Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier - The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery

AgentZero

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Dark bee, almost black, that's a little transparent when held up to the light. Small bit of off-white head that didn't leave anything on the sides.

S - Roasted malts, coffee, little bit of chocolate, some yeast, mild hop aroma.

T - Chocolate with some roasted malt, coffee, little bit of hops, hints of licorice, some yeast. It's pretty solid.

M - Smooth, medium bodied, moderate carbonation.

O - Not a bad beer, particularly for a style that often ends up boring. Would drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 04:36:13 | More by AgentZero

MasterSki

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to BucketBoy for this extra. Served in a flute.

A - Popping the cap reveals a slight gusher. Pours with three fingers of light mocha foam that settles to a thin cap and leaves a few stray spots of lace. Body is typical schwarzbier - looks black in the shade, but is a transparent chocolate brown with ruby highlights when held to the light. Lots of bubbles in this one.

S - Thankfully this doesn't smell infected. Guessing the gushing was due to something else. Heavily roasted malts, a hint of smoke, baker's chocolate, some fruitiness, and a metallic twang.

T - Taste is more bready, with light cocoa, floral hop notes, and some nuttiness. Tastes a bit better than it smells, as it doesn't have that metallic note.

M - It's overcarbonated for sure, with some zest and harsh lip-burning going on. Body is medium, with a sticky, chewy finish.

D - It's a fairly solid American take on the Schwarzbier. The carbonation issue knocks it down a bit, but otherwise it's a reasonably enjoyable brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2010 19:21:33 | More by MasterSki

coachdonovan

Rhode Island

3.28/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an Ithaca Beer Company pint glass. Freshness date on the label says Best By 11/09. That's my fault - this one got lost among my cellareds and I forgot I had it.

Pours black with a 3/4 inch head that settles after about two minutes. Lots of bubbles along the line between beer and head. When held to the light a little brown/red comes through on the edges, but otherwise it's pretty black.

Aroma is roasted malt but without any smoke. It's got a nice bitterness to it but not from hops, just from the roastiness. Mouthfeel is thin, carbonation is fairly high. Certainly the drinkability doesn't suffer from the (presumably) low ABV, but I got a little tired of this one. If you're looking for a good Schwarzbier, this one delivers the goods; it's just not my thing to have more than one or two of them.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2010 19:37:53 | More by coachdonovan

kbutler1

Minnesota

3.05/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle. Pours a, you guessed it black color with a nice fluffy tan 2 finger head. The aroma is a fairly light roast coffee smell. The mouthfeel if pretty light with a good amount of carbonation. The taste starts off with a roasted coffee flavor with some chocolate sweetness that then has a strange and bad tasting metallic flavor. Some smokey type notes as well. The carbonation level is too high for me on this one and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the beer. The flavors are decent but the off metallic is not pleasing. No lace left on the glass.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2010 00:30:26 | More by kbutler1

dc55110

Minnesota

2.45/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Received as an "extra" from JCB!

12oz bottle, notched "10," poured into a 14oz tulip

Pours nearly opaque, just a small amount of light penetrates the edges. A vigorous pour yields about a finger of head that quickly dissipates to a small ring around the perimeter of the glass. A gentile swirly leaves a nice amount of lacing behind.

The nose is very much smokey and peaty. The roasted malts ought weigh anything else here.

Smokey, earthy and watery. Not much doing here. No malty-ness to the smoke. Very reminiscent of the smell of a fire-pit they morning after a long rain.

Thin, nearly watery, visually there appears to be a lot of carbonation, on the tongue there is little to nothing.

I'm hoping this was a bad bottle. There is nothing here besides burnt earth.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 03:50:37 | More by dc55110

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

2.42/5  rDev -40%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Poured into duck rabbit snifter

Pours 1 finger of tan head. Good head retention with some lacing. Color is black.

Aroma: Very roasted and malty. It has some dark dried fruits showing. A bit of chocolate. Has a bit of cream to it. Not to much here.

Taste: More roasted with a coffee bitterness to it. It tastes metallic (thanks kbutler1). Fairly malty. Sour dried fruits.

Mouthfeel: Very fizzy and roasted with a bunch of carbonation. Medium bodied. Ends dry and roasted.

Overall, I just wasn't digging this one and I normally like the style. Way to fizzy for me and has an overdose of roasted malts. Not very drinkable for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2010 00:28:46 | More by mothman