The Duck-Rabbit Barleywine

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

12 oz. bottle. Pours a clear reddish copper color with a thick off white head that gains color as it collapses. This one leaves a great deal of lacing. The aroma is all about the sweet malts. There is also a fruit presence, along with alcohol and chemicals. The flavor begins much like the aroma; sweet malts, some fruit, and more sugar in the finish. I may not have noticed the alcohol because I started to taste chemicals with everything else. This just seemed to be a little shy of its mark. The mouthfeel was full bodied and smooth going down. Not quite as good as some of the other Duck-Rabbit offerings.

Best By Date December 2007, Sampled July 2007
Very well carbonated, the beer almost explodes as it first hits my glass. After a very careful pour, I end up with a four-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head that sits atop an absolutely brilliantly clear, cranberry red colored beer. The aroma has a distinct fruitiness to it that mixes with the alcohol and reminds me of a mix between brandy and sherry. Almost has a buttery like, toffee-esque, definitely caramelized malt character to it. At times it even smells like sweet grape juice. I am not sure what it is, but something about the aroma is a bit off-putting; something like a mix of green, macerated raisins, some sourish-bitter herbs and a distinct, yet, can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it vegetable-like thing.

The beer is very thick, at least it should be. The excessive carbonation causes it to froth up immediately as it hits my tongue; luckily this is easily fixed by a couple of vigorous swirls of my glass. The beer is fairly thick and quite sweet; that sort of off aroma is noticeable here in the flavor as well, but I think that it is just a combination of the ample hops and sweet malt. The malt here tastes simplistic and overly stripped, like it had been heavily filtered (though I am not sure this is really the case here). Herbal, definitely grassy, somewhat reminiscent of green grapes, the hop character is quite prominent here, though it seems to manifest itself a bit atypically from your typical hoppy Barleywine. Rich, brown malt, caramel flavors linger in the finish; somewhat similar to a brown sugar encrusted, richly browned, rustic bread crust.

This is certainly not a bad beer, but it just seems a bit weird to my taste buds. It definitely hides the 11% alcohol quite well.

Darker amber coloured body that was pretty clear with an eggshell head. Sweet aroma with some cherry and other hints of fruit as well as some caramel. The flavour is very sweet with a lot of caramel and fruit. Good mouth-feel that balances thickness with good carbonation.

Bottles from mystery swap 2.0. Pours with a huge head, had to wait 10 minutes to swig, Some sweetness, but hopped more than expected, some fruitiness, caramel. Very drinkable for the alc % Very good.

12 oz bottle from TURDFERGUSON, thank you Sam! Deep coppery brownish amber w/ a lasting light beige head, alcohol legs on the side of the glass, and laces well. Piney and woody hops w/ a bit of perfumey alcohol; Caramel, toasty malt and a hint of sherry with a medium fruitiness. For some reason I also get a bit of ginger, but I’m guessing it’s a combination of the hops and spicy alcohol. There is also a slightly smoky phenolic. Well balanced in the finish, but starts sweet. Bready malts and caramel up front, very little piney hop flavor throughout and a bit of brown sugary flavor/sweetness. Aftertaste is light brown sugary and toasty malt. Lower med. CO2, fuller medium body, smooth w/ well hidden alcohol. Very nicely done IMHO. Not a hop bomb like the typical barley wine, more malt accented which is more to my liking. This one went well w/ the meat loaf and prime rib from the Brew Kettle, but it didn’t do so well w/ the smoked turkey breast or smoked pork loin.

Thanks to OldGrowth. Metallic-copper body with a very fine particulate load and a filmy off-white head. Caramel and maple nose with savory durian fruit notes. Sweet, burnt honey flavor with bourbon tones, a bitter wood stem quality, and notable alcohol. A little rough around the edges, but a decent effort.

Bottle courtesy of JCB - thanks, Jason! Sweet caramel-and-mango aroma. Orange rind, yeast, and plum sauce. Definitely exotic fruit. Creamy, rocky, rich beige/tanned head over a reddish body. Taste is alcoholic and overly sweetish with those dark candied exotic fruit notes, sugary and off-putting on the tongue. Medium body with a little yeastish D-R grit ("house character"), light prickling carbonation. Alcohol is reasonably well-integrated, and the aftertaste is dry, lingering mango/papaya/whatever. Not sure exactly what they’re going for here; with any luck, age will change this a bit. Have to consider this a "miss" from an otherwise world-class brewery.

12oz bottle, courtesy of a trade from a while ago. Chewy, reddish-honey appearance; light tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Generous, cherry cough syrup and red fruit aroma; nice dose of floral hops. Average carbonation. Medium-to-full, sugary mouthfeel: overripe red fruits and chewy maple syrup; dense malt character, further emphasized by the relaxed carbonation; slightest floral hop presence; syrupy and overly sweet. Medium, cola and candy sugar finish.