Brewery: Clown Shoes Ipswich, Massachusetts
Beer: Blaecorn Unidragon
Serving: 22 oz bottle
Glassware: snifter
Information: Bottled 11/2011, 12.5% ABV.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Price: $8.99 / bottle
Availability: Year-round
Cellaring: Under proper conditions, this beer can be cellared for extended periods.
Pairings: Sweet honey barbecue, grilled cheese – wheat bread, sharp cheddar, milk chocolate.
Appearance
Pouring a dark mahogany brown with good clarity, Blaecorn Unidragon is a dauntingly black color in the snifter. A thick mocha brown head rests on the beer for quite a while. Dots of lace circle the glass.
Smell
Heavily roasted malt provides an intimidating aroma fit to flow from such a badass bottle. Black licorice undertones skillfully hide behind robust molasses and bittersweet chocolate notes and fruity phenol alcohol. Booze soaked raisin and black cherries come to mind. Earthy hop tones are all but forgotten in the midst of the aggressive malt.
Taste
Gritty, heavily roasted malt overwhelms the palate with assertive complexity. Profuse bittersweet chocolate leads into a molasses bitterness and fruity alcohol finish that lingers on borderline ethanol.
Mouthfeel
Teeming with warming alcohol, Blaecorn Unidragon is an inky full-bodied stout that coats the tongue and throat. Well-placed carbonation is lower but works well to keep the beer from total syrupiness. That goes double for the balancing hops.
Overall
Fit for a Czar, Blaecorn Unidragon, my first experience with Clown Shoes, is a bold stout to say the least. Assertive, arrogant, and rightfully so, the potent alcohol and robust malt profile – well-balanced with earthy hops – makes this one of the ultimate soul-warming beers despite it’s badass exterior.
Score: 90 / 100 - Exceptional
Cheers,
-Andy
