Feature Beer Friday: Clown Shoes' Galacticake Douple IPA

By Eric Ducote

Good morning again everyone and welcome back to Bite and Booze for a mid-May version of Feature Beer Friday!  I have enjoyed writing these posts every week as I try some new beers and dig a little deeper into some old favorites.  This week I'm revisiting a brewery that I used to drink regularly, but seems to have faded a bit as the local guys surged.  Clown Shoes Beer originated from Massachusetts, and although they recently were bought by Harpoon Brewing (or their parent company, if we're getting technical) they retained their independence and "craft" status because Harpoon is itself a craft brewery.

I've always enjoyed Clown Shoes... their Hoppy Feet and Hoppy Feet 1.5 were both outstanding black IPAs when that style was all the rage, they consistently put out excellent creative stouts, and their label artwork is always top notch.  However, it had been a while since I had bought any their brews, so when I saw a relatively fresh (canned 3/8/18, always check the dates on hoppy beers!) 4-pack of their Galacticake Double IPA at Robert Fresh Market, I figured it was time to stock the fridge with a little more Clown Shoes.

Clown Shoes Galacticake Double IPA

The beer pours a rich copper color, clear and filtered, with a frothy bubbly head that took a few minutes to dissipate.  The malt that gives the beer it's deeper color is definitely present on the aroma with some caramel sweetness, but backed up nicely with fruity hop aromas like pineapple and plum.  The taste is well balanced between the caramel sweetness and the bitter fruity hop flavors.  The Galacticake is a 9% abv DIPA, but the malts and hops hide the alcohol very well.  There is an earthiness to the hops, but some fruit as well, and a nice blend of flavors that complement each other to form a bitter bouquet, but not one that lingers unpleasantly on the finish.

In summary, this is definitely an old-school throwback DIPA, aiming for a malt-hop balance and relying on bittering hops more than just all the late addition hops that we're getting from the hazy juice bombs.  However, it's a delicious well brewed throwback DIPA that I'd be happy to purchase again.   Cheers!