99 Beers #01 – Lubrication

Beer Name: Lubrication
Brewery: Clown Shoes
ABV: 6%
Serving: Bomber bottle

Full disclosure:  This was one of five bottles of Clown Shoes beers from the brewery, sent to me for free.  It is part of a larger review of Clown Shoes as a whole, which is coming soon.

Now that we’re far enough removed from the label art controversy of this particular beer, it’s time to judge it on how it actually tastes.  On the label, below the “robot dong” picture, it reads “American Black Ale,” which never quite gives me enough information on what to expect—though this could simply be my lack of experience with the style.  Once out of the bottle and away from the offending label, though, the beer poured black, but not a thick black, with a fluffy beige head that took a while to dissipate. 

As soon as I tasted, my immediate thought was “hoppy porter.”  It had a nice roastiness right at the beginning and a thinner mouthfeel, just like a porter, but instead of ending with a malty backbone, the hops come in.  Short of a black IPA, the hoppiness—for once in a Clown Shoes beer—is not overwhelming or unbalanced (I’m looking at you, Tramp Stamp).  Unfortunately, after the hops cleared, there was an undertone of staleness to the beer, which I also found in the Tramp Stamp I had two days previous, so I’m assuming, until I get around to the others, this may be a byproduct of shipping or packaging.  It should be noted that the “sweet orange peel” the brewery lists in the description is nowhere to be found.

Overall, compared to the four other Clown Shoes beers I’ve had, this easily ranks the highest.  If I was only rating it against the other beers from the brewery, I would probably put it at 4 or 4.5 stars, but when taken into context of everything else, despite being their best offering thus far, it still only ranks in the middle-ground, which is why I gave it a 2.5.  I would drink it again, but not if given the choice of something else.