Clown Shoes Porcine Unidragon
I’m a big fan of Clown Shoes’ Blaecorn Unidragon. It’s a stout that I purchase just about every time I cross paths with it when out on shopping trips. Porcine Unidragon is an interesting variation on that big Russian imperial stout. This 12.5% ABV American imperial stout has a similar recipe base, but employs a fairly healthy dose of Beechwood smoked malt before heading into Bourbon barrels for a measure of time.
This full-bodied and viscous stout is big, both in terms of warming alcohol and flavor. And, man, is it an interesting flavor. That smoked malt injects a good amount of smoked meatiness to the affair, joining coffee, soft Bourbon notes, wood, cocoa and a good bit of roastiness. It’s not an off-putting flavor by any means, but it certainly does make the tastebuds think about what’s going on in the beer’s opaque depths.
I’m not totally sold on this variant. I enjoyed the core flavors, but not sure about how I feel about the meatiness working in tandem with everything else that Porcine Unidragon has to offer. The flavor is unique as expected and one I will have to explore again, perhaps, just to make sure I’m picking up what the brewery is trying to put down.