The Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale
The Duck-Rabbit’s Scotch Ale is a full-bodied, deep copper-colored treasure. Bold and malty, this beer’s sweetness comes from a massive quantity of grain complemented by some serious kettle carmelization. The flavor is rounded out by a warming alcohol sensation.
3.6
485 reviews
Farmville, United States
Community reviews
355ml bottle. Pours a clear red-amber with a small, short lived, beige head that fully dissipates. Sweet aroma of caramel malt, dried fruit and alcohol. Sweet flavour of caramel malt, dark fruit, molasses, brown sugar and light spice with a dry, warming alcohol finish. Medium to full body with an oily texture and soft carbonation. Nice.
Bottle. Clear chestnut brown pour with a small off-white head. Aroma is rich caramel and subtle dark fruits. Taste is a little sweet, caramel, raisin. Somewhat thick texture, finishes surprisingly balanced for the sweetness up front.
From Jan 2008
I got this bottle in a trade with leftmindedrighty. Thanks Aaron!
This one pours from 12oz bottle a clear deep amber/brown with about a 1" layer of foam after a careful pour. There's some nice lacing and the foam is receding ever so slowly.
The smell is not shy at all. Lots of caramel malt along with some dark fruit and notes of whiskey.
The taste on first sip and the malt and dark fruit is there in abundance but whoah, so is the alcohol. Lots of warming during and after the swallow. Smaller sips are in order here. ;^)
Further sips in and the whiskey smell I noted is in the taste as well and it's pretty darned nice. I don't believe I've had an example of the style quite like this. Oh, and in the background and somewhat subdued is some chocolate goodness.
It has a thick body and it finishes with some hoppy zest that somewhat balances the sweetness from the malt. Interesting brew but I *know* I couldn't drink more than 1 at a sitting.
Pours a coppery brown from a bottle, very little head which quickly dissipates. Big caramel, toffee aroma, some vanilla added in the flavor. Too sweet and syrupy for me. Good beer.
Dark amber color is lighter than expected, but this is a pretty nice sweet leaning wee heavy. Would like more peat, but the dark pit fruit and carmelized malt flavor and aroma that are present are quite nice.
Tallahassee, Fl - Beer Stop - 12 oz bottle. Dark copper pour, quickly fading off-white head. Aroma has some peat-like accents, a hint of chocolate, some licorice. Flavor has some toffee notes, a bit of chocolate, a hint of licorice and has a smoky back end. Mouthfeel is thick and rich. Pretty solid.
The aroma is a bit flat, but boozy. The deep amber, almost brandy tint is quite eye catching. Sugary syrup dissolves on the tongue, reminding me vividly of a candy apple. The finish is a bit thin, with a slight metallic flavor. Not necessarily one of the best scotch wee-heavy (its more like wee-lite) ales I’ve had. I’d take a McEwans over this...
This beer is nice, but it looks and smells more tantalizing than it tastes or sits in your mouth. It’s got an interesting finish, one that sours, in a sense, but it’s good. It’s funky.
ABC PCB bottle. Pours out a nice amber color with a khaki head and nice carbonation. Lots of bread malt and yeast in the aroma. Sweet toffee flavor with a touch of bitter coffee in the finish. Maybe some maple syrup or simple syrup too. Nice.
Bottle from Total Wine in Daytona. Clear copper colored pour with a minor head. Sweet sugars, toffee and caramel, and some booze heat. Not bad.
Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with small beige head. Malty, earthy aroma. Sweet flavor with caramel malt notes. Some warming in the finish. Medium bodied with creamy mouthfeel. Enjoyable.
Pours s clear ruby-Cooper color with a short off-white head (please learn to pour a beer WOB Pensacola). Fruity nose up front. Fig, apple. Toasted flavors emerge a few moments into the inhale. Full, slick mouthfeel. Vibrant flavors. Nice toasty sweetness envelopes the esters.
Acobreada e densa. Malte evidente como pede o estilo, com caramelo, mel e cardamomo. Sensacional custo beneficio.
12 oz bottle into snifter.
A: clear, dark reddish brown body with a weak head that leaves negligible lacing.
S: dark fruits, herbs (oddly), heated brown sugar and light alcohol.
Flavor: As expected, lots of toffee and medium malts but it also resembles a barleywine or quad more than a typical version of the style .Disappointing up front but finishes strong.
M: light-moderate amount of carbonation; full body.
Bottle. Heavy malt aromas of toasted bread and cereal, moderate cooked orange for the hops, moderate to heavy dough for the yeast, with toffee and raisin in the background. Head is small, fizzy, tan, with no lacing and is fully diminishing. Color is clear medium brown. Flavor starts moderately to heavily sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes moderately sweet and faintly bitter. Palate is on the fuller side of medium, oily, with a soft to lively carbonation and a lightly alcoholic finish. Great smell and tasting Scotch Ale.
Pours clear dark copper color with off white head. Caramel and molasses aromas with a touch of peat. Big sweet toffee, caramel, and molasses flavors with a hint of smoke. Medium body with moderate carbonation and a syrupy mouthfeel.
Poured from a bottle. Deep caramel brown with a thin white ring. Light semi-sweet toffee and candy corn aroma. Smooth with just a hint of toffee flavor. Hides the alcohol well. Flavors are not very bold, almost to the point of being ordinary and blah. Even after it warmed up it didn’t get much better. Too plain to be really enjoyable.
A big sweet beer can be a nice treat sometimes and The Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale is a good example of that. Big and sweet are the dominate adjectives, though it’s also nuanced and very drinkability for such a hefty brew.
I poured a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. It had a best before date of 9/2016 and cost $2.49 ($0.21 per ounce).
Appearance: Seemingly magenta, but actually caramel brown/dark copper. Body is crystal clear, though carbonation is visible. Pours to a fairly large, off-white, foamy head which retains and laces quite well.
Smell: Strong aroma of sweet malt and dark fruit. Alcohol is present as well.
Taste: There’s a lot of sweetness in this beer, but there’s also a significant amount of smoke or astringency as well. Though no smoked and/or peat malt is used in the brew (as far as I can tell), there seems to be some present. Of course that might also be the raw alcohol, which contributes a fair amount towards the palette. Sweet toffee flavor on the finish along with a dark fruit taste of maraschino cherry or raspberry puree. Not much in the way of hops, though I would not consider this beer to be imbalanced per se. All in all, it’s delectable and impressive.
Drinkability: The first few sips of The Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale seemed strong and sticky, but it quickly seemed to be much lighter as I continued. In fact, the mouthfeel seemed to be actually quite thin. The 8% ABV certainly comes through in both the taste and as a warming sensation. This is satisfying and drinkable for sure.
RATING: 8/10
Bottle to glass. Aroma is brandy, wine, wood, barley, broth, bergamot. Look is clear mahogany reddish brown. No head. Taste is yeast, brandy, bergamot. Feel is Somewhat flat. Interesting flavors again for Duck Rabbit, but not a home run.
Bottle. Pours an amber color with white head. Caramel, leather, malty aromas. Caramel, boozy, wood, slight earthy flavors. Not really my style, but decent enough.
On tap at the Bull in Gainesville. Dark ruby pour, small beige head. Lots of malt sweetness, some clove and a bit of fruity yeastiness to it. A bit on the light side of body, but the flavor is wonderful
This is not my favorite. It is very malty and sweet. It is a true scotch beer and is dark with sweet mix of deep malt.
12 oz bottle purchased at the Beer Shoppe, Adrmore, PA. Best before 9/2015 ticked on the side of label.Thin head retention that died after a minute on top a deep ruby color. The aroma is sweet caramel, light pear, burnt brown sugar and a light fruit note.
Flavor is right with the nose with a lot of caramelized toffee/ caramel leading into a mild peat hint in the finish. Alcohol is also here but not overwhelming or distracting. Light dark fruit as it warms up. Body is fuller side of medium with a lower Co2 level. Pretty well made.
Kettle caramelization is high. Appearance is a cloudy dark brown with an off white head. The head was poor with poor retention. Flavor has a one dimensional rich caramelization flavor, but not much else. Mouthfeel is medium light with medium carbonation. Overall, the beer has an interesting caramelization flavor, but is still one dimensional and I really don't enjoy it. The recipe needs more complexity. Also, the beer lacks the typical full/medium full body of a wee heavy.
On tap at Finnegan’s. Amber, mahogany pour. Sticky sweet caramel, some soft dark chocolate malts, moderate oak. Definitely a wee heavy. Nice and sticky sweet. Because of the sticky sweetness, this is great when you want a wee heavy but would probably be rough if I wasn’t actually seeking that out.
Transfer from BA review on 3-23-13-
Served on tap in a pint glass
Appearance – The beer was served as a golden amber color with a one finger off white head. The head faded relatively quickly leaving a lighter level of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell- The aroma is big and sweet with a strong aroma of brown sugar and some lighter notes of toffee. With these sugary smells is a good presence of a dark fruit and a heavy malt nature with lighter hints of roast mixed within. Rounding all the aromas out is a light boozy smell which overall produces a sweet and comforting smell.
Taste – The taste follows the nose very swell. A big malty and sweet flavor of a lightly roasted malt and bready nature mixed with big flavors of brown sugar meet the tongue. Some flavors of toffee and a light amount of a dark fruit then hit the tongue more toward the middle of the taste. As the taste advances to the end, a very light alcohol flavor meets the tongue leaving an almost lightly liquored hard candy taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel- The body of the beer is creamier and smooth with a carbonation level that was on the lower side. This feel was quite nice for creating a slower drinker with it accentuating nicely all the sweet and malty flavors of the brew.
Overall – A rather enjoyable drink I must say. A bit on the candy sweeter side even for a wee heavy, but very enjoyable and pleasant to drink.
Amber colored ale with very little foam formation. A slight haze is present and little carbonation.
A rich malty aroma, sweet and buttery.
A sweet tasting malt bill caramel and Vienna malt. Some bread or biscuit at end.Some fruity esters are present.
I can taste a very light smokiness.
Smooth with a medium body
A pretty good beer.
Bottle to snifter (2008 vintage; shared by the Ei8ht Ball crew). Looks good for the style; a cloudy dark amberish caramel with off-white lacing. Smells solid; dark fruit and caramel; maybe a touch of unaversive oxidization. Tastes like it smells with a solid, full-bodied mouthfeel. A good example of the style.
(bottle - 12 oz) Ruby pour with a thin tan head. Huge malty and sweet aroma with lots of caramel and toffee. Flavor is very sweet and malty as well, perhaps just on the verge of turning as it is an older vintage. Still smooth and malty with a good alcohol presence.
From the 12. fl. oz. bottle sent to me from a non RB-member in trade. The pour is a deep amber color with a quick lasting off-white head. The aroma is beautifully malty with sweet sugary notes and dark fruit. It smells so nice and inviting. The body is creamy and medium. The taste is right up there among the most traditional of Scottish Wee Heavies with plenty of sweet malts and mellow finish. 8%? Hard to know that is the case.