Angel of Detroit
Clown Shoes

22 oz brown bottle - not dated

Clown Shoes Angel of Detroit filled my tulip glass with a dark amber body and formed a 1 1/2-finger bubbly tan head. The head held well and left behind many clingy rings of lacing - a nice looking Ale. The nose was dominated by the aromas of malt; chocolate, caramel, toffee and burnt toast. The taste first picked-up what dominated the nose. Then the hops 'kicked-in'. The flavor of grapefruit shows up towards the finish and builds as consumed. The hops/bitterness seem to linger and linger. There is a medium carbonation with a high-medium body. The mouth is a little creamy and sticky;

Angel of Detroit is a good quality Brown Ale. However, for me not as drinkable due to the amount of lingering bitterness.

Dark brown in color with a murky complexion. Heavy lacing appears on the glass. There's a quarter inch of creamy beige on top. The aroma is of chestnuts, caramel, and toffee. I'm tasting piney hops, chestnuts, toffee, and caramel. The mouth is creamy, light, and dry.

Enjoyed from a bomber dated December 2017, but I also had this recently on draft in Grand Rapids. Pours a rich brown, translucent, moderately thick and with good head and retention. Yeast rolls and malt on the nose, with a good dose of old-world hop character that surprises me, given the Columbus and Galaxy with which it was made. Moderate oxidation on the palate tells me this isn't holding up as well as other Clown Shoes beers, perhaps as expected given the lower ABV compared to their barrel-aged offerings. Nutty and floral.

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 12/4/2017. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish copper/brown color with a 2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted brown bread; with lighter notes of nuttiness, coffee, toffee, dark fruit, herbal, and floral/grassy/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/tropical/pine hops and dark/roast/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted brown bread; with lighter notes of nuttiness, coffee, toffee, dark fruit, herbal, and floral/grassy/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine/citrus peel/herbal/grassy/spicy hop and light roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, nuttiness, light coffee, and herbal/floral/grassy/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/pine hops and dark/roast/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero acrid/astringent roast/hop flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy/sticky, and lightly resinous/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 9%. Overall this is an awesome hoppy imperial brown ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/pine hops and dark/roast/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the big ABV, with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Very similar to the Angel of Mackinac, but higher ABV; with a fuller body and less bitter finish. Really awesome balance of bright/juicy and light dank hops; with rich malt complexity. Not overly roasty. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.