The Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale

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

Bottle courtesy of ross. Best before 03/07. Pours a clear, very bubbly deep ruby with an average size tan head. Aroma: Oh wow, that smells great! Malty with plenty of dark fruit, some toffee, maple syrup, a hint of chocolate, nuts and more -- very nice. Flavour’s just as good: Sweet with toasty caramel malt, dark fruit, chocolate, maple syrup, brown sugar, nuts, alcohol and an earthy, slightly smoky finish...there’s lots going on here -- very flavourful and goes down easy, I drank this pretty quick. Alcohol’s quite well hidden. Medium to full bodied. Fantastic, one of the best Scotch Ales I’ve ever had.

Cellared 2006 bottle. Pours a clear ruby red with about a quarter inch tan head that dissipates quickly to a thin coverage, but leaves some nice lacing. Aroma is luscious: strong and sweet, toffee and dark fruits with alcohol present. Flavor follows suite, malty and sweet but with some balance of bitterness on the back end. There are signicant fruity (cherry) and slightly smoked peat notes in the flavor profile. Fairly hot in the finish. Medium-to-full bodied with medium carbonation. Overall, a top quality strong scotch ale. The only notable issue is the hotness in the nose and finish (I understand the brewer is addressing this in this year’s batch).

Moderately cloudy dark burgundy plum colored body with a thin layered tan head. Fantastic nose of sticky maple (like pancake syrup and waffles… mmm waffles…), some port and some cedar as well – almost an old ale or barley wine aroma. A bit of yeast in the nose as well. Sweet maple and plum flavors up front, a bit coarse in the finish, with some nugget-like hops and a brandy and sweet bourbon and plum flavor. Perhaps a little oak dryness as well. Wonderful wee heavy, though the texture suffers a little bit from a small amount of fizzyness… but otherwise an all around solid scotch ale. Much better experience with this wee heavy than I had with the Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter.

Bottle courtesy of JCB (thanks!). Pours a reddish-brown with slight tan head. Huge aroma of malts, caramel, and dark fruits. Taste pretty much echoes the aroma, though there’s some astringency and booziness in there. Finish is full and has a bit of a smoky flavor. This bottle was about a year old, so I wonder what it’s like fresh. Only my second scotch ale and based on the ones I’ve had, this may become my new favorite style. Glad I have another bottle!

Courtesy boboski. Pours an orange brown, with a light tan head. Smells of dark malts, caramel, and raisins. Typical scotch ale smell. Taste is very sharp. Alot of sweet dark malts, molasses, raisins, and light caramel. All blended together pretty nicely. Some toffee and butterscotch round out the flavors. Overall a very nice scotch ale.

Bottle sampled on 8/26/06 thanks to Springslicker: Pours a transparent dark copper with a nicely-lacing tan head. Aroma of sweet dark caramel with mild peat and a touch of golden raisins. Body starts with nice sweet maltiness, some light fruity complexity, and a drier peaty finish. Very well-balanced, true to style, and enjoyable.

Bottle thanks to BigSilky. Scents of heavy malts, toffee, caramel and alcohol. Flavor is quite smooth with a decent amount of carbonation. Sweet and somewhat sticky. Real nice scotch ale. Tingly, warming alcohol on the finish. Very flavorful and well balanced for a bottle aged around 12 months. A great brew!

Bottle thanks to DrBayern! Pours a clear dark amber color with a nice tan head on top. Aroma is full of malts with caramel, currants, smoke, earthiness, and toffee taking dominance. Flavor is quite sweet with raisins, currants, and caramel hitting the palate first. The flavor finishes with some earthiness. On the palate the beer is quite thick and gooey. This is a very good beer!