The Barista
Clown Shoes

The BaristaThe Barista
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Clown Shoes
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
Ranked #69
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
89
Ranked #12,057
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 7.05%
Reviews:
102
Ratings:
370
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 17, 2022
Added:
Dec 01, 2015
Wants:
  14
Gots:
  70
A Clown Shoes legend, Brown Angel, put away her dancing shoes to focus on extracting espresso, brewing coffee, and pouring latte art with zen-like focus. The Barista Breakfast Brown is crafted with Maris Otter malt, flaked oatmeal, cold brewed espresso, milk sugars and the spirit of angel wings.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by aszatk01:
Photo of aszatk01
Rated by aszatk01 from Pennsylvania

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

Jun 16, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

3.81/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2016 bottled opened in 2022. Probably not the best way to review a beer with espresso! Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark and murky brown. Very thin layer of head that quickly dissipates. The nose is coffee, toffee, oatmeal, bread, a touch of black licorice, roasted malts. The taste nicely follows the nose. The espresso notes are still there. This has held up amazingly well at 6 years! Toffee, chocolate, slight oaky bitterness, leather, dark German bread, oatmeal, graham crackers. Nothing is too dominant here. Nice mix of espresso, chocolate, and toffee. This is very good. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the alcohol isn't really detectable. I would love to compare this to a fresh bottle.
Apr 17, 2022
 
Rated: 3.95 by mothmanscott from Georgia

Apr 03, 2022
Photo of brewerburgundy
Reviewed by brewerburgundy from West Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz can, wine glass, best by 1/21/23.

The color is a nice middle brown ale brown with a small crema swirling on top.

Lactose, cedar, medium roast coffee beans.

It’s sweet and spicy, in a woody, herbal way, like the smell of cedar. The coffee flavors play lightly near the finish with slightly stale wood, bean, and cardboard flavors. The finish is relatively clean, but features the usual lactose aftertaste and some alcohol bitterness.

Light-medium body and light carbonation that do achieve creaminess.

The coffee is a minor part of this enjoyable brown ale.
Mar 12, 2022
 
Rated: 3.71 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Mar 03, 2022
 
Rated: 3.82 by ccryder from New York

Feb 28, 2022
Photo of GratefulBeerGuy
Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Way out of my comfort zone here! A flavored up brown ale!: oats, espresso and milk sugar.

The flavor definitely has roasted chocolate malts, toasty oats and slick, smooth malty vibe the whole way. A minimal amount of spicy hops kick rounds out everything. One word comes to mind overall: Decent.
Jan 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

Jan 16, 2022
Photo of Jayrocks88
Rated by Jayrocks88

4.21/5  rDev +6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I enjoyed it thoroughly it was nutty and smooth as a brown ale should be with just enough hops to give it an ipa taste
Jan 16, 2022
Photo of izraelc
Reviewed by izraelc from New York

3/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours an amber brown. Thick foam. Sweet aroma. Not very good. A few different flavors but it's all very muddled. Roasted malt finish. Pretty disappointing.
Jan 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.99 by bottmfeedr from Texas

Jan 14, 2022
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the can, it pours a slightly hazy brown color with a nice off-white head that lasts. The nose gets some coffee. The mouth gets some alcohol, coffee and roasted malts.
Jan 09, 2022
Photo of schoolboy
Reviewed by schoolboy from Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Well this is a surprise. I guess I really should set higher expectations for Clown Shoes. This one is way better than most of the style.

One of the 12 beers of Christmas, this baby pours a nice brown with a bit of coffee aroma poking right through. I immediately knew I had a winner! A great bitter brown ale thanks to a bit of coffee enhancement. First rate stuff with a nice big finish. A nice thick feeling brown.

Recommended. This is a nice winner amongst the 12 days of Christmas. It keeps pretty well too - this sample is probably not very fresh.
Jan 02, 2022
 
Rated: 3.7 by RBorsato from Virginia

Dec 31, 2021
 
Rated: 3.97 by Curt3 from Ohio

Dec 30, 2021
 
Rated: 3.5 by doctorgary from New York

Dec 30, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by EatonHops from Massachusetts

Dec 27, 2021
 
Rated: 3.5 by McBraniel from Virginia

Dec 27, 2021
 
Rated: 3.93 by animal69 from Louisiana

Dec 24, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by Stengelfoot from California

Dec 17, 2021
The Barista from Clown Shoes
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 370 ratings