A little over two years ago, I took a work trip to Philly where my company is based. I had just started with the firm, and they had flown me across country to meet my boss as well as some other ice breaker shenanigans. I landed on a Thursday, which was coincidentally the first official start day of the 2012 NFL season. I ventured out into the streets of Philadelphia to find a good beer bar, watch “the game,” and fill up on some grub. I know what you’re thinking but no, I did not see Bruce Springsteen or Tom Hanks for that matter. Instead, I came across Perch Pub where I was first introduced to Clown Shoes Beer, a brewery based out of Ipswich, Massachusetts.
At this time in my life, I was obsessed with brown ales. I mean, I’ve always had a thing for liquid sweetness (hello, Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown!), but that was kind of all I drank back then. I asked the bartender for a recommendation and he pointed me to the Clown Shoes’ Pimp. First, Clown Shoes? Second, Pimp? YES! One maybe two sips in, and I was hooked. The thought of pimps and brown ale just really made sense to me and all of my taste buds.
When I returned to the Bay, I was on the hunt for Clown Shoes only to learn that there was no distribution to the state. Boy, was I disappointed. All I could talk about was Clown Shoes this and Clown Shoes that. Did you I tell you about that Pimp ale? My friends understood that I was #obsessed. Well, lucky for me, Clown Shoes started distributing out in my hood about a year later. Unfortunately, Pimp had been put behind bars forever, or retired as the website states, and I was never able to try it again. But regardless, Clown Shoes had a friend in me. BevMo carried it for a hot second (and maybe they still do) but only in very limited styles. Some of the label designs and names of the beer are a little too risqué for corporate entities. Funny, I don't recall ever seeing Clown Shoes' labels like Tramp Stamp, Vampire Slayer (now Undead Party Crasher), and Pimp in a BevMo.
Fast forward to August 2014 when I walked into The Good Hop, Oakland’s newest bottle shop, for the first time and spotted not one but FIVE different types of Clown Shoes. Ding, ding, ding - We have a winner!!! I picked up the Galactica to drink onsite and the Undead Party Crasher to drink at home.
Galactica tastes like your standard east coast IPA – great day-time, warm weather kind of beer but don’t expect a lot of hops.
Side note: Be on the lookout for Clown Shoes’ Pecan Porter. If you want to celebrate the fall and you’re not into pumpkin ales, this is EXACTLY the beer for you. I discovered it last November on tap at Beer Rev. It tastes just as it sounds.
At this time in my life, I was obsessed with brown ales. I mean, I’ve always had a thing for liquid sweetness (hello, Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown!), but that was kind of all I drank back then. I asked the bartender for a recommendation and he pointed me to the Clown Shoes’ Pimp. First, Clown Shoes? Second, Pimp? YES! One maybe two sips in, and I was hooked. The thought of pimps and brown ale just really made sense to me and all of my taste buds.
When I returned to the Bay, I was on the hunt for Clown Shoes only to learn that there was no distribution to the state. Boy, was I disappointed. All I could talk about was Clown Shoes this and Clown Shoes that. Did you I tell you about that Pimp ale? My friends understood that I was #obsessed. Well, lucky for me, Clown Shoes started distributing out in my hood about a year later. Unfortunately, Pimp had been put behind bars forever, or retired as the website states, and I was never able to try it again. But regardless, Clown Shoes had a friend in me. BevMo carried it for a hot second (and maybe they still do) but only in very limited styles. Some of the label designs and names of the beer are a little too risqué for corporate entities. Funny, I don't recall ever seeing Clown Shoes' labels like Tramp Stamp, Vampire Slayer (now Undead Party Crasher), and Pimp in a BevMo.
Fast forward to August 2014 when I walked into The Good Hop, Oakland’s newest bottle shop, for the first time and spotted not one but FIVE different types of Clown Shoes. Ding, ding, ding - We have a winner!!! I picked up the Galactica to drink onsite and the Undead Party Crasher to drink at home.
Galactica tastes like your standard east coast IPA – great day-time, warm weather kind of beer but don’t expect a lot of hops.
Side note: Be on the lookout for Clown Shoes’ Pecan Porter. If you want to celebrate the fall and you’re not into pumpkin ales, this is EXACTLY the beer for you. I discovered it last November on tap at Beer Rev. It tastes just as it sounds.
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