Duck Rabbit Hoppy Bunny

I'm really not a huge fan of Black IPAs as I've said before but as most of you know I have serious issues about wanting to try everything. So, here we are, with a glass of Duck Rabbit Hoppy Bunny at Kite & Key.

Nice nose, strong grapefruit mixed with a nice roast. Basically what you'd expect from a decent black IPA so that's a good start. Unfortunately, the nose didn't follow through to the body. In the first sip, the grapefruit faded immediately and I just got roast and caramel with a light bitterness in the finish. Honestly was almost a little sweet which is just crazy for this style. This ended up more like a lightly hoppy porter than a black IPA. Even the body was slightly thicker than I'd expect. It wasn't terrible or anything just not very true to style. Jacquelyn, the bartender, liked the name at least so it has that going for it.

Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter

This was another gift from someone along with the Cafe Royale I drank earlier in the year and a bottle of KBS. Obviously this is a baltic porter from Duck Rabbit which you probably guessed from the name.

Creamy roasty nose with some dark fruit in the back. First sip was similar. Lots of dark fruit with a bit of tart milkiness and some roast in the finish. Basically continued that way with the roast and dark fruit coming and going. Decent enough though I feel like a bit less dark fruit and the addition of some chocolate flavors would have balanced it out a bit more.

Duck Rabbit Rabid Duck at the Kite & Key

Even though I had the day off yesterday, I figured it would be a really lame tradition if I missed my second Kite & Key Tuesday. Lucky for me, my wife was heading out somewhere and offered to drop me off so even my laziness and the horrible heat didn't get the better of me and I managed to make it. I got a glass of Duck Rabbit Rabid Duck this time.

Nice smooth roasty nose. Started a little roasty with a little bit of chocolate and ended with similar flavors but not as strong. However, there was a really odd celery flavor, almost like celery seeds, that mixed itself into the finish and aftertaste which was just really weird. It didn't keep me from drinking the glass, but definitely lowered my enjoyment quite a bit. I did a little research and it appears a celery or vegetal flavor can be a result of late hop additions. Some say fuggles can cause it while others say it can be the result of the use of old hops. Either way, it seems the fault lies in the brewing of the beer. Unfortunately I was alone so couldn't get a second opinion. Bizarre to say the least though and hopefully it only affected this batch of Rabid Duck. Better luck next time I guess.

Voodoo at the Khyber Pass Pub

After a great couple of beers at Capone's for lunch, Jo and I took a few hours off to run some errands and prepared for dinner and beers at the Khyber Pass Pub. The event Saturday night was with the Voodoo Brewery with head brewer Matt Allyn and his assistant. Voodoo is a Pennsylvania brewery located all the way on the west side of state. It's a really small brewery with just Matt and his assistant as the employees and then a group of volunteers for when they need more people. They make a few really good beers that can be found in Philly although I don't know how far their distribution really gets. On Saturday, the Khyber also still had some taps from their Ballast Point event the night before, some Duck Rabbit stuff, and then a whole bunch of other awesome beers on their 20 taps. So it really wasn't just a Voodoo night as far as beers go which allowed for variety.

Duck Rabbit Barleywine

I recently bought a few different barleywines and the Duck Rabbit's was the first I tried.  I really like Duck Rabbit as a brewery and love their Milk Stout (and enjoyed their porter recently), but unfortunately I wasn't terribly impressed with their barleywine.

Very slight aroma with some caramel and fruit followed by a little alcohol.  Fruit opens up the first sip, followed by a few sugary notes but finishing with a fight between an unpleasant bitterness and strong alcohol.  When it warmed up the alcohol and bitterness faded a little but they never fully went away.  It wasn't a drain pour or anything, but I wasn't eager to open up a second right after finishing it.  I love their bottle though.  Doesn't the duck look dapper in his bowler?

Duck Rabbit Brown

I had the Duck Rabbit Brown Ale recently and it continued to hold up their tradition of making great beers.

Nice roasted and nutty aroma.  A big toasted flavor comes in the first sip and is followed by a pleasant sweetness.  Some bitterness in the aftertaste, but only a little and it doesn't linger like an IPA or anything.  I thought it started similar to the Cigar City Maduro but the sweetness makes it end very differently.  Drinking more, you get a flavor similar to hazelnuts.  Yet another great beer from Duck Rabbit.  I cannot wait to try their Barleywine.

Duck Rabbit Milk Stout

Tried to go to The Bottle Shop on Passayunk on Saturday for their Grand Opening only to discover that they postponed the opening.  Sucks since it is pretty far into South Philly.  Ah well.  Since I was already near Hawthorne's, I decided to grab a quick bite and a beer there.  Hawthorne's is really a bottle shop but because of stupid Pennsylvania liquor laws they also serve food.  Turns out that their food is quite good though so it makes a great place for lunch.  Since they have like 7 fridges full of bottles there is also always something to drink.  The hardest part is just deciding what to grab.

This time I went with the Duck Rabbit Milk Stout.

Poured a dark brown with lots of bubbly brown head.  Nice looking stout.  Drinking it out of a mason jar was a little odd, but that's the glasses Hawthorne's has available.  It smelled of delicious roasted malt with just a hint of sweetness from the lactose.  Nice thick mouthfeel, very enjoyable to drink.  The sweet and roasty flavors fight for supremacy as you drink it and then slowly balance each other.  Makes for a great combination.  I like milk stouts as I feel like they have great flavors along with great mouth feel, but without the ridiculous ABV of an Imperial Stout.

Hawthorne's actually had bottles of Older Viscosity but at $21 for a 375ml bottle, it was too rich for my blood.  I'd really love to try it again but I'll just have to wait until I can either find it in California for cheaper or somehow see it on draft again.