffee with a little congac and oak
T: Taste is a little congac forward up front before some raisins, dark fruits, toffee, caramel, and some nice brown sugar notes come into play. Congac continues to make itself known along with a slight molasses quality to this one. Swallow is more congac and oak with some lingering raisins, caramel, toffee and brown sugar.
M: This beer is fairly full in body with a slightly sticky and syrupy feel on the palate. Carbonation is low but it is not inadequate while the beer has a drying finish from the ABV.
O: Overall this is a really nice English Barleywine that has aged very well. The flavors are great and the beer packs a ton of complexity while masking the ABV really well. This is definitely one to sip and savor. Worth a try if this makes a reappearance.
Mar 10, 2019A: Poured into a snifter to a deep brown with some slight mahogany highlights topped by a small light tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of huge malty notes, dark fruits, caramel and toffee with a little congac and oak
T: Taste is a little congac forward up front before some raisins, dark fruits, toffee, caramel, and some nice brown sugar notes come into play. Congac continues to make itself known along with a slight molasses quality to this one. Swallow is more congac and oak with some lingering raisins, caramel, toffee and brown sugar.
M: This beer is fairly full in body with a slightly sticky and syrupy feel on the palate. Carbonation is low but it is not inadequate while the beer has a drying finish from the ABV.
O: Overall this is a really nice English Barleywine that has aged very well. The flavors are great and the beer packs a ton of complexity while masking the ABV really well. This is definitely one to sip and savor. Worth a try if this makes a reappearance.
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington
4.32/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.32/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2015 properly cellared bottle, poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark red-orange with a fine, half finger khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of mild caramel and biscuit malt, figs, dates, raisins, dried plums and slight oxidation. Flavor is caramel and dry biscuit malt, dates, figs, grapes, dried plums, light woody vanilla and fortified wine. Lingering woody biscuit malt with light oxidation notes. Nice medium body with moderate creaminess and a silky mouth feel. A wonderful example of the more biscuity malt style of English barleywine with malted milk, figs and dates as the dominant flavors. Light contribution by caramel, cognac (mostly as a vague fortified wine flavor) and woody vanilla from the barrel. This has aged very gracefully, becoming deeply malty with well integrated dark dried fruit. Nicely done, as is usual in Clown Shoes big ales. Sure wish they distributed to this area.
Jul 09, 2018Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana
4.11/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.11/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
This was the original barleywine that got me into barleywines, now one of my favorite styles. This bottle is now about three and a half years old, but it's still showing signs of life. Lots of cognac essence on the nose, with toffee, plum and cassia bark lurking not far behind. Showing a bit of oxidation on the palate, but not an unpleasing amount. Stonefruit, sherry and malt, with a heaping spoonful of good memories.
Nov 25, 2017Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
4.24/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
clown shoes does big beers super well, i always look for and enjoy their strong stuff, and this old school barleywine aged in cognac barrels is a slow sipper for sure, but a really nice glass of beer. supremely sturdy on the malt, this is sweet with toffee and nutty notes, some caramel and dried apple as well, very thick, bready, desserty, and hefty. i like the yeast in here, it adds a neat breadiness to an already baked malt vibe, but the yeast is no match for all this grain sugar, and as strong as it is, theres still a lot of sweetness here. the barrels are nice, they dont overtake the beer (im not sure anything could, this thing is a beast). the cognac is smooth and sweet and i get flashes of woody port wine in here with it, light vanilla, raisin, toffee. lots of length here too, this smoothes out as it warms and i taste it forever, slowly coursing its way through quite a lot of layers. the alcohol intensity here is astounding, this is quite hot, but its also relaxed feeling with the wood and the earthiness, so its not like poison or anything but there is a whole lot of beer in this glass. one that i am sure would age gracefully, clown shoes has done it to me again with one of their colossal brews. if you like barleywine, this is a faithful interpretation of an english one, with a really unique and complex barrel profile. delicious.
Aug 02, 2017Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.63/5 rDev -12.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.63/5 rDev -12.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Bomber to snifter, the appearance was a hazy dark red color with a finger’s worth of white foamy head that quickly died off. Some light stringy lace. The aroma had some sweet caramel/toffee malts, light sweet cherry, some earthiness, some herbal qualities, light sweet wood, floral hop qualities, some dark chocolate, leather and a touch of tobacco leaf. The flavor blended all of the prior mentioned aromas fairly nice and semi-sweet and dry. Aftertaste was dry, sweet, woody and floral. Finish was quick, dry and semi-sweet. The palate was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt fine. Some smoothness, but not too much. Overall, pretty good English styled barleywine I could come back to.
Jun 22, 2017Reviewed by CoreyC from Wisconsin
4.65/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.65/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle date 4-10-14 so almost 3 years
A - dark brown nice tan head
S - super nice sweet caramel and toffee
T - outstanding with sweet toffee, caramel, and dark fruit. Very subtle barrel. Very smooth with absolutely no bitterness.
M - nice stickiness to go with the style
O - excellent
Feb 22, 2017A - dark brown nice tan head
S - super nice sweet caramel and toffee
T - outstanding with sweet toffee, caramel, and dark fruit. Very subtle barrel. Very smooth with absolutely no bitterness.
M - nice stickiness to go with the style
O - excellent
Billionaire from Clown Shoes
Beer rating:
92 out of
100 with
646 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!