The Angel Of Mackinac
Clown Shoes

Chestnut brown in color with a fingernail of brown on the top. Moderate lacing. The aroma is difficult to seek out, but I'm getting a bit of caramel and chestnuts. I expected the hops to have long since faded as I held onto this for a bit, but I'm definitely tasting some spruce with a bitter finish along with some chestnuts mixed in. This is a hopheads brown ale. The mouth is spot on for the style, not too watery or thin and just smooth enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Clown Shoes The Angel OF Mackinac for $7.49 at The Lager Mill. This one peaked my interest, especially with a local reference in the name, so lets see how it goes. Poured from a brown 22oz bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks good, it's got a nice design to it and it's eye catching. It poured a hazy brown color which took on more of a brown color when held to the light and it had almost two fingers worth of creamy tan heat that died down to a thin ring that stayed for a while and it left some patchy lacing behind. This is a good looking Brown Ale, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness a little bit of an English Ale yeast flavor and it goes into the malts which impart some caramel malt. toasted malt, brown bread and caramel like aroma with a little bit of sweet malts showing up in the background. Towards the end comes the hops which impart some citrus, generic hop, herbal and floral hop aromas that are on the lighter side, but are still noticeable. This beer has a good aroma, it works well with this beer and it's what I would expect from a hoppy Brown Ale.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the yeast still being the first to show up, it's a little tanic and estery, but it's not as english ale yeast like as it was in the aroma and it's followed by the malts which impart all the same aspects with the caramel malts coming through a little more than they did in the aroma along with some nice brown bread flavors and there's a slight amount of dark fruits that show up in the background. Towards the end comes the hops which are noticeable and they are a little citrus with more of those herbal and floral hop aspects showing up. On the finish there's a higher amount of medium bitterness that lingers a little and it has a nice caramel malt and hoppy aftertaste. This is a good tasting beer, I like the balance od hops and malts.

M- The mouthfeel is fairly smooth, a little creamy, slightly crisp, on thicker side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is good and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and it's a good example of the style, it had pretty much all the aspects that I look for in a hoppy brown ale and the balance was just where I want it to be. This beer had nice drinkability, I could drink a couple without getting bored of it. What I like the most about this beer is how true to style it was, it had all the aspects that I look for in a good hoppy brown ale. What I like the least about this beer is nothing, there isn't anything that stuck out as not being good or out of place. I would buy this beer again if they make it again and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good hoppy Brown Ale. All in all I enjoyed this beer and I though clown shoes did a good job of making it true to style while maintaining a good balance. It's not my favorite beer from this brewery and it's a good example of the style. Good job guys, this is one tasty and balanced beer, keep up the hard work.

 

 

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/15/2016. Pours lightly hazy dark reddish brown color with a 2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, passion fruit, mango, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light nuttiness/coffee/toffee, and floral/grassy/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/tropical/pine hops and moderate dark/roast/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, passion fruit, mango, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light nuttiness/coffee/toffee, and floral/grassy/toasted earthiness. Moderate pine/citrus rind/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, passion fruit, mango, lemon/orange rind, pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, and floral/grassy/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/pine hops and moderate dark/roast/bready malt flavors; with nice malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body, with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, sticky/resinous, and slightly chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is an excellent hoppy brown ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/pine hops and moderate dark/roast/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. Very bright/juicy hop flavors with nice balancing malt complexity. IPA levels of bitterness and dryness, but not overwhelming. A very enjoyable offering.