Locally we sold the most Clown Shoes beer ever in a month.

Nationally we sent out a tremendous amount of product.

The big beers, when the weather turned cold, caught fire.

Today we brew Chocolate Sombrero, formerly known as Cocoa Powder, Cocoa Monster, Cocoloco, and Cocoa Sombrero. This Mexican Imperial Stout features Ancho Chile powder, cinnamon, and organic vanilla extract. The chocolate comes from dark and chocolate malts, as we feel we can get a more complex chocolate flavor this way.

Chocolate Sombrero will be the last in a series of stouts (all with a creature on the label) that will be made this season. Next year (or later this year) we’ll play with a few more.

High on my list to brew, but we need art and packaging, is Miracle IPA. This will be a 5% IPA, fruit forward and sessionable. A certain percentage of each batch will go to the Clown Shoes Miracle Fund. The plan is to use the money to help worthy causes over the course of time.

I think it’s funny, the idea of people walking up to bars and saying, “I need a Miracle,” then promptly receiving a cold pint of beer.

Next week I head to Philadelphia, where we are launching Clown Shoes.

Georgia will see expanded distribution in the near future.

Other markets will open later in the year, after Mercury completes construction on the new facility.

If my prose this morning seems a little numb, well…

It’s true, I’m a little numb. So if you see me wandering past you with an absent mind, do me a favor: kick me in the shins.

Gregg B.