Tramp Stamp

Brewery: Clown Shoes

Type: IPA

Alcohol: 7%

Country: USA

Done with exams and now my summer can officially start. What better way to kick it off then with an IPA I have heard a lot about but only recently was able to aquire. Clown Shoes only just starting showing up here so I wanted to get one of their most highly regarded beers. Tramp Stamp is a Belgian style IPA, made with three different types of hops, Belgian yeast, and of course that old staple of Belgian brewing, sweet orange peel. This has a reputation as being a prety damn good beer, and I am glad it is my introduction to Clown Shoes Brewing.

Pours a gorgeous murky and opaque orange color, a perfect IPA look. Big thick slightly off white head. Really nice and fluffy, dissapates but only down to a nice size fluffy scum on top. Most IPAs are heavy on the hops in the aroma, or a balance between hops and malt tones. This one has a pretty unique nose, in that a lot of yeasty notes pop up. I am guessing it is the Belgian part of this Belgian IPA. Subtle fruity esters, caramel malt, a nice bit of grassy hops, and finally strong orange peel make for a really interesting and inviting smell. Lots of different flavors going on here. A lot of maltiness up front, caramel sweetness, not overly so but pretty malty. Goes well with the fruity Belgian esters and the orange peel and coriander. Hops are not present much in the taste but there is certainly a bitter kick, really pleasantly sharp. This beer combines a spicy Belgian style IPA with the aggressiveness of an American style super bitter IPA. I have had a few Belgian IPAs. I can say that this blows all of them out of the water. I see exactly what the brewer was going for here, an out of left feild twist on two different styles of IPA. I respect how nice it came out, really an interesting beer. I would pick one up in the future, and recommend this beer to anyone looking for a little something different to change up their regularly scheduled hop fix.