Clown Shoes Archdruid

Clown Shoes Beer comes from the Mercury Brewing Company of Ipswich, Massachusetts. This is a 9.0% ABV red ale aged in Irish whiskey barrels.

The beer pours red and dark copper. There is a short head of tan foam. The aroma is malty, caramel, whiskey, sweet, tangy, oak. I am a bit worried about the tang; is it congruous to the named style? The taste follows the aromas, hitting the same notes, but with a distinct sourness, something is not right here. A quick internet search shows that these bottles were contaminated and went sour. The beer drinks smooth. This actually made a decent malty red sour, in almost a Flanders red style, but I was in the mood for what the bottle said it would be, and unfortunately, it is no longer that.