The Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Farmville, North Carolina USA

Much too carbonated, looks like soda. Nice color, but no density, too thin of a taste. Gets you with one sweet flavor but has no depth, yet not the light refreshing beer type. Perhaps I’m just being cynical today, but this ones not for me.

Pours deep, dark amber with a huge pillowy offwhite head... nice retention and thick webbed lacing. The nose is of caramel and a yeast strain, providing a hint of sour esters. Some sweet malt, light, with hints of pale malts and copper. Nicely bitter back, revisits some of the sour yeast strain. A bit of unwelcome metallic aftereffects at work, too. Interesting paired with food... much more sweetness comes through without it, though paler malts and hops tend to cleanse the palate decently with a pairing. The mouthfeel, either way, is thin and a bit more watery than I would have expected. That, in combination to the metal aftertaste, lends the end of the pull much less effective than the beginning of the pour. Weird to rate...

Bottle poured a clear amber red color with a nice off white head. Aroma was nutty, caramel with a dash of hops. The flavor was balaced and clean. Verry smooth and easy to drink.

Pleasantly surprised by this beer. Has an interesting sourdough biscuit flavor. totally unexpected but quite nice. Pours a rich amber color with a thhick hite head that has some decent resiliency. Nose is malty with just a slight hop sourness. Flavor is just as I described above. Some slight hop bitterness tries to set root on the rongue as well but is washed away fairly quickly. Medium body that is just slightly astringent. Perhaps a bit too high in ABV to be sessionable but a really solid beer all around.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a deep amber color with a good size foamy off white head. The aroma is roasted malts with a touch of honey. The flavor has the same roasted malts throughout with caramel added in for sweetness. There is a yeast flavor that I pick up as well. The mouthfeel is medium at best. This is a solid amber ale, just not exceptional.

This doesn’t seem like a good gateway to their stellar lineup as the palatte seems wet, the hops seem subdued with a dominant malt layer which is tasty but could use a bitter hoppy kick to accentuate it a bit. For an amber, this could be the best one I’ve had though as the malts seem more pronounced than the usual orange-gold colored fare. This one has a little smoke in there.

on tap @Barleys and @HopfestNC-pours a foamy light tan head and amber color. Aroma is medium malty-some caramel. Taste is medium malty-some caramel, secondary hops. OK carbonation.

Bottle. A nice smokey, burnt aroma. This one doesn’t have a good look in the glass with it’s large, soapy head. The flavor is interesting, but not amazing. Hints of pepper, floral notes. Overly dry taste and mouthfeel with an unwanted after-kick. A solid amber, not the best style or the very best representation of the style, but drinkable and it’s got enough going on to keep my interest. And who doesn’t like drinking a duck?