Dark Ale
White Rabbit
- From:
- White Rabbit
- Australia
- Style:
- English Brown Ale
Ranked #105 - ABV:
- 4.9%
- Score:
- 83
Ranked #33,794 - Avg:
- 3.64 | pDev: 11.26%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 47
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sep 12, 2025
- Added:
- Aug 01, 2009
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 29
SCORE
83
Good
83
Good
An intriguing dark ale that moves to its own beat, our minds set about creating a beer that contradicted itself. Rich, dark and flavoursome but at the same time ever refreshing. Malt driven but with the aromatic lift of generous doses of hops.
With the help of traditional open fermentation tanks we let our Dark Ale yeast play... and it likes to play hard. Yeast normally does its thing in closed tanks that tends constrains it work, but with open tanks (that are just like a big soup tin without the lid), the yeast is allowed to run wild.
Raisin like esters bind a balancing act of flavour with a malt bill that rewards the parched palate and delivers a rich, dark colour.
Passed through a hop back laden with whole hop flowers prior to a liberal dry hopping regime during open fermentation, this is a dark ale with a generous amount of reassuring bitterness.
With the help of traditional open fermentation tanks we let our Dark Ale yeast play... and it likes to play hard. Yeast normally does its thing in closed tanks that tends constrains it work, but with open tanks (that are just like a big soup tin without the lid), the yeast is allowed to run wild.
Raisin like esters bind a balancing act of flavour with a malt bill that rewards the parched palate and delivers a rich, dark colour.
Passed through a hop back laden with whole hop flowers prior to a liberal dry hopping regime during open fermentation, this is a dark ale with a generous amount of reassuring bitterness.
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Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia
3.19/5 rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.19/5 rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
This was a gift from the Old Man in August 2025 that was drunk a month or so later.
L: Jet black, with a fluffy, off-white, but quickly disappearing head. No bubbles can be seen, even looking down on the beer once the head is gone.
S: There are mild chocolate, roast, toffee and coffee notes on the nose.
T: Dark chocolate, roasty/burnt grains, watered down cola and a touch of sweet vanilla. The end is thin but sweet, and despite the thinness, it manages to linger. There's a cold, stale coffee note at the finish, too, which detracts somewhat from the experience.
M: The body of the beer is quite full, with carbonation low, but with a definite kick on the swallow.
O: This one has what most of us craft beer nerds call the macro effect, where we taste the beer, find it thinner or more watery than we remember and immediately assume it's a result of the brewer being bought out and the new overlords dumbing down the beer to save costs. That might be the case here, and it might not; I honestly don't know. However, I do know that the taste profile is disappointing, no matter who now owns the brewery.
Cheers!
#747
Sep 12, 2025L: Jet black, with a fluffy, off-white, but quickly disappearing head. No bubbles can be seen, even looking down on the beer once the head is gone.
S: There are mild chocolate, roast, toffee and coffee notes on the nose.
T: Dark chocolate, roasty/burnt grains, watered down cola and a touch of sweet vanilla. The end is thin but sweet, and despite the thinness, it manages to linger. There's a cold, stale coffee note at the finish, too, which detracts somewhat from the experience.
M: The body of the beer is quite full, with carbonation low, but with a definite kick on the swallow.
O: This one has what most of us craft beer nerds call the macro effect, where we taste the beer, find it thinner or more watery than we remember and immediately assume it's a result of the brewer being bought out and the new overlords dumbing down the beer to save costs. That might be the case here, and it might not; I honestly don't know. However, I do know that the taste profile is disappointing, no matter who now owns the brewery.
Cheers!
#747
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois
3.76/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
3.76/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
It is important to give credit when it is due for, at the very least, trying. That probably is true for White Rabbit's English Brown. This subsidiary of Little Creatures tried and it got close enough to brewing a good English Brown.
White Rabbit Looks average, really not much foam. The yeast is more active in the Smells as it gives me sufficient dark fruit notes for me to know what I'm drinking. Tastes improve even more, certainly sweet malt dominates; but it is checked sufficiently with lingering hops. Medium-mouthed. I give generous Overall Hugs for Little Creatures trying to bring a popular style in the Motherland and adapting it in the hot Down Under.
Whatever you might think about the consolidation going on in the Aussie macro market, White Rabbit is a welcome business strategy. Being an American, I liken this strategy to General Motors (hiss!) creating Saturn to make a small car that Americans liked. It worked, in part because Americans were so addicted to big cars that they didn't really know any better. I'll let you make the analogy to the Aussie beer market. Cheers, mates !
Jan 11, 2025White Rabbit Looks average, really not much foam. The yeast is more active in the Smells as it gives me sufficient dark fruit notes for me to know what I'm drinking. Tastes improve even more, certainly sweet malt dominates; but it is checked sufficiently with lingering hops. Medium-mouthed. I give generous Overall Hugs for Little Creatures trying to bring a popular style in the Motherland and adapting it in the hot Down Under.
Whatever you might think about the consolidation going on in the Aussie macro market, White Rabbit is a welcome business strategy. Being an American, I liken this strategy to General Motors (hiss!) creating Saturn to make a small car that Americans liked. It worked, in part because Americans were so addicted to big cars that they didn't really know any better. I'll let you make the analogy to the Aussie beer market. Cheers, mates !
Rated by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.18/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.18/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
BOTTLE:
C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE
Jan 04, 2023C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE
Reviewed by RichardLeahy from Australia
3.62/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.62/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
From 330 ml bottle. A. Hard to tell, appears appropriate. S. Not a lot, some malt and caramel, a little sweet, dark fruit. T. Follows the nose, but more pronounced. Lingers a little with a faint sweet aftertaste, F. Lighter than maybe expected, modest carbonation. O. A solid dark beer and it is more readily available now in Australia, it seems, than Tooheys Old, my long time standard dark ale. Quite good, I would trade a little bit of the sweetness for some toasted grain and a drier finish.
Oct 05, 2018
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand
3.9/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.9/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Dark brown with a ruby tinge, moderate carbonation, filtered and a finger of beige head.
Smells of toasted malts, bread, and halloween toffee candy.
Tastes of dark malts, a hint of rust, a little toffee, and a hint of char on the aftertaste.
Medium, bready body, with mid to low amounts of foamy carbonation.
Beautiful brown ale from Australia. I picked this one up in Perth, and am drinking it in Chiang Mai, Oct 11th, 2017.
Oct 11, 2017Smells of toasted malts, bread, and halloween toffee candy.
Tastes of dark malts, a hint of rust, a little toffee, and a hint of char on the aftertaste.
Medium, bready body, with mid to low amounts of foamy carbonation.
Beautiful brown ale from Australia. I picked this one up in Perth, and am drinking it in Chiang Mai, Oct 11th, 2017.
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia
3.45/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.45/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Next up on my cavalcade of star Australian craft beers: White Rabbit Dark Ale! A brew I am well fond of, being sometimes the only craft beer sold in certain bars worth its salt (when compared to the CUB’s, Toohey’s and XXXX’s of this world *boo-hiss*). Upfront, just to spoil my review, I like Dark Ale more than White Ale, though neither are that great: They’re half-decent, wishy-washy craft brews for the masses... but by all means continue reading my review, that is what you came for.
Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.
A: Presents itself as the beer equivalent of Coca Trademarked-Beverage - with a hazed cola-coloured body and a thin beige head on top. Not much carbonation action going on inside the glass - suggestive of a heavier bodied Ale. 7/10.
S: Big on dark fruits with a prune/raisin/plum & grandmas pudding nose, throw in some molasses (as most grandmas are likely to do) and you cap off a festive fruit ester driven English Brown Ale that isn’t really lacking in much, without being spectacular - it’s just plain old good. 7/10.
T: Flavour is alright - it pushes all the buttons you expected above, with a touch of herbal hops in the finish. Again it isn’t spectacular, simply good and nothing more. There’s a promise of so many rich bold malts that are leaving me wanting, I imagine a version of this beer at 6% ABV and go “Fuck yeah!” to myself, this is the thing that would make Dark Ale stand out from the fast swelling ranks of awesome Aussie craft beers - and there are some real corkers out there these days. But I digress. 7/10.
M: Body a slight let-down: Mid to light, watery with a light carbonation. 6/10.
D: Another easy drinking brew from White Rabbit that hopefully lulls more and more unsuspecting [insert alcoholic beverage here] drinkers into drinking craft beer and thus increasing the exposure and markets for craft beer so we can all bask in the future glory of decent affordable ales for all! At least that’s my less pessimistic line of thinking these days - bring craft to the masses so the brewers can theoretically brew more tasty beers for Doc. Truth is craft beer is getting more expensive as it gets more popular, or inflation’s a bitch, one of those two things causing me to question the value of these mild taste-vacuums* on the market. 7/10.
Food match: [insert that classic stew reference from Arrested Development here].
*”Too harsh brah” or “burn!”? You tell me.
Mar 29, 2016Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.
A: Presents itself as the beer equivalent of Coca Trademarked-Beverage - with a hazed cola-coloured body and a thin beige head on top. Not much carbonation action going on inside the glass - suggestive of a heavier bodied Ale. 7/10.
S: Big on dark fruits with a prune/raisin/plum & grandmas pudding nose, throw in some molasses (as most grandmas are likely to do) and you cap off a festive fruit ester driven English Brown Ale that isn’t really lacking in much, without being spectacular - it’s just plain old good. 7/10.
T: Flavour is alright - it pushes all the buttons you expected above, with a touch of herbal hops in the finish. Again it isn’t spectacular, simply good and nothing more. There’s a promise of so many rich bold malts that are leaving me wanting, I imagine a version of this beer at 6% ABV and go “Fuck yeah!” to myself, this is the thing that would make Dark Ale stand out from the fast swelling ranks of awesome Aussie craft beers - and there are some real corkers out there these days. But I digress. 7/10.
M: Body a slight let-down: Mid to light, watery with a light carbonation. 6/10.
D: Another easy drinking brew from White Rabbit that hopefully lulls more and more unsuspecting [insert alcoholic beverage here] drinkers into drinking craft beer and thus increasing the exposure and markets for craft beer so we can all bask in the future glory of decent affordable ales for all! At least that’s my less pessimistic line of thinking these days - bring craft to the masses so the brewers can theoretically brew more tasty beers for Doc. Truth is craft beer is getting more expensive as it gets more popular, or inflation’s a bitch, one of those two things causing me to question the value of these mild taste-vacuums* on the market. 7/10.
Food match: [insert that classic stew reference from Arrested Development here].
*”Too harsh brah” or “burn!”? You tell me.
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
3.1/5 rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.1/5 rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Dark bodied pour with small wispy, airy head. Roast grains at the forefront, faintly in the aroma, stronger in the taste. Reminiscent of a German Schwartz or dunkel lager.
Jan 28, 2016
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