McNeills Ducks Breath Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Enjoyed this one on cask pulled from a beer enginee at the brewery in Brattleboro, VT. Pours to a murky, light amber color with a thick, and creamy white head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose is very inviting on this beer with aromas of pale and sweet malt, paired with some light citrus hop notes. The palate is soft and fat on the tongue, with good pale, biscuit and sweet malt. This is paired with soft notes of estery, ripe fruit. This beer finishes with more biscuity malt flavor up front, then ends with some citrus bitterness that takes the cloying edge off this beer. Excellent pint of beer, a great one to relax with at the bar.

Great beer from McNeills, try it on the handpump if you can. Hoppy, strong flavor.

They describe this as Burton-style ale, but this is better than anything that ever came out of Burton. Nice earthy hop aroma, sharp hop bite in the flavour, but some British malt flavour to balance.

On cask at McNeill’s, 2/18/06 with Muzzlehatch. Served bright with a foamy white head, fairly dense in the middle, leaving plenty of lace on the sides of the glass and having only moderate retention. A nectarine-dull golden colored beer, with some lighter straw tints. The nose comes alive with lightly citric hops, a very slight hard-water-like note of light minerals and plenty of flowery notes coupled with soft, grainy, dry malts. Dry, grapefruit skins and perfume, with a touch of honey-almond and very light cherries are also notable, as well as some mossy/leafy dry hop notes. Aroma strength is fairly weak overall, as others have mentioned, but relative to the style (and taking in to account quality, not quantity), it dosent strike me as a problem. As I take my first sip, I’m surprised by both the tingly carbonation and moderately bitter hop profile. More light lemon skins, unripened nectarines and touches of grapefruit. Hops are really well done, not over the top in either flavor or bitterness, but just soft and flavorful. The malt is a creamy, almost chewy honey and just baked biscuits, with a growing note of very light caramel on the finish that complements the bitterness up front. I found no wateriness in my sample, and while it was in wonderful condition and tremendously drinkable, I didn’t really get much of the effect of a burton ale. I mean, an American yeast dosent really seem fitting, the beer just seems too clean. But scoring it based on the yeast used, it is nearly flawless. No diacetyl detectable, soft carbonation, no alcohol. Hardly seems like a Strong ale to me. Could probably put back about 12 of these on a nice sunny day.

Cask conditioned: Flowery citrus yeast aroma. Golden light amber hue. The malts are excellent in this brew, and they have to be to support the giant super bitter ending. Tons of hop, yeast is awesome, and the malts keep it all together. McNeills does it again.

CASK- what a tasty beer. full flavored, floral, rich with a nice bitter bite on the finish. Well done.

2001: I'll say this for McNeills, they're consistent-consistently great! I can almost assume a '4' or better before opening the bottle, and am usually right. Strong, bitter, hoppy, with a great floral aroma; but much more drinkable for me than, say, a very hoppy American PA, because of the strong malt underpinning. Go McNeills!

2003: Wow. Significantly better 2 years down the road, with a lot more rating experience under my belt. Hoppier and more assertive than something like a Fullers Vintage, but still mellow and sippable. Maltier and sweeter than I remember, with a distinct smokiness. Wonderful.8/5/9/4/7

August '04. This sample seems a little watery, less potent and flavorful. Alas, another sign of McNeills batch-to-batch (and sometimes bottle-to-bottle) inconsistency. At it's best, this is remarkable, but I have to downgrade the average...start bottling professionally, Ray!

Poured (with no pfft whatsoever) a copper color with big off white bubbles, and just a little bit of head, and very light lacing. Aroma of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus hops. Mouthfeel was not totally flat, as it had light carbonation. Pine, vanilla and oak tastes. Then some bready toasty and roastiness followed by a nice hop bitterness. Different but nice.