The Peace That Money Can't Buy
Clown Shoes

I have to confess my rating above do not really reflect my feelings for this beer. But, I do not want to hurt the overall rating of what apparently was a good beer fresh. Opened after nine years in a cool dark cellar and it was a huge disappointment.

Turned sour and off-flavored. I presume this brew was infected with a bacteria that degraded the beer over time. It was barely drinkable. I had a glass or two and then drain poured the rest. Just putting this review out there in case some of you still have one in the cellar.

This will not put me off to Clown Shoes, or even aging some types of Clown Shoes. For example my 'Billionaire' Barleywines from Clown Shoes have withstood the test of time.

Cheers!

this bottle was a gift from a guy i will probably never see again (i think), so super thankful that beer people can be that cool to just drop heady bottles on strangers, thanks man, whoever you are! this is old now, i think 2014, which would make about five years on it. im not sure if it was always sour or not, maybe this is infected now, but there is a bacterial tartness to it that sort of breaks the whole thing down a little bit. its got heaps of cherry and raisin to it, layers of molasses and dried fruit, but its ferment is whack, no doubt, and this tastes like some cranberry juice or something astringent was blended in. i like how the malt layers still exist, and how there are maple and toasted biscuit element here, the barrel character remains as well, honey and vanilla and wood, but this has a little zizzle to it, not quite clean, and the oldness on this is obvious, its tired and well past its prime, even a soy note to it. that said, our crew like this little bit of acidity, the cherry overtones, and the soy thing that it finishes with. this is minimally belgian for something called a quad, like where the heck is the yeast, but the beer tastes weirdly good, and i am again perplexed and challenged by a clown shoes beer. this probably should have been consumed years ago, but thats part of the fun right? average at best at this point, but a joy bringer nevertheless...

 

One of my favorites they need to bring this back.

 

 

 

 

Nice copper color. Slight haze. Descent head retention, especially for the strength. Dark fruit and apple cider quality. Slight sour, vinegar quality. Surprisingly light for the style. Sticky with a slightly dry finish. Lots of sediment adds a gritty texture at the end. Descent.

 

 

Amber brown in color and cloudy. No head or lacing.

Bourbon, malt, oak, booze, and a touch of dark fruit on the nose.

Sour, sweet, Bourbon, oak, and a mix of dark fruit on the tongue.

Mouthful is medium and a mixture of rough and thin. Carbonation is medium to high. Finish is simple.

Far and above not a quad. This reminds me more of a barrel aged wild ale. It's sour but sweet. Bourbon and oak but thin-ish. I can't recommend this.

Well shit just noticed the bottle date on this thing after seeing it was retired. Turns out it was bottled 12/11/14 so age may have affected this negatively. Anyway...

It pours a rich and thick amber and copper color with a head that vanishes within a couple seconds. I'm not picking up too much on the nose. A hint of plum and apple is the main aroma combined with a hard to describe sour smell along with wine qualities. The taste is...interesting? I dunno what I expected when I bought this but it certainly wasn't this. I'm picking up sour plum, apple, dark fruits, caramel sweetness, and a touch of bourbon on the finish. All these flavors can make a great beer but it seems like they really missed on this one. There's way too much going on flavor-wise and I have no idea why they chose to put it in a bourbon barrel. I will say it drinks quite easily for such a high alcohol beer and it isn't thick or chewy whatsoever. Overall this is an okay beer that was advertised to be something special. Do not buy unless you want to spend 15 bucks on an average quad ale.

A: Poured into a snifter to a deep reddish brown topped by a half finger of dense tan head that fades quickly to a small collar with minimal lacing
S: Smells of dark fruits and candi sugar with some vanilla and caramel
T: The taste on this one is sour cherries and toasted malts. On the swallow there's some dark fruits and candi sugars as well as some oak and spice.
M: this one is about a medium in body with slightly prickly carbonation and a drying finish.
O: Overall this one is not what I hoped it would be. BBQ from Boulevard is head and shoulders better. It is interesting though and the sourness although likely unintentional provides an interesting dimension.

Not sure. Maybe left too long in the cellar. Faint taste, tart and sour. Not at all what I was expecting. When you want a Quad and get a sour...it ends up down the drain. Waited so long too open it, now I feel foolish and wasteful, bummer

 

1st review here and I signed up specifically for this beer. Ran through 10 total bottles.. 7 of them were fantastic through 8 months old.. recently opened my last 3 but not recent enough for a review.. but what I will say is that there is a vert tart/sour finish that had ZERO presence in the 1st 7 bottles. Not sure whats going on there.

 

 

A - Pours a dark ruby red with a two finger off white head. The head dissapates rather quickly leaving some nice soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is bourbon, plums, dark cherries, and oak.

T - The taste follows the aroma. Bourbon, dark cherries, plums, and heavy oak tannins. Finish has a light bitterness.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Crisp mouthfeel with a dry finish.

O - A rare miss from Clown Shoes. The mix of dark fruits and heavy booziness just doesn't work for me.