Once Upon A Time In The Far East
Clown Shoes

Decent head production and retention. Body seems a bit murky.

Surprisingly fruity (prune and cola) aroma. Bourbon is noticeable but not prominent; same goes for the coffee. Mildly roasty. Additional notes of caramel, chocolate, and molasses.

Nicely balanced on the palate. Coffee and bourbon both come to play with the malt base, but nothing overplays its part. Tasting notes match the nose quite well; it's moderately sweet without being too rich. Body is a touch thin for the style, but it's an easy drinker, showing a bit of the ABV in a neutral effervescence but easy to sip and savor.

 

 

L: Pours a dark, near-black brown that forms a thin khaki head, which fades quickly, leaving behind minimal retention and no lacing. When held up to the light, this beer has a thick, opaque chocolate look.

S: Bourbon barrel, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt.

T: Delicious mixture of bourbon barrel, coffee, roasted malt. Warm finish. Some dark fruit and chocolate as well. Very well-balanced, as no single flavor dominates.

F: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation. Silky and lasting, but not the most coating.

O: A good, but not great bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Not quite full-bodied and lacking the firepower of some other BBA stouts, but this is still a fine beer that will leave you satisfied. Glad I gave it a try.

Picked up a single from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville 10-28-22 for $7.42. Canned 8-29-22; consumed 3-4-23. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured black with a very nice tan head that has some nice hang time.

Nose is nice with hints of coffee and bourbon.

Taste is a larger moderately roasted malt base that allows bourbon to give light notes of vanilla. Coffee is in the finish for me and a touch astringent but balancing.

Mouthfeel is medium to large bodied and very smooth.

Overall an enjoyable beer, glad i was able to try this. Been awhile since i have had Clown Shoes.

Pours a dark brown with a 1F tan head and a lot of lacing.

Smells of toasted malt, coffee and bourbon.

Tastes of toasted malt, coffee, milk chocolate and sweet fruit with a slightly bitter alcohol warm finish.

Medium heavy body with slight carbonation. Lush, smooth and syrupy mouthfeel.

This is a very strong brew that is tasty, complex and sweet but not cloy.

 

12 ounce can, dated 8/29/22, bought in November ‘22, sat in the cave at 50° until January 4, ‘23. Poured into an Angry Chair snifter, slightly aggressive. The reward is a nice rich foam that manages to balance for awhile. Little lacing remains.
Smell is rich roast coffee house coffee, chocolate, lil vanilla, bourbon. Very attractive!
Taste follows the aroma; great balance of strong coffee, oak barrel, bourbon, cocoa, malt backbone. Little hop at the end is appreciated to balance out the dry sweet. The 10.25% ABV leaves a warm glow on the palate. Coffee stays on the breath. Nice!
Feel is almost full-body, perfectly carbonated. All balance, nothing overwhelming.
Overall, just a great example of a BBA Coffee Stout that isn’t a sugary mess. Love it.

 

 

 

 

Got from a trader in Texas. Looks cool. Based on some other reviews it seems this beer used to be 14% but I received it as a 10.25%. Poured out into a Yeti coffee mug, dark rich brown color. Why a Yeti? Because this is a Vietnamese coffee beer! The multi-colored head bubbles up in quite a lively manner and nearly overflows my mug. It settles after about 20 seconds and clings to the edges. The smell is overwhelming, I mean this beer has a strong odor, like roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate, toffee. The glass is nearly a foot from my nose and I can still smell it from here. Just lovely. Taste is a bit underwhelming, bitter like a roasted coffee, somewhat malty, rounded out by a hint of bourbon that hits several seconds after the swallow. Not an incredible amount of depth to this brew, this seems like the kind of beer that is what it is. The artwork depicts what appear to be two gun toting cowboys and a warrior from the far east carrying a sword, wearing clown shoes. Cowboys are face-value, get-what-you-get, i-am-what-i-am type of characters and i would say that's fitting for this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth with a ripe amount of bubbles. Overall this is a well done, straight forward coffee beer that isn't quite as good as Peche Mortel but still serves up as a quality cup o joe.

Pour is black/brown with a dense cap of moderately tan head. Good retention and lacing.
Nose is milk chocolate, vanilla, hint of latte
Taste is creamy milk chocolate, sucky shiny of bourbon on the finish, balanced coffee, vanilla. Low bitterness, minimal roast. All very well balanced. Hints of dark fruit on the finish.
Creamy body.

Look: It pours dark brown with a tan head. Head retention is good.

Smell: It has strong aromas of coffee and roast with some bourbon. There are some cherry notes.

Taste: It has coffee flavors with roast and bourbon. The cherry notes are stronger in the flavor than in the aroma. There are some sugary notes and a bit of chocolate.

Feel: It has a full body with strong alcohol warming.

Overall, a nice complex blend of flavors with a bit of sweetness.

 

Poured from 12oz can. Not the strongest barrel or coffee notes, but each is noted and balanced. The base beer is pleasant with notes of chocolate and light roast. Sweetness and alcohol are kept in check. It is not complex but I really enjoy it when every other imperial stout is a diabetes beer nowadays.