The Duck-Rabbit Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Farmville, North Carolina USA

Name: BA Milk Stout
Date: January 31, 2009
Mode: Cask
Source: Beerfest, ACAT
Appearance: black, fine beige head, streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet bourbon and vanilla aroma, plenty of balancing oak, touch of sweet chocolate, light roast
Body: creamy body
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, milky sweetness mixed with vanilla, light bourbon
Overall: could use a touch more burbon, but again that might be too much
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

On tap at Capones. Poured a dark, dark brown color (almost black) with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of wood, bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, and roastiness. Tastes of wood, earthiness, bourbon, vanilla, milk chocolate, and some caramel. Lacing left on the glass. Smooth and creamy body. I liked this one for sure!

Draft at Capone’s, and sorry I missed Tom and Steve, but I came late. Pour was onyx with off-tan head that receded quickly. Nose was dark malt, heavy oaky bourbon, dark choc. Tasted dark malty, dark chocolatey, very earthy, peaty, with a heavy but well balanced oaky, bourbony, vanilla, and peaty flavor. Somewhat sweet as it warmed, and I don’t know how these guys made a beer that is about 8% lower than my anticipated ABV. The chocolate wall is apt, but the oaky bourbon wall preceds and follows it, depending upon the temperature of the beer. That shows you what beer craftsmen Duck Rabbit are, and my hat is off to Paul for yet another beer that I would drive 7 hours in the rain to North Carolina to get. Get ya some, and move to NC if you have to. Don’t pray to God; pray to Pappy Van Winkle and his bourbon barrels. Yeah Man!

[Draft @ Capones] Poured an opaque black color with a small, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malts, lactose, flaked oats, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon, and wood. Taste of roasted malt, smoke, chocolate, bourbon, and vanilla, with a lingering bourbon / alcohol finish.

Tap at Capones. Pours a deep black with some amber notes and a smaller creamy tan head. Aroma of deep chocolate and rosary malt, vanilla, oak, light bourbon and cherry. Flavor of deep chocolate notes, tobacco, vanilla, oak, light bourbon, rich and creamy, caramel and tart cherries. Bourbon aging did wonders on the flavor profile!

I must admit I harbored severe reservations at even the thought of a bourbon barrel-aged milk stout, fearing the relatively light stout would be crushed under a grotesquely alcoholic bourbon presence. I anticipated the results to be frowns and a full round of tongue-clucking. Oh, how wrong I was! My taste buds greeted each and every sip as liberators. Appearance: Dark brown, near black body with a small, bubbly, off-white head. Smell: A scent of milk chocolate and light roast paired with a very expressive bourbon aroma, with notes of vanilla, coconut, light brown sugar, and charred oak barrels. Taste: Lightly roasted dark malts hit with sweet tastes of chocolate and vanilla. Tons of rich, well-integrated bourbon flavor immerse the palate. At no point is it ever boozy. All of the usual bourbon flavors are present and in full-force, except the coconut, which is particularly striking. Minuscule amount of earthy bitterness. Finishes dry with lingering tastes of chocolate and top shelf bourbon. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: All kinds of excellent! Kudos to Duck-Rabbit for using the prestigious Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve instead of just dumping their milk stout in a soiled tub of Old Crow.

Cask at Broad st. cafe in Durham, NC. Black pour, thin tan head and minimal spotty lace. Usual creamy roast malts on the nose but, with a nice twist of vanilla and bourbon. Cream, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, and roast. The barrel really takes an awesome base beer to another level.

Got to have this at a Cask event with Ryan and Paul, super fun. Had two pints for a combined cost of 5 dollars! After having tasted the BA Baltic Porter I was pretty excited to see how this one tasted. Pours a dark black that allows some light and produces a thin light tan head. The nose shows bourbon upfront but does not allow it to dominate. Nice notes of oak come through as well. Base stout does not come through as much in the nose. Flavor shows very nice balanced bourbon and oak, vanillins shows through as well. The milk stout comes through a tad but definitely lends itself as a nice canvas. Palate shows a very mild carbonation being cask and all with a nice tannic feel from the barrels. I’m really liking the barrel aged stuff that is coming out of Duck Rabbit!