The Duck-Rabbit Barleywine

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

2008 Bottle - Thanks Toby! - Pours a ruddy amber with virtually no head...aroma is dry fruity, with sweet candy malt...flavour is similar, although drier that expected, finish somehow manages to be dry and still a bit cloying, very interesting and very tasty....

In short: A very fruity and hoppy Barley-wine with a messy vinous twist. More intriguing than good.
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed when about 6 months of age. Sent to me by JCB, thanks a lot Jason
The look: Cloudy orange-copper body topped by a medium beige head
In long: Nose is very fruity with wild berries, white and red grapes, cranberries and sherry. Taste is unusual for the style. Strong sherry and wood notes gives the beer a curious sour vinous taste that I’m not expecting in a barley wine. Overripe fruits and a whole lot of caramel are dominated by the sour vinous taste of sherry. Then comes a truckload of resinous juicy hops that does not really work with the rest of the beer. A little alcohol bite but not much. I don’t think I liked it but this beer is far from boring and it kept my attention. A strange beast. Kind of hard to say what I didn’t like about it. The flavour elements by themselves are good but they just didn’t work together. This is a case where the total is less than the sum of its parts. Just like when I assembled my Ikea kitchen set. I now have a coffee table with a lot of spare parts.

Fresh from Bruisin’ Ales. To complete my six-pack, it was between this and some French Broad odd yeast thing. Knowing my preference for new and interesting and being a Belgium-lover, one would forecast the latter, but here I went conservative. This is a sweet one, it does however taste like a barleywine and gvien the sweet profile, I think that they thought it would be drunk early. Very boozy, and an early spring cold night seems so right for it. Pours a dirty blond with fantastic splattering of lace. Smells and taste like a boozy barleywine, drinkable after all.A bit of substance to the mouthfeel.

GABF 2008. Dark amber pour with tan head. Nose of fruits, spices and malt. Flavor is a bit sweet, but has good fruit and a dry bitter finish.

Light head with a dark ruby/brown color. Intense sweetness needs a bit more hopping for balance. Not much in the aroma department, average barleywine overall.

I’m not a ale guy, but this American made strong ale is pretty good. This is coming from a guy who loves stouts.

Bottle: Poured a reddish brown with a light white head. Aroma is dark fruit and sweet. Taste is sweet winey dark fruit also mixed in with caramel malt.

I think this is very underrated, one of the better barleywines that fairly easy accessible. Pours a light brown, with an almost yellow hue, and tinges of amber as well. Aroma is nice, a great mix of dark fruits, hops, yeast, alcohol, brown sugar, honey, and gumdrops. Flavor is great, malt, yeast, grain, hops, caramel, toffee, plums, brown sugar. Hints of vanilla and wood. Nice slight alcohol burn and a creamy medium mouthfeel. I loved this.