The Duck-Rabbit Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout

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

The beer looks great; it is very dark and opaque. There is a nice chocolate head on top to compliment the beer. Poured with a nice viscosity. A nice roast, coffee, and sweet aroma. I tell you the aroma is very pungent, but the flavor dimensions aren’t that great. Smells like a slight spin-off of their milk stout. I believe that each beer should have its own identity. Nice creamy palate. This beer is not as thick as other great imperial stouts that I have tried, but still pretty pretty pretty pretty good. There is a very very sweet malt flavor in the beer that mutes the roast and coffee. I am very upset about that. The alcohol is hidden well, but that damn sweet malt just cancels out the flavors that I love in a stout.

Pours black with mahogany hints around the edges with almost no head. Lacing is minimal. Smell is dominated by aromas of burnt coffee, roasted malts, and chocolate. There is also a definite alcohol burn in the nose and a faint dark fruit smell in the background. Taste is actually much more bitter than I expected. Roasted malts are first but quickly give way to a big astringent burnt coffee flavor with a bitter hop profile in the background. The sweetness of the dark fruits are there but tough to make out beneath the bitterness and alcohol. Mouthfeel is oily and viscous with little carbonation. It is fairly creamy but the alcohol is evident in the mouthfeel. This one could definitely use a little bit of aging. The flavors all seem to be there, but it’s not as drinkable as I would like and I think it would improve over time.

Little bit larger head than most Russian Imperials but it quickly dwindles down to practically nothing but with a fair amount of lacing. The flavor is intense and the alcohol not entirely muted by the bitterness but I would not say off the bat that this is 10% abv. Not really a coffee taste more like licorice and malt. The flavor sort of lingers as a bitter, dry aftertaste. Certainly not the best Russian Imperial but a good example of the style.

12 oz bottle, a bit larger than average headspace, smells good as soon as the cap is lifted. Used motor oil darkness, deep tan, creamy head. Smells richly of licorice ( the real stuff, like Panda brand), caramel, even a few lighter esters. Smooooth mouthfeel on the first sip- bitter, acrid roast then steamrolls over it. As rich and roasty as a stout can be before becoming unpleasant. Thay took it to the edge without falling over as many others have. Will age some of this out for a while, still a little bit ’green’.

Got this fairly early in the moning on DLD and I believe it was from one of the BA folk -
It poured an intensely dark brown body topped by a modest beige head. Rich roasty aroma of barley and coffee countered by a dark malty sweetness and chocolate with a light whiff of alcohol. Smoothly blended, a touch of anise is added to the flavor along with a charred hard nut bitterness that grows towards the finish. Very nice.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve Lord Day 2008 at Three Floyds, Munster, IN, 4/26/2008.<font size=-1>

Bottle, courtesy tronraner. Pours a deep brown, with red highlights. Giant foam of caramel-colored head. Rings of lacing remain. Aromas of fancy Belgian chocolate, fruity esters, floral hops, marshmallow, and peach. Interesting. Roasted malts hit the tongue first, with oozing, sweet brown sugar and dark candy. Interesting alcoholic finish. Medium-bodied, sharp, biting sting of alcohol drops drinkability a little bit. Overall very unique, not expecting the sweetness.

12oz bottle(courtesy of Hopscotch)-Pours a dark black with a nice tight tan head which emits an aroma of coffee, chocolate, burnt malt, sweetness, and slight alcohol. Flavor starts with molassess and then some malt and coffee. Finishes with chocolate and alcohol. A decent Imp Stout but is lacking character that others have.

Bottle from ucusty. Pours a pitch black with nice tan head. Head retention lasts a few minutes. Mouthfeel is heavy. Has a sweet molasses smell to it with some alcohol. I taste some licorice, molasses, coffee, bitersweet chocolate, and has a slight sour note on the finish. Interesting brew.