The Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

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

Pours pitch black, with a thick two finger tan head that fades extremely slowly to a thick cap. The lacing completely covers the inside of my glass. Very impressive. Smell; lots of dark fruity aromas with plums and cherries. THe roasted aromas are powerful with coffee, dark roasted malts and a bit of sweetness comes out with cocoa and molasses. Taste; the fruity flavors are first to hit just as the were in the aroma, with plums, cherries and I’m also getting some vanilla. Dark roasted coffee mixes very nicely with caramel and cocoa. The finish is very long on this, and provides a bit of a sourness. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a very creamy texture, and the drinkability is really good, but not quite outstanding due to the higher abv, and the flavors are so intense I would have a hard time drinking a second one.

What strikes me first about the aroma is its strong, full-nosed dose of roastiness and vanilla, with some oatmeal. It is also very heavy - even more so than I expected for a Baltic Porter. There is too much sweetness in the flavor, almost chemically, like aspartame, and this really detracts from the tastiness of the beer for me. Not as much cocoa as I would have liked, and instead this is replaced by prunes. The finish is syrupy and heavy.

Bottle from a trade with Ughsmash (thanks, Jason!) - nice black pour, with a brown head that sinks quickly to a small ring of lace - semi-sweet, lightly bitter aroma of baker’s chocolate, light tartness, cocoa, vanilla, a hint of rolled oats - creamy mouthfeel, with a medium body - quite bitter and tart up front, with notes of bitter espresso and cherry and raisins - this is followed by a mild, milky sweetness, adding a cream quality to the already apparent coffee notes - mild floral hints and a slight vinous character - quite well-balanced and tasty, but a 4.21 overall? - it’s good, but not that good.

Rating #200! Bottle - thanks to DrBayern! Pours a dark black color with a nice frothy brown head on top. The head however dissipates quickly leaving it into a small ring. Aroma is full of intense malts. Many different aromas are coming out of this beer. Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt, dark fruits, and hints of hops. Flavor is very complex with a number of different dark fruits touching the palate first. Followed up by intense roasted malts, smoke, caramel, chocolate, coffee, and hops. Finishes with a nice dry roasted malt taste. Quite a smooth beer with no hints of alcohol seeping in at all. I think I am in love with Duck-Rabbit! Thank you very much DrBayern for sharing this!

12 oz bottle. WOW! Pours a dark black with a full one+ finger mahogany head. The aroma is VERY complex! You can smell roasted coffee, chocolate, caramel and some burnt wood. The taste of a burnt smokey roasted chocolate coffee. WOW! A really good beer.

The aroma was roast and a bit of coffee with a notable presence of chocolate. Some higher alcohol was notable in the nose and a slightly vinous character. The black beer had a translucent ruby appearance when held to light and a brown head which retreated slowly to lace the glass. The flavor was roasty, toasty and slightly vinous with a fruity aspect and chocolate coupled with coffee. The roast and coffee also came with a caramel backbone and enough bittering to keep the malt presence in check. With a medium full body and a moderate carbonation level the beer exhibited a creamy mouthfeel. A good Baltic Porter, better when fresh and without the vinous characteristics that have come forth due to age. 12 ounce bottle.

Dark color. Smell of smoke, hops, caramel, chocolate, malt, roasted coffee, vanilla. spice, blueberries and blackberries. Tastes the same but even better! Very creamy and smooth. Very nice balance of flavors. Wonderful bitterness.

Aroma of chocolate liquer, roasted malt, prunes. Appears a black color with a minimal frothu brown head that dissipates. Flavor is chocolate in the fore, roast malt in the middle, prunes and figs in the finish, and roast coffee in the aftertaste. Palate is medium to full in body, mildly carbonated, and ever so slightly alcoholic. Overall, a stunning example of the style and a truly enjoyable and well-balanced brew.