The Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale

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

Bottle courtesy of kp. Pours a deep copper-orange with a massive long-lasting fluffy tan head -- this head is crazy! Slightly mild aroma of lightly roasted malt, caramel, nuts, light floral hops and some light sweetness. Flavour has a bit of that "metallic" thing that I get frequently in Brown Ales, just at first though then it disappears. It’s malty with some chocolate, nuts and caramel. This could be more flavourful, it’s a little bland. Astringent bitter finish. Average bodied. I suspect this bottle may be a bit past it’s due but I have no way of checking, or it could be that it’s just not a great beer, either way I wasn’t impressed. This was just O.K.

Reddish-brown pour with a small white head. Malty aroma with a touch of floral hops. Flavor is fairly rich malt with touches of chocolate, caramel and nut. Not bad.

Sampled in the presentation tent at WBF Raleigh. Ruby/brown color with a small head. Caramel and dark fruit aroma. Taste of dark fruits that fade quickly into hop bitterness. Interesting and complex. 6/4/7/4/15/3.7

Rerate: Bottle best by 6/08. Deep red color with big frothy head. Mild aroma is caramel, hops, nuttiness and fruitiness. Taste is dark fruits, nuts and a mild hoppiness. Medium body. 6/4/7/4/14/3.5

It pours a nice dark brown, barely transparent, with a fairly persistent off-white head. Aroma is rich and rather malty with some hop undertone and hints of spice. Flavor is surprisingly hoppy and fairly but not unpleasantly bitter; there is some maltiness and a touch of spice. Texture is fairly smooth.

Dark mahogany pour with a lasting off-white head. Rich roasty caramel malt aroma with lots of flowery, citrusy hops and some nutmeg spice notes. Flavor is lots of floral, spicy, and fruity hop notes with a good roasty malt background and slight dark fruit. Oily medium body with a soft but plentiful carbonation. Very rich and unexpected for a brown ale. It’s almost like an American IPA with dark malts.

Bottle. Pours a lighter brown with white head. Smell of citrus and hops. Nice flavor. One of the best Browns I have had in awhile. Taste of citrus and hops with a little taste of the coffee flavor.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear brown with deep copper highlights and an immense light tan head that leaves little patches/spots of lace on the glass. The aroma is nutty with a good bit of toasted bread, hints of chocolate, and hints of white raisins. I don’t really pick up any Saaz aroma hops though (as the description suggests). The flavor starts dry and bready with a little chocolate and hints of tart fruit. By mid-palate the roast flavors grow giving impressions of darkly toasted bread and bitter chocolate. There are some dark fruit notes at mid-palate, too - but still not much in the way of hops. The finish is roasty with some hop bitterness - though not particularly citrusy as the label suggests (which is a shame, because Amarillo hops are awesome...). The finish has some body to it but is mostly dry with bittersweet flavors of chocolate and fruit. The mouthfeel is light and creamy with a good bit of carbonation that quickly releases into creamy suds - nothing too brisk or spritzy. Overall, not a bad brown ale, but not nearly as tantalizing as the description made it sound... Has a similar house character as their amber.

Beer pours a cloudy brown with a tight off-white head. Aroma is very malty, with some hops and caramel. Taste is also plenty malty sweet with some chocolate, nut, and light hop bitterness. Body is medium with average carbonation.