Clown Shoes: Don’t Fear the Blender

Clown Shoes: Don't Fear the Blender

Style: Tropical Fruit Smoothie IPA

Special Notes: Brewed with guava, mango, pineapple puree and lactose sugar

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.87/5

My Milkshake has brought you all to the Windowsill today! Damn right!

So what’s a Milkshake IPA, anyway? According to Denver Westword, it’s an IPA made with milk sugar and lactose, which gives it a creamy, milkshake-like mouthfeel and appearance. The style also typically includes “the kinds of sweet treats you would find in a Milkshake: strawberries, peaches, chocolate, vanilla, mangoes and the like.” Most milkshakes are also spinoffs on New England-style IPAs, because they’re inherently tropical and low on bitterness. The exact inventor of the style is hard to nail down, but Westword says that Milkshake IPA, a 2015 collaboration between Tired Hands Brewing Company and Omnipollo, is often credited as the first.

Clown Shoes: Don't Fear the Blender
The reaper’s having a beer with us! (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)

Cut to four years later, and milkshakes have been popping up all over the place, and in great abundance. The one on my Windowsill comes from Massachusetts’ Clown Shoes. They bill it as a Tropical Fruit Smoothie IPA, but a milkshake by any other name, is still a milkshake. This one is made with guava, mango and pineapple puree. Solid fruity flavors and good mouthfeel to boot. I enjoyed it very much!

In case you’re wondering about that badass label art, it’s designed by Michael Axt and depicts the following, according to Clown Shoes: “The Grim Reaper has grown weary of being Death. Here we find him festive, semi-retired, and at the beginning of a craft beer journey.” We’ve all been there, Grimmy. Welcome to the craft beer community!

Make sure you like this one on Instagram, and follow Beers on Windowsills for more great craft beer!

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. Clown Shoes: Don’t Fear the Blender . My Milkshake has brought you all to the Windowsill today! Damn right! . So what’s a Milkshake IPA, anyway? According to @denverwestword, it’s an IPA made with milk sugar and lactose, which gives it a creamy, milkshake-like mouthfeel and appearance. The style also typically includes “the kinds of sweet treats you would find in a Milkshake: strawberries, peaches, chocolate, vanilla, mangoes and the like.” Most milkshakes are also spinoffs on New England-style IPAs, because they’re inherently tropical and low on bitterness. The exact inventor of the style is hard to nail down, but Westword says that Milkshake IPA, a 2015 collaboration between @tiredhandsbrewing and @omnipollo, is often credited as the first. . Cut to four years later, and milkshakes have been popping up all over the place, and in great abundance. The one on my Windowsill comes from Massachusetts’ Clown Shoes. They bill it as a Tropical Fruit Smoothie IPA, but a milkshake by any other name, is still a milkshake. This one is made with guava, mango and pineapple puree. Solid fruity flavors and good mouthfeel to boot. I enjoyed it very much! . In case you’re wondering about that badass label art, it’s designed by @axtimusprime and depicts the following, according to @clownshoesbeer: “The Grim Reaper has grown weary of being Death. Here we find him festive, semi-retired, and at the beginning of a craft beer journey.” We’ve all been there, Grimmy. Welcome to the craft beer community! . ABV: 7.0%, IBU: N/A, Rotating availability . @untappd says: 3.86/5

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Oliver Brewing Company (with Stillwater Artisanal): Whipped 2.0

Oliver Brewing Company with Stillwater Artisanal: Whipped 2.0

Hops: Citra, Simcoe

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untapped says: 3.91/5

Are you ready to watch the Windowsill whip? Great! There will be no nae naes, though.

Maryland’s Oliver Brewing Company and Stillwater Artisanal—a gypsy brewery based in Brooklyn, NY—have collaborated on many beers. Although Oliver started in 1993, and Stillwater is just a baby (2010), the two seem to work really well together. This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of hosting one of them on my Windowsill, but it won’t be the last.

The Whipped 2.0 was a really interesting choice for my first from this team. It’s a double IPA brewed with over 500 lbs of pureed mangos, flaked oats, lactose (for mouthfeel) and vanilla beans. The hop profile is actually really nice, too. 130 lbs of Citra and Simcoe hops are used to give it a nice, juicy, tropical deliciousness. Top top it all off, it’s a Nitro beer! This brew combines everything, from aroma to flavor to mouthfeel. Superb effort!

Check this great collaboration brew on our Instagram, now!