The Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Baltic Porter
Farmville, North Carolina USA

Thin dark brown head of very fine bubbles. Reduces slowly with light carbonation. Rich chocolaty aroma with lots of roasted grain notes, plums, a bit of cocoa and coffee in the background. Color is a essentially black with a bit of brown around the edges. Thick and syrupy. Loads of roasted grains again, more plums and a dry tartness that shows up late swallow. Some raisins and sweet malts. Light alcohol presence which only livens up the taste buds for the onslaught of flavor. Smooth and creamy in the mouth. Lingering dark fruit at the finish and roastyness. I actually expected this to be a little bit sweeter. Very easy drinking. Bottle says best buy 7-07. A very good baltic porter and one deserving of the praise. Who would think that such consistently big and satisfying beers could come from a little brewer in NC. One of my favortite US brewers.

Sampled from 3x12 oz bottles in Montreal on Glouglouburp’s roof at the tiggmtl-returns/MartinT leaves for Japan party, June 17 2007. Viscous, thick jet body with lasting wisps of fine dark foam and fair lacing....strunning, huge, tarry-chocolaty, licorice/anise scented aroma, a fair bit of tobacco shows up as well, appropriately; it’s a near-overdone mixture of the sweet and pungent/bitter, and it works....smooth, creamy, luscious textures at work in the mouth, moderate roastiness and sweet vanilla moderating coffee bitterness, which carries on through to the surprisingly light, airy finish....could be a bit fuller overall, but this is very solid and not undeserving of its reputation.

One of the best porters I’ve ever had. Poured almost black with good sized brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee. Flavor was the same but almost with a smoky finish. Also hints of caramel, hops, and fruit throughout. Very complex and smoothe. Thanks Matt for sharing!

Very interesting beer here. I took an immediate sip and right out of the gates, whoa....this has got to be a 4.3 overall. Upon deep reflection and analysis, not really the case. Deep rich aromas, but a bit fusel. I noticed, to my dismay, that it’s filtered clear and forced carbonated. The resulting mouthfeel, while more than I anticipated, was still not quite there. Had they left it bottle condition, perhaps a little more body could be found. The flavour itself is what makes this beer. Immediately a little smoke jumps out at you and then huge waves of raisins and figs. An initial rush of roasted specialty malts with some charred bits all too soon give way to a sugary sweetness that overpowers all else. I hesitate to say cloying, but walking right on the edge. I understand that modern-day baltic porters typically carry quite a simple sugar backbone and subsequent sugary sweetness to it, so I give a nod to the style conditions. Although, I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more balance in this regard. On the back-end, I found the fusels again with a bit of heat. Perhaps this could have been cellared a bit longer? All in all, quite a gem and worth the effort to locate due to the intriguing flavours underneath that sugary backbone.

Courtesy zathrus13, thanks again!!! Pours an enticingly dark, black color. Head is moderate and seems to be hanging around a bit, color is a gorgeous dark tan. Aroma is richly roasted, competing with vanilla, cocoa, some dried currants, creme caramel even a bit. Flavor is glorious and divine. Wonderful chocolate/French roast coffee flavors dominate, some dried cherry and plum flavors seem to peak through. Well worth the wait.

This Baltic porter pours a dark black color from a 12oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is chocolate, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Medium bodied Baltic Porter. Malts are chocolate, coffee, molasses and a touch salty. Hops are earthy and floral. Good balance. Very smooth taste. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Sampled during Glouglou’s summer BBQ bonanza, but indoors, as it rained just long enough to have a Beer or two indoors

Not 100% black, when you look at it really close you can see a bit of brownish hues near the café au lait head bobbling on top. But I certainly wont hold this against it.
Great roasted aromas, it was more nutty at first, then developped more of a smoked almond nose later on. Hops were firm and cheesy - in the good way, and all of a sudden they went all strawberry fruity and I just love that (Galena?).
Huge flavor and absolutely creamy mouthfeel, this is a real malt bomb with a side of chocolate slivers and a roasty finale like a well made expresso, with no residual harshness that you sometimes find even in some of the most classic examples of the style. I didn’t find the alcohol very obtrusive, in fact it sort of only played a supportive role in what I thought was a great ensemble cast. Fantastic.

In short: Very good thick and sticky porter focussing on black-liquorice flavour
How: Tasting session bottle from MartinT. Then a few months later a bottle left behind in my fridge by Dickinsonbeer and/or dmac621
The look: Black body topped by a tan ring of foam.
In long: Thick and heavy porter. There’s obviously a lot of roasted malts in there but the beer doesn’t have a lot of roastiness or chocolaty flavours. Rather sweet. Black liquorice is the dominant flavour backed-up by dark fruits, molasses and burnt caramel. Thick and sticky body. Medium carbonation. Although it is very good it was starting to gross me out after only a small bottle. Way above average porter but I don’t understand why this beer is currently on ratebeer top-40 averaging about 4.2. Although it is a very good beer, I haven’t seen something so undeserving of being in the top-40 since, well, most top-40 music.