The Duck-Rabbit Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout

Brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Farmville, North Carolina USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Draft at Capone’s, and sorry I missed Tom and Steve, but I came late. Pour was onyx with off-tan head that receded quickly. Nose was dark malt, heavy oaky bourbon, dark choc. Tasted dark malty, dark chocolatey, very earthy, peaty, with a heavy but well balanced oaky, bourbony, vanilla, and peaty flavor. Somewhat sweet as it warmed, and I don’t know how these guys made a beer that is about 8% lower than my anticipated ABV. The chocolate wall is apt, but the oaky bourbon wall preceds and follows it, depending upon the temperature of the beer. That shows you what beer craftsmen Duck Rabbit are, and my hat is off to Paul for yet another beer that I would drive 7 hours in the rain to North Carolina to get. Get ya some, and move to NC if you have to. Don’t pray to God; pray to Pappy Van Winkle and his bourbon barrels. Yeah Man!

On tap at Capones. Poured a dark, dark brown color (almost black) with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of wood, bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, and roastiness. Tastes of wood, earthiness, bourbon, vanilla, milk chocolate, and some caramel. Lacing left on the glass. Smooth and creamy body. I liked this one for sure!

Tap at Capones. Pours a deep black with some amber notes and a smaller creamy tan head. Aroma of deep chocolate and rosary malt, vanilla, oak, light bourbon and cherry. Flavor of deep chocolate notes, tobacco, vanilla, oak, light bourbon, rich and creamy, caramel and tart cherries. Bourbon aging did wonders on the flavor profile!

Cask at Broad St. Cafe. It’s nice when you go in expecting something very good and you get something great instead. Same dark black pour as the normal but this cask version obviously has a minimal head. The bourbon and vanilla tones contrast perfectly with the sweet chocolaty base beer. It’s like there’s a chocolate wall and you’re riding a bourbon wave. I never truly paid attention to the chocolate wall until this bourbon wave smashed me up against it. Awesome. I need more of this in my life.

On cask at Broad Street Cafe, Derm. Really lovely thick pour, and this is exactly the kind of style that really benefits from casking. Unbelievable mouthfeel to this beer, one of the few 5s I’ve given. Superb. There’s some sharp bourbon in the nose and in the first tastes, but it mellows out quickly. Nice smooth chocolate malts are everywhere, complemented nicely by the subtle bourbon, and there are some delicious vanilla flavors coming in too, balancing the modest roasted notes really well. Great beer.

UPDATED: JUN 4, 2009 Cask at Broad st. cafe in Durham, NC. Black pour, thin tan head and minimal spotty lace. Usual creamy roast malts on the nose but, with a nice twist of vanilla and bourbon. Cream, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, and roast. The barrel really takes an awesome base beer to another level.

Name: BA Milk Stout
Date: January 31, 2009
Mode: Cask
Source: Beerfest, ACAT
Appearance: black, fine beige head, streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet bourbon and vanilla aroma, plenty of balancing oak, touch of sweet chocolate, light roast
Body: creamy body
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, milky sweetness mixed with vanilla, light bourbon
Overall: could use a touch more burbon, but again that might be too much
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

cask @ Recovery Room in Chapel Hill. Great aroma, Milk stout base with the bourbon barrel adding a coconut, vanilla, oak scent. Brownish black color, small cocoa brown head. Bitter sweet flavor, Initial bourbon bite gives way to perfect balance, imo, between the milk stout and the bourbon barrel. Medium body, smooth creamy mouthfeel, sweet finish with a slight bourbon bite. Wow, this is a good as a balance I’ve had in a while with a barrel aged beer. damn good beer, Aroma was wonderful to sniff. Well done guys.

Wow. This is some tasty beer. Had this on cask at the recovery room sunday night. In the same time emacgee had those two pints, my friend Kevin and I each consumed six! The beginning of a great night of drunken revelry. Kinda great. Like the DR BA Baltic Porter, the barrel character is strong without being overpowering in the slightest. The use of the barrel in this beer actually improves the depth of flavor from the base beer which is saying a whole lot. Pappy Van Winkle is delicious bourbon so there was little doubt in my mind that this could turn out too bad. But, I honestly didn’t expect to love it as much as I do. Well done Matt, Paul, and Ryan.

Got to have this at a Cask event with Ryan and Paul, super fun. Had two pints for a combined cost of 5 dollars! After having tasted the BA Baltic Porter I was pretty excited to see how this one tasted. Pours a dark black that allows some light and produces a thin light tan head. The nose shows bourbon upfront but does not allow it to dominate. Nice notes of oak come through as well. Base stout does not come through as much in the nose. Flavor shows very nice balanced bourbon and oak, vanillins shows through as well. The milk stout comes through a tad but definitely lends itself as a nice canvas. Palate shows a very mild carbonation being cask and all with a nice tannic feel from the barrels. I’m really liking the barrel aged stuff that is coming out of Duck Rabbit!