North Of Sonora
Clown Shoes

 

It is black in color with a long-lasting mocha head.
Strong aroma of rum, then some vanilla, and finally a bit of chocolate.
The taste followed the nose. Rum up front, in your face, then vanilla and chocolate.
Very sweet in the mouth. And I liked the strong rum presence.

 

Picked up a bomber at the Lake Pleasant BevMo 4-28-18 for $9.79. Bottled on 2-23-18. Sampled on 7-21-18.

Beer poured dark brown with a decent tan head with the initial pour.

Nose is vanilla and rum forward, very sweet.

Taste is vanilla and cocoa forward with a subtle rum barrel looming in the background. Finish is a touch sweet but not cloying. Rum warms the belly with the initial sips.

Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and very smooth.

Overall an interesting beer. Don't come across too many rum barrel brews. Fun to try!

Bottle of 22 oz. split with my wife.

The pour is black. The goddam pour is black! The nose is rampant with rum, vanilla, & attendant sweetness.

North of Sonora is sweet. Pretty sure I’m suffering from metabolic syndrome after a few sips. The rum barrel – I don’t believe whomever released this beer has ever looked up the word “subtle” in the dictionary, papyrus based or otherwise. Rum runs roughshod over the beer, buoyed up by a cloying sweetness that’s multiplied by rich vanilla. Did I mention the booziness? Plenty thick. Half a bomber was about 3x as much as I needed.

Tossing a beer in a barrel & allowing the barrel to become 93.6% of the taste doesn’t show much imagination, & I expect, & have had better, from Clown Shoes. Not much to see here. Decent enough.

LOOKS: Black with a finger of tan head that settles quickly to a ring. Spotty lacing and nice looking carbonation when I rock the glass.
AROMA: Cocoa, vanilla, rum is there, too. Not familiar with agave, yet.... smells nice overall.
TASTE: Lots of cocoa, vanilla, rum is there mildly, and it builds in the background. Blended pretty nicely.
FEEL: Plenty of carbonation, medium full body, and fairly dry. Slightly sticky, too.
OVERALL: Real nice, tasty, porter.

Pours a deep dark brown with a beautiful dark khaki head that lingers and leaves generous lacing. The aroma is loaded with vanilla and rum. Flavor is sweet and bold with vanilla and agave. Feels good, a tad thin but to be expected from a porter. Overall a pretty good beer.

 

Possesses all the qualities stated on the label. A little thin in flavor probably as a result of too much residue booze in the barrel. The agave syrup and residual rum adds a nice sweetness that compliments the malt. Vanilla also adds nice qualities. A little bit of heat from the booze. If it just did not feel so thin...