The Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale

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

Beautiful looking scotch. Complex aroma of malt with a bit of peatiness. The sweetness is just a bit cloying, otherwise I would have rated this higher.

(Bottle, BB 03/07) Pours a dark reddish body with a small beige head. Aroma of nuts, toffee, wet dried corn husks, wood, raisins, caramel and corn grain dust. Flavor of sweet fruit, caramel malt, and a hint of scotch. Seems a bit thin.

12 oz bottle in a trade from Ernest, thank you. Well I got to give themk credit for their labels, simple yet intersting enough to look at. I juts cant tell if its a Scottish rabbit or Duck, damn these pranksters. Just got the package from Ernest, pulled it out and just started drinking it about 30 minutes since being home. I let the fact that the packege spent all day outside my door serve as the fridge. Pours dark rown with a small white head that soon fades away. Aroma is good Scotch Ale, very strong, peaty, sweat malt, slight caramel. But right up the ale of a good Scotch. Taste is similar, a bit more caramel coming out, the Scottish booziness is there. Earthy, wet forrest, all around. Some chocolate. Flavors meld pretty well. A bit light on body for me. Mouthfeel defeinitely has a prickly feel, not comfortable for a Scotch Ale. Low bitterness, finish is all Scotch Ale at the tail end with malty sweetness. No sense of hops at all, nice job on a style that is often hard to master.

12 oz bottle, via ross. Pours a clear mahogany colored body under a small fizzy large bubbled light brown head that faded to a thin ring. Aroma is pretty huge, full of thick syrupy malt. Notes of peat, alcohol, raisons, dark fruits (prunes), and light coffee. Flavor is an all out malt bomb. Smokey malt, roast, light coffee, moderate alcohol, lots of raisons, and a little peat. Finishes with a little light soy and chocolate malt. Mouthfeel is full bodied and just shy of syrupy in texture with very fine yet very prickly carbonation. Overall, this was pretty damn good. The biggest issue that I had with it was the annoying fizzy carbonation. It was almost soda like. I’d recommend this served in a Duvel glass or similar etched bottom glass to scrub off some of the excess carbonation. After it breathed a while it was alot more pleasant.

Nice pour, a deep reddish brown with a frothy beige head that laces nicely. The aroma is rich and malty with caramel, a splash of butterscotch, dark dried fruits, alcohol, and oak. The flavor is much the same (That’s not a complaint.), mouthfilling with tasty malts and fruit. I miss the peat, which seems to have been replaced by a touch of woodiness. Still, a very good drink.

<font size=-4>Sampled after the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve Chicago RateBeerian Gathering with <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 and <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 Purchased at the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Street Market, Raleigh, NC.<font size=-1>

Rich, sweet, roasted malt aroma with some bourbon notes. Slightly hazy, beautiful dark red. Average-sized tan head. Some visible carbonation. Nice lace. Sweet. Has more flavor and backbone than "only" 8% ABV would suggest. Caramelly. I really like this brew. Thanks Cornfield for hooking me up with this brew.

Bottle. Courtesy of bonvivant (Mike at Bon Vivant in Smithfield, VA). Murky crimson/mahogany blur. Sparse areas of tan foam on the surface. Nose is malty and sweet with lots of caramel, raisins, figs, and brown sugar. Light peaty notes as well. Taste is big malt and caramel with an mild peaty flavor throughout. Light alcohol notes, brown sugar, raisins, black cherries, and figs. Body is medium-full and chewy. Mild carbonation to this and creamy in spots. Finishes with more caramel, dark fruits, sweet malts, light peaty flavors, and brown sugar. Delicious beer!

5 December 2006: Bottle. Gorgeous lush aroma, lightly sweet and very fruity, a little wood, some spice, and a lot of malt. Amber / deep red pour with a tan head, clingy and lacy. Thick, sludgy, spicy, very crisp taste. Flavorful. Somewhat peaty scotch notes take a while to get going. Dark fruit. Light alcohol burn to finish. Molasses, raisin notes, sweet with caramel and light cherry. Chewy with a little bread there. Medium-full body with a dry finish. Just loads of scotch and malt. Really rather aggressive mf for what I consider a gentle style, I’d like it to back off a bit. Back off on the alcohol a bit, too. All things considered, very impressive! [3.6]

Update, 15 May 2007. This batch has aged extremely well. After two more bottles this week, it’s safe to say that all of the aggressive character has died off, including the heat and the carbonation, leaving a mellow, delicious, and well-blended treat! [4.0]