Clown Shoes Clementine (Mass)

I have long been a fan wheat beers. Ever since the first time I poured a Weihenstephaner down my gullet at the Boulevard Tavern all those years ago, wheat beers have always been my go-to session drink when I'm not pinching pennies on peebers. So it should be no surprise that my first time trying a beer from Clown Shoes, it was likely to be a wheat beer. Or at least that's the excuse I'm using even though it had more to do with my budget. Honestly, if I had the cash flow, I probably would have went with the Muffin Top for the sheer humor value.

I poured my $3.00 bottle of Clementine after a long two hours running around North Brooklyn looking to fill up a couple of growlers. An activity that takes up close to 3 hours of my obviously exhausting week. Since I'm a bit limited in the glassware department, I used the old standard...the 16 oz. pint glass! Clementine pours exactly how I would expect a what beer named as such, golden yellow with orange hues. The head quickly dissipates, which is probably one of the least disappointing things I find when I'm about to rate a beer. As much as I find the scent appealing, Clementine's being heavy on the citrus(to me it was of sweet oranges), the aspect I most care about when drinking a beer is the actual taste. I'm sure most beer geeks can agree with me. "Grapefruits!" was my first thought after taking the first sip, most likely due to the bitter surprise that the hops gave. As the beer settled, the citrusy bitterness stopped being so apparent, and I the sweetness of the oranges I found it the scent became much more defined. Seeing that it was only 3 O'Clock in the afternoon on a weekday, I took my time with this brew, which was a good thing, but I could easily see my self polishing off a sixer of Clementine at a BBQ or any other warm weather drinking session. Not to say that I won't be drinking any this winter since I don't really discriminate based on the season. Wheat beer is good year round.

Would I take Clown Shoes over Weihenstephaner? Most definitely not, but there are several beer bars in NYC that only cater to craft brews, and right now Clown Shoes is on everybody's beer menu in the City, most likely because it's slightly regional. Regardless, it would be a nice replacement when my wheat beer of choice was not available. I'm sure Clown Shoes Clementine will be getting a session or pub revisit from me in the near future.