Chained To The Dead
Rushing Duck Brewing Company

 

On tap at Rushing Duck Brewing in Chester, NY.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells very coffee forward in a super enticing way – roasty, chocolatey, touch of vanilla, caramel, with some toffee, roasted malt, and a touch of spice.

This came out originally when coffee stouts weren’t a dime a dozen yet, and it honestly still hits pretty hard in 2023 when every brewery throws coffee into a stout, and the field is a lot more crowded. There’s lots of coffee, some roast, some sweetness, all well balanced, with a wonderfully creamy vanilla sweet finish that plays well against the roast and the spice.

This is creamy, full bodied, and not boozy at all, with a great drinkability.

This is quite good, and was quite a treat.

 

 

 

 

16 oz can poured into Crane Snifter.

Dark black color, not as thick as expected, with a weighty beige head of 2 fingers.

Aromas of raw cacao nibs, yeast, lactose, and chocolate chips. Some roasted malts.

Flavor brings peppery coffee, hot chocolate, alcohol heat, cocoa powder, mild cheddar, raisins, slight yeast fruitiness, lactose, and more dark fruity coffee.

Feel is average stout heaviness, nothing too thick nor too thin. Alcohol heat comes up heavy. Carbonation is moderate.

Overall not as good as I had hoped. Still not bad overall though.

 

 

L: aggressive pour from a can leading to a nice 2 finger tan head and pitch back body
S: starts w booze and leads to nice roasted malt
T: this where it falls short for 10abv looking for more depth and flavor .. burn for the booze does not lead to much more

 

Big, big beer that's surprisingly soft on the palate and is never too sweet, bitter, acrid or hot. Great balance across the board for this monster.

Poured from a tall boy into a glass; split two ways with a buddy. Dark, viscous pour that looks like it slides out of the can. Black liquid dots the top of the can like soy sauce on a platter. Thick one-finger khaki head from a moderate pour that dies down pretty quickly.

Aroma is tons of fresh-roasted and recently-ground coffee, toasted malt, dark chocolate and char. The coffee is strong but it's not overpowering - it's leaning against the huge malt profile.

Taste is just like the smell in the same order - dark roast coffee, bitter chocolate, dark chocolate fudge, cocoa powder, caramelized sugar. Most bitter with a balancing, not overpowering, sweetness from the lactose. Not acidic or acrid from the coffee.

Thick, heavy and substantial on the palate. Coats the mouth after each sip. A huge beer that isn't close to being sloppy. The alcohol is there but it's not hot. Great beer.

2017 Vintage. Reviewed on release date. Poured into Rushing Duck Belgian glass. It pours almost jet black with dark walnut hues and one finger of foamy, mocha-colored head that dissipated quickly. The nose features roasted malt, burnt coffee, cocoa, molasses, and raisin. Wow! Both freshly brewed and burnt coffee, rich cocoa, caramel, and dark fruit tastes. It's simply decadent. This stout is nicely viscous - almost chewy - with moderate carbonation, and you can feel its 10.1% (per the can) AVB. Overall, this is a really tasty, really creamy RIS. In a perfect world, I'd look for a little less coffee and a little more dark fruit, but at this point I'm splitting hairs. This is awfully good!

Can poured into fluted snifter.

On pour, thick creamy foam head settles slowly. Beer is dark, dark brown with just a bit of light passing through the sides.

Aroma is boozy, sweet, bitter cocoa and coffee.

Has a definite booziness to the flavor that subdues as it warms. Coffee and cocoa is bitter with a hint of background sweetness and dark fruits. When it warms the flavors blend together better and the booze creates a nice background.

Lighter side of moderate carbonation and above medium body. Not thick or creamy, but enough body to make you know its a larger beer.

Overall has some nice things going for it. A bit more refinement would smooth everything out a bit.

16 oz. can courtesy of @cavedave poured into "stout glass" (vertical tulip)
(10/17/16 born-on date printed on bottom of can)

L: brown and clear as it pours out of can, brown as in NO amber, maybe some orange but the absence of red/amber highlights is noteworthy; late-percolating head of light-medium pour stacks about 1/3-inch tall, foam is beige/tan and dissipates quickly but the beer does keep a full skin and small but dense collar — collar so thick and stacked thick with tiny bubbles that it looks nitro-induced ; no sticking or lacing; hard to see through it once it's in the glass, but appears to be clear and again no red/amber, just brown and orange ... pretty cool

S: chocolate off the pour; milk chocolate, vanilla, mocha latte; lots of dust, molasses, burnt brown sugar, hint of raisin

T: bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, mocha latte, a bit dusty/rusty the first few sips but that goes away quickly; the alcohol isn't piercing the flavors but man can you feel it, a warming-down-the-throat quaff; the aftertaste really lets the chocolate/coffee mix run free while the bourbon flavor subsides into the background; aftertaste also has some great wood notes, lightly charred oak wood; bourbon flavor also a bit like molasses/raisins

F: a good combination of lighter weight and solid carbonation to fill it out, allowing it to feel relatively easy to deal with; ale slick up front with a crispy end; big stout aficionados might prefer a bit more heft, but for my own personal taste, it's near perfect

O: what the big dark-malt beer is all about ... drinks more like a milk than Russian imperial but it's not overly sweet nor lumpy in the mouthfeel like some milk stouts, so it's arguably a good go-between the two styles; this one's about six months old and it's still packing a serious ABV punch ... not what I'd call "hot" but one little sip goes down and your throat warms up and stays warm the rest of the 16 oz.; all-around beautiful brew, big, bold and super tasty

UPDATE FROM SECOND PINT (January 12, 2018):
@TongoRad sent me a pint about a month ago, and I just poured it into a nonic and cannot get over the look of it. As it poured it seemed flat, so I amped up the pour to get some activity going, and a huge, blooming head of tan foam over an inch tall blossomed up and then stuck like paint to the inner wall. It's also kept a full skin and begun lacing on the way down. What a gorgeous brew! I originally gave a 3.75 score for appearance, but that's nuts — I'm going with this latest impression and raising that score appropriately. The taste score of 4.25 and overall score of 4.25 also were a bit low. I bet I scored it that way originally because of the lactose additive, but I don't care how Rushing Duck got this beer to be this good ... bottom line is it's fantastic, one awesome display of dark-malt goodness.

Chained to the dead

Poured from 16 oz can dated 10/17/2016. Thanks to @cavedave for the can!

A: Pitch black with 1-2 finger tan head with fairly short retention and moderate lacing.

S: Coffe with cream and sugar, cocoa powder, and roasty malts

T: Coffee with an espresso shot, Rich dark chocolate, and lactose sugars.

M: Full bodied but not overly thick. Soft, creamy texture that adds to the drinkability. Alcohol is well hidden. Drinks more like a regular milk stout.

O: Tasty imperial stout. Highly recommended!