Luchador En Fuego
Clown Shoes

4.78/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Look: barely o head, deep brown with a little bit of red tint around the edges
Smell: oak, rich, chocolate
Taste: chololate, vanilla, some spice I cant place (has to be the peppers, rich, does not taste boozy at all
Feel: full body
Overall: like most clown shoes, rich complex flavour that is delicious!

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4.3/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Dark black with a quickly fading head. Smells like cinnamon, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate and peppers. Tastes the same as the aromas. Sweet and medium bodied. Great beer.

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2.59/5  rDev -38%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

I don't know what was wrong with this, but instead of getting spices on the nose and in the taste, I got aluminum.

I dunno. Certainly looked decent and had an okay mouthfeel but if what I smelled and tasted was a manifestation of the spices they used, they need to alter the recipe. There was no bite, no fire, no hint of cinnamon or nutmeg. I really don't know what they were doing.

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4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Form the 22 oz bottle in a snifter. This beast pours a deep obsidian with
dark cola highlights and a decent head of tan foam that settles to a thin ring,
subtle layer, and shows some subtle lacing. Nose of bourbon, chocolate,
cinnamon, pepper spice, and moderate vanilla. Flavors exceed the nose with
dark cocoa over a terrain of bourbon and light oak notes with vanilla and
cinnamon on the middle of the palate with a touch of coffee and fudge brownie
on the rear dashed with cinnamon and smokey pepper notes that are balanced
and tame compared to the description. Notes of roast and notably char are
more present with warmth as are other notes of marshmallow and earthy
oak. Nice mouth feel; full body, smooth, lightly slick, coating, low carbonation,
warming, and a rich Mexican hot chocolate given a splash of bourbon finish.

What else is there to say----it's solid as are all the other Clown Shoes brews.

Cheers

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4.73/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

I'm not going to go into a real deep in-depth review, but if you see this in the store this is a must try. I will warn you though, I've decided in one night to do 4 because they were so good and it was cold in Central Mass.... don't be me and go that hard, Savor it.

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4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

pours a dark brown slick with almost no head. nose; dark chocolate, oak, vanilla, cocoa, light tobacco, & light brown cola. taste; follows the nose exactly, with some raisin/plum character & mellow hops. medium carbonation & slighlty heavy mouthfeel. the high abv is expertly subdued. i'm pretty sure this is barrel-aged chocolate sombrero; the aging has mellowed the pepper notes, but it is still a great stout.

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4.57/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Pours a dark black with little to no head and no lacing. Aroma is a dark chocolate bar soaked in bourbon with hints of vanilla. Taste is very much the same with slightly more spice - but not really "hot" spicy which is a tad bit disappointing. Overall, this is another home run for Clown Shoes. (Could had been a grand slam had the chile peppers come through.)

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4.4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A terrific spiced BA stout. The pepper notes blend well within the overall taste profile. The lasting, lingering note is warm and playful but not overwhelming. The chocolate elements are not too sweet, and provide robust bitterness. This is top notch.

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4.21/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A - Pours midnight black with a thin tan head. Light spotty lacing.

S - Aroma is dark chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon.

T - The taste follows the aroma.Dark chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon. The bourbon barrel is light in the finish adding an oaky char.

M - Medium bodied with medium/low carbonation. Soft creamy mouthfeel a dry finish.

O - Really enjoyable barrel aged imperial stout. The flavors are perfectly blended & the ABV is extremely well hidden.

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4.07/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Optics are as expected - oil black with a thin lacing. Aroma is luxurious - the vanilla & oak are rich, and there's a great balance of cinnamon with a little pepper for dimension. The tongue doesn't get quite the same treatment. It's a little washed out from a heavy wood bourbon & surprisingly the pepper (the heat I think drowns out some other flavors). It's really missing that outstanding vanilla you get on the nose, or any other of the more decadent notes (chocolate, cinammon). It's still a good beer, but just fades into the crowd a little too much with that generic barrel-aged flavor.

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4.46/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

**
09/16/2016
Mexican Chocolate Stout Tasting with D.C.
Best tasting yet.
All 6 beers were anywhere from very good to magnificent.
1. Clown Shoes Luchador en Fuego
2. Weyerbacher Sunday Mole' Stout
3. Avery Xolotl
4. Stone Xocoveza
5. Stone Xocoveza Charred
6. Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero
--

22 oz. bottle to snifter.

LOOK: CREAMY TAN HEAD.
AROMA: Whiskey dominates, vanilla, peppers.
TASTE: Pepper and Whiskey play nice together. Chocolate, Sweet Vanilla add great flavors. Really tasty.
FEEL: Full Bodied, low carbonation.

This is a really nice beer and obviously not using Chocolate Sombrero as a base as it is much much more.
1st of 6. of this already impressive group.

**

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4.19/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance- The beer was a murky black color with a mocha head.

Smell - Aside from the chocolate malts, I detect a hint of spice. I do not detect the booze.

Taste - The beer is lightly boozy chocolate at the beginning. The spice begins toward the back, but it seems to lean toward cinnamon. I am reminded of Christmas cookies with a pine hint that lingers in back.

Mouthfeel - The stout is sticky, but not like I would expect.

Overall - This might be my favorite Clown Shoes.

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4.45/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Bought a bottle at the Beer Shop in East Longmeadow. The beer pours with a black color appearance and little to no head except for a dark brown color ring around the glass. Aromas are rich in vanilla, cinnamon, and bourbon with hints of dark chocolate, cocoa, and coffee as well. Taste followed the nose with some malty and bitter vanilla-bourbon mix and definitely hints of that chipotle pepper spice in the mix near the aftertaste. In terms of mouthfeel, the beer has an excellent, creamy texture while keeping some medium carbonation. Overall, this beer was fantastic across the board.

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3.68/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pour is a very dark brown hue, khaki colored head that settles to a ring pretty quickly. Aroma is a little muted, still getting chocolate, lactose and subtle hints of cinnamon and oak. Following the nose well, with nothing more or nothing less, the taste consists of chocolate, hints of cinnamon. Not much bourbon or barrel involved. Mouthfeel is more on the velvety side, low carbonation. Unfortunately I wish there was more of a noticeable pepper profile and/or bourbon.

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3.48/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Black and thin. Much too thin for the style. No barrel at all and very minimal spice, but the spice somewhat comes around as this warms. Lip smacking sweetness almost chokes me. The alcohol isn't in your face here, but still doesn't make this pleasant to drink. My first really disappointing brew from clown shoes.

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2.65/5  rDev -36.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Drank from a 1 pint 6 fl. oz. bottle
Bottled on 02/23/16
Served in a snifter

Dark brown/black appearance. Oily and shimmery. The body was topped by a small, creamy, cappuccino colored crown that faded to a thick, frothy collar. Streaky, drippy lacing stuck along the glass.

The aroma was subtle. Somewhat roasty and steely. There was a faint oxidized note. Wet paper came to mind. Boozy, bourbony notes later appeared. With time, the aroma improved, but not much. Some brown sugar sweetness came forth. Bit of dark chocolate. More booziness too.

The flavor profile was quite roasty and boozy. Somewhat malty on the front end. Bit of charred espresso in the center. Lots of raw booze/bourbon. A touch spicy perhaps. The beer finished with more roasty char and alcohol warmth. This was far hotter than I anticipated. Some chili spice notes lingered in the finish. Initially, it was difficult to pick them out with all the alcohol heat. Later, however, the booziness subsided to a more appropriate level.

Surprisingly thin and watery mouthfeel. The liquid contained a very fine, spritzy effervescence. All in all, rather disappointing.

Clown Shoes makes a few terrific barrel-aged offerings, a lot of mediocre ones and a couple that are pretty bad. Luchedor En Fuego 2016 definitely falls into the third category. Although this beer was six months old, it should have shown at least some vanilla and cinnamon notes, as well as a bit more spice. Reviewers have commented that the initial release of this was far better than the 2016 version. Hopefully, the beer will return to its roots in the next batch.

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4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep black with a nice brown head that lingers. Aroma is on point with what you'd expect -roasted malt, chocolate, wood, earth, and booze. Didn't pick up any chilies or spice. Taste is fudge, coffee, raisin, prune, dark chocolate and a bit of vanilla on the back end. Didn't pick up any spice-heat but the booze heat is there in nice amounts. I don't think chilles and bourbon dance well together; it's almost as if each flavor mutes the other. Overall, enjoyable and very drinkable for the ABV.

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4.34/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

The peppers on this were very mild, just a hint of flavor as an after taste. This was a very well liked beer within a small group sharing it with me of varying beer drinkers. Overall, it is something I am going to buy again.

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4.34/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured from tap, jet black minor tan head, little lacing. Massive bourbon smell. Very creamy on first sip, nice chocolatey taste up front with the barrel showing up behind it. Didn't buy this in the bomber, but going looking for it now

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4.21/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear jet black in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and faint dark cola brown highlights. The beer has a two finger tall foamy dark tan head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of very thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of slightly sweet milk chocolate and cocoa with light aromas of vanilla. Light to moderate aromas of slightly smokey chili peppers. Moderate aromas of bourbon and oak which becomes more prominent as the beer warms up.

T: Upfront there is a moderate flavor of roasted and chocolate malts with a moderate amount of lactose sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of milk chocolate + cocoa with light to moderate flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and smokey chili peppers (though with minimal amounts of heat from the chili peppers). Finally there are moderate to slightly stronger than moderate flavors of bourbon and toasted/charred oak which linger through the finish.

M: Medium to full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth with a light amount of alcohol warming in the finish.

O: Very easy to drink with extremely well hidden alcohol - in fact, I'm shocked this is 11+% ABV. Really nice combinations of flavors and aromas which has enough complexity and nice chili presence without much heat. Very enjoyable.

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4.2/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Appearance and aroma are nothing special, but the flavor is divine. Judicious use of the booze barrels are subtlety evident and supportive of the bolder coffee, cocoa, black malt, flavors. Perfect palate. Fairly drinkable.

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4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2016 vintage
~3 months since bottling date

Appearance- Pours a black color, opaque. Half finger thick, medium tan colored head, frothy / creamy, dissipates to thin layer. Spotty head lacing and some alcohol legs cling to glass.

Aroma- Chocolate sweetness, roastiness, vanilla, earthy cinnamon and spice. Lots of dry oak, soft bourbon notes, spicy peppers.

Taste- Milk chocolates, earthy and creamy vanilla, caramel and toffees, dark fruits. Bourbon, lots of dry oak, charred barrel and roast. Moderate heat from peppers, lots of peppery spice. Cinnamon spice throughout.

Feel- Medium bodied, very creamy and velvety smooth, sweet and sticky. Lower to moderate carbonation.

Overall- Starts out very sweet with lots of chocolate and vanilla flavors, but bourbon barrels and peppers help to provide a dry and spicy, balanced finish. Has a real nice vanilla / cinnamon combination throughout, sweet and decadent. Peppers don’t add too much heat, moderate and well integrated into the beer. Flavors could be a bit more robust, but on the flipside it is very balanced.

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4.36/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

From bottle. Half finger head that leaves behind a thin layer of head. Near pitch black. Bourbony cinnamon. I feel like this should be a hard candy for alcoholics. Alcohol infused chocolates? I raise you. Need this for my coffee. First quick taste is the bourbon immediately replaced by a sweet vanilla. A little bit of pepper burn to follow. Cinnamon overrides where it seems like hot cinnamon. Rich, but not super smooth.

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4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Many thanks to SawDog505 for this bottle.

A - Pitch black pour, super thick toffee colored creamy lacing ring, big legs with this beer!

S - Bakers chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, light oak, bourbon, vanilla, delicately balanced with some spice.

T - Oak, bourbon, vanilla, cocoa, spice, and the spiciness creates a little bit of warmth (heat).

M - Big and full bodied, gentle carbonation, sticky, velvety.

O - A fantastic beer, well blended, and the ABV is well hidden.

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4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

22 oz Bomber poured into a clown shoes glass.Smell of chocolate.Taste is Chocolate with Bourbon maybe a touch of Vanilla.Overall this is a excellent stout.I would buy it again.Give it try.

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