Rabid Duck
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery

Nice pour, with a medium tan head that formed a substantial volume of the glass on a normally aggressive pour. This head drops to a thick, creamy collar and does a good job lacing the glass.

The nose is medium light, and seems to be mostly roasted malt. There's a slight char and almost wood tannin bitter aspect to the nose. I'm not getting any fruit or pine or greenness of hops in the nose. The flavors follow the aromas, but bring a stronger punch. First and foremost, there's a bitter coffee with a bit of char up front. This lightens to the point where I could argue it has an aspect of a very high cocoa percentage dark chocolate.

The beer isn't heavy at all, and I might argue it's a little watery. The hops are either adding neutral bitterness or doubling down on the earthy to wooden bitterness I am attributing to the dark malts. All in all, this is a little simple, but I think it shows off the roasted malts well.

Nice pour. Decent head and lacing.

No noticeable smell.

Strange taste. Thin. For this ABV I expected more.

Ok beer. Would not look for it again.

12oz bottle notched to indicate enjoy by 3/2023 and store cool. This bottle was purchased at room temp a month ago and refrigerated after 10% ABV. The beer pours dense black with a tight, nitro look head of medium brown foam. The aroma is mild with dark chocolate and lesser coffee and caramel. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with a touch of tangy, ashy moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. More like an imperial version of Guinness than most RIS with the tangy element.

Rabid Duck from The Duck-Rabbit, six-pack of 12 oz bottles from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, for $15.50 (Including tax), $ 0.215/fl oz. Purchased 13/04/23. On room temperature shelf at store. Reviewed 15/04/23 (Review 3074). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 56.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), nearly opaque.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, opaque and black (SRM 40). When rear lite, shows a translucent ruby at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar, high density and fizzy, quickly gone leaving a complete 2-3 mm crown fed at a few sites by carbonation, and a thin, nearly complete cap.
Lacing – None
Aroma – 4 – Strong aroma of roasted malt, a little char, no yeast, no hops. No ethanol (10 % ABV as marked on the label) aroma.
Flavor – 4.25 – Moderately bitter with roasted malt and char. No hops or yeast. Moderate gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium; seems a bit thin; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) Decent RIS but on the thin side. The flavor is very monochromic – just roasted malt with slight charring – no expected bitter chocolate or other typical RIS flavors – definitely a back-to-basics brew. Or maybe it’s just too old.

Solid black appearance with an average size tan head and good lacing. Roasted malt aroma brings along some familiar characteristics such as bittersweet chocolate, coffee and dark fruit. Flavor does not stray too far from those descriptors. Roasted malts stay firmly in control as the coffee and chocolate vie for attention. Meanwhile, the understated hops add a touch of bitterness. Full bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel provides a long lasting finish.

From a 12oz bottle dated best by 3/2021. Bigger stout. Figuring this is ageable.

Pours an opaque black with about four fingers of tan head (aggressive pour!). Decent retention, nice lacing.

Smells of smoke/charcoal, dark bakers chocolate, black coffee and perhaps a hint of dried fruit.

Bitter dark bakers chocolate dominates the taste. Coffee and char in the background but noticeable. Sweet chocolate becomes noticeable more on warming.

Body is a little thin for the style, especially at 10% abv. Strong bitter aftertaste. Low carbonation.

So, I paid eight bucks for the sixer knowing it was past their "best by" date. This isn't a bad RIS, but I've certainly had better. Thin body was really disappointing but was true to style on other points.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours black; dark khaki head that falls leaving great retention and sticky lacing. The aromas are malt forward. Some cocoa and marshmallows. Subtle char and roasted characteristics. Very mild hints of anise as well. The flavors follow the nose. There's a decent bitterness to this one. Low sweetness. Lots of dark chocolate along with some chocolate syrup. Some coffee in the mix. Malts do their thing. Alcohol basically goes unnoticed for the most part. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's fluffy, sharp, smooth and dangerously drinkable.

This is a solid Russian Imperial Stout. It's a traditional example of the style, more or less. Not bad at all. It's enjoyable stuff.

 

Rabid duck tastes infected.

From the 12 oz bottle and served in a snifter. This mighty
brew pours a dark coal black with thin dark tea outliers and a
modest had of tan foam that dissipates to a thick ring, thin clumping layer,
and sports some subtle lacing. Nose of rich dark bakers cocoa, dark
coffee, and medium strong herbal hop notes. Flavors surpass the nose
with a nicely rounded RIS showing espresso, dark bakers chocolate, layers
of char, and nice herbal hops that are well presented in a balanced brew.
Nice mouth feel; smooth, coating, light carbonation, warming, full body,
and a rich full bitter malt and cocoa/coffee char laden finish.

Overall---an excellent brew from the Duck folk!

Cheers

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, some licorice. Taste is licorice, campfire, roasted malts, alcohol is well hidden. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer and a bit to easy drinking at this abv.

 

 

 

 

Poured from 12 oz bottle into tulip glass. Color is dark brown/black. Thin tan head, no lacing. Alcohol is present on the nose along with rich roasted malt and hops. Mouthfeel is thick and viscous with a somewhat damp finish. Flavors of dark roasted malt, a bit of char, molasses, a hint of licorice, with a nice hop balance. Overall: a nice sipper on a cold night, but the alcohol presence is quite noticeable.

12 oz bottle poured into New Belgium snifter.

Deep dark black color with a beige head of 1/2 finger.

Aromas of molasses and tobacco and dark chocolate. Slight caramel squares, slight vanilla pudding.

Flavor brings heavy tobacco and mildly bitter ash, charred wood, slight caramel, slight bitter chocolate. Harsh black licorice notes. Minty and herbal hops. Slight peppermint. Leans very heavily on the herbal/dank hops.

Feel is thick but not phenomenal, with a busy prickly carbonation and a dryness throughout with moderate alcohol heat.

Overall a decent but not great Russian Imperial Stout. It's definitely within style and is very bitter and roasted, but not really hitting the right notes for me.