Punk Rock Freak Show
Rushing Duck Brewing Company

Canned 1/31/2018. Poured into Rushing Duck Belgian glass. It pours a beautiful ruby-cola color with a half finger of creamy, light khaki-colored head and a thin but extensive sheen of lacing that retained its character through the pour. It's an attractive pour. The nose features clove, coriander, tobacco smoke, and Belgian spices. There's a lot of tobacco and leather up front, along with sweet malt, black cherry, and pear. It's almost cloying. There's little hop presence and only a slight bitterness at the finish along with Belgian spicing. It's a generally sweet ale. This ale is viscous and creamy, almost chewy, with moderate carbonation, and a punchy, potent 8.2% ABV. Overall, this is a nicely-crafted Belgian Strong Ale. Rushing Duck does a great job brewing Belgian beers. This one is worth seeking out.

Got in a BIF from MacMalt. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 1/31/2018. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish orange/copper color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big nutty medium roast coffee, lemon, orange, peach, pear, plum, golden raisin, apricot, red apple, melon, white grape, light pepper/clove, honey, brown sugar, bread dough, and toasted biscuit; with light notes of cocoa, vanilla, herbal, floral, grassy, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, coffee, candi sugar, and dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big big nutty medium roast coffee, lemon, orange, peach, pear, plum, golden raisin, apricot, red apple, melon, white grape, light pepper/clove, honey, brown sugar, bread dough, and toasted biscuit; with light notes of cocoa, vanilla, herbal, floral, grassy, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy hop bitterness and yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of nutty coffee, lemon, orange, peach, pear, plum, golden raisin, apricot, red apple, melon, white grape, light pepper/clove, honey, brown sugar, bread dough, toasted biscuit, cocoa, vanilla, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, coffee, candi sugar, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Mildly increasing warmth of 8.2%. Overall this is an excellent BSPA! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, coffee, candi sugar, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Awesome balance between the fruity/nutty coffee and yeast complexity; with a sizable malt backbone, but not overly sweet. Kind of halfway between Golden/Dark strong ales on the malt character. A very enjoyable, unique, and well made offering.

 

 

Belgian Strong Ale style from Rushing Duck. This was a recent can release. This beer has helped me get over the fact that the brewery's Nimptopsical isn't still on their regular rotation.