The Duck-Rabbit Barleywine

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Farmville, North Carolina USA

Shared one with a friend this evening. I don’t have a good beer vocabulary yet. It had an alcoholic smell and taste. A little strong for my palate, but my friend loved it. Definitely a fun one to try.

12 oz bottle from Emacgee. Hazy amber in color with a small off white head. Aroma: is alot of molasses, dark fruit, toasted malts and alcohol. Taste is sweet up front with molasses/caramel, dark fruit, with a medium to full body and leafy/earthy hop bittering finish.

Pours a dark amber with a small dense head that shows good retention and a little bit of lacing. Huge sweet malt smell with caramel, cinnamon, brown sugar, and toffee. Some dark fruits, including raisins, along with a healthy alcohol burn in the nose. Taste actually has a quick hoppy, leafy kick up front which quickly gives way to the sweet malts , molasses and caramel. The finish is actually a bit dry and crisp which I wasn’t expecting. Mouthfeel is medium body with strong carbonation and a big sticky sweetness that dominates everything else. This is a decent English Barleywine, though I would definitely term it a sipper.

Bottle courtesy of kp. Pours a cloudy orange-amber with a huge, forever-lasting, foamy off-white head. What is with these guys and their crazy huge heads? Aroma of sugary malt along with a touch of sourness, some hops and alcohol. Flavour: Something about this that I’m not crazy about, it’s too sweet and maple syrup-like, too acidic and sour -- I don’t know, I just don’t dig it. Average bodied. I had a hard time drinking this, it was almost a drain-pour for me. That’s two disappointing DR beers in a row (the other was the Brown) for me, I know they are capable of much more.

2006 Bottle. Appearance: Pours a hazy, dark amber body with a small, creamy-looking, beige head. Smell: Sweet-smelling caramel syrup aroma laced with fruit and citrus and booze. Taste: Sweet, sweet caramel maltiness with some squashed apricots tossed in. Splash of sweet southern iced tea. A pinch of cotton candy. The mildly bitter remains of some citrusy hops. Vague hint of wood. Warming finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight stickiness to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: In all honesty, I’ve had better and worse bottles of Duck-Rabbit Barleywine. This one was pretty decent. Overall, I’ve found the majority of them to be kicked up with sweetness and just a bit thin (for me) in the body department.

12 oz bottle pours a deep copper, brown color with a lacing, syrupy looking tan head. Aroma was initially very fruity but up close it’s extremely sweet with brown sugar, toffee, and sweet caramel dominating the aroma. Smells delicious and makes you want to sip it. Flavor is very typical barleywine, sweet and sugary, vanilla, bourbon, white grapes, cloves and other spice, honey and maple. Very thick on the tongue, a little salty on the lips and a slight, lasting tartness. Could have used a touch less malt and a touch more hop to round things out.

Not my favorite Barleywine Ale, but certainly a good tasting and provides a good buzz for one beer. I do taste the Ginger, I do like the flavor change as this beer warms up and settles down. I won’t give the rest of the 6-pack away, but it won’t be on regular rotation.

Bottle: Pours a dark copper color with a minimal white head. Seemed very much like an english-style barley wine rather than an american...but not in a bad way. Strong wheat and caramel notes with a bit of candied sugar and dark fruits to round it out. Full-bodied mouth feel...flavor follows the nose but with the emphasis on the sweet wheat tones. Not a huge fan, but still drinkable.