Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer Imperial American Stout

Appearance

Pours a dark brown/black. Held up to the direct sun, no light shines through whatsoever. Giddyup! Nice tan head sits on top with decent lacing and retention.

Smell

Big huge malts, toffee, coffee, chocolate, wet sand (yeah), and big roasted cocoa flavors.  This has got a big nose that excites me.

Taste

Whoa, big and strong. Huge smoke, roasty and toasty cocoa. Woody and a tiny bit dry sour.  This is not a smooth beer and a bit too alcohol-forward for me.  As it sits, the milk chocolate comes forward and attempts to smooth it out, but it’s a bit late.  Definitely for dark lovers, the taste follows the smell, but not perfectly, and in my opinion, not well enough.

ABV/Price

Brewed by Clown Shoes Brewery in Ipswich, MA.  My 22oz bottle packed a stronger-than-normal 10% ABV and cost $9.

Perusing the site, they’ve got some of my favorite beer names…Fight off the Pimp, Tramp Stamp, and Let My People Go.

Overall

Tastes much more like a strong Russian Imperial Stout than an AIS, but even as an AIS, there’s something just not quite right.  The nose is great, but the taste was just a bit too aggressive for my palette. Would I drink it again? Maybe after a big steak on a cold day when I wanted to get drunk, but that’s about it.

Has anyone had any of their other brews? I’d be interested to hear how they do.