The Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale

The Duck-Rabbit craft brewery is a specialist in brewing dark beers, many of them highly rated. This is one of their easier-to-find beers in any store that sells craft brews.

Date: 3/24/10 at 10pm
Beer: Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale
Abv: 5.6%
From: Bottle
Vessel: Pilsner


Pours a deep copper, nose is surprisingly sweet and chocolate at first. Initial taste is a mix of nutty caramel, chocolate, and a hint of floral. Very palatable and the carbonation keeps it very light on the tongue. A moderate sense of hops and bitterness is what you'll find in the aftertaste, making you crave for more. A very good session brown ale.

3/5

Kona Fire Rock & Longboard

I was at Roy's in Baltimore recently (they have top-quality Hawaiian fusion cuisine) and was curious what their beer selection was. Kona Brewing Company was started in 1995 in Kailua, Hawaii, and so it seemed a perfect fit for Roy's to be carrying their beer.

I started off with Fire Rock Pale Ale and then moved to their flagship beer, Longboard Island Lager. Both tastings had the same environment:

Date: 1/15/10 9:00pm
Beer: Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale & Kona Longboard Island Lager
Abv: 5.9% and 4.6%, respectively
From: Bottle
Vessel: Pilsner

Fire Rock pours a medium copper with a light tan head. Initial nose is a perfect balance of hops and citrus, really bringing out that island flavor. Very crisp, light, and refreshing. As a fan of hops, I enjoyed the fact that this had a mildly bitter aftertaste on the tongue. It quickly makes you crave for another sip. I had this paired with swordfish and thought they worked very well together.

3.5/5





Longboard, despite being their flagship brew and the top award-winner for their brewery, didn't impress me as much. It pours a yellowish-amber with a near white head. Tongue is very smooth, but only a mild hint of hops and spice. Probably a better beer to enjoy during a hot summer day than in a restaurant or paired with any food.

1.5/5

About Isaac

About me: I'm just getting into the craft brewing scene. I absolutely love it, for many reasons. The variation, flavors, history, food pairing... not to mention the community spirit within the craft brewing industry where folks share tips, tricks, and recipes with their so-called competitors. Its really something to be seen (and experienced). I'm looking to begin home brewing soon and will be sure to post about my experiences.

About my posts: My goal is to post about beers that are new to me. While they might not all be as rare or "craft" as the beers Dave posts about, hopefully they are outside of the mainstream market enough to make the posts somewhat interesting to read. Cheers!

Pics and Recipe from Bell's Two-Hearted Ale Clone Brew Day

I've been wanting to make a citrus IPA for some time. Bell's 2HA is among the best I've had in this style...perfect balance of citrus/malt and enough hops to make even me satisfied.

After some research I came up with a blend of the different clone recipes I have found. Here it is.

Yes, im still extract brewing. Too tought to move to all-grain at this point given the space in my apartment and my storage capacity. It's still fun NTL!

Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone

8lbs 2 row pale liquid malt extract
1 lb carmal malt (grains)
4 oz centennial hops
1 oz cascade hops
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)

1. Steep grains @ 155-160 F for 35 mins in 3 qts water
2. Add grain tea to 3 gal water and bring to boil

Boil Time:60 mins

4lbs LME @ 60
.5 oz centennial @ 60
.5 oz centennial @ 30
.75 oz centennial @ 20
.5 oz cascade @ 20
4lbs LME @ 15
.5 oz centennial @ 10
.5 oz centennial @ 5
.25 oz centennial @ flameout

pitch yeast at 65-75F

primary: 8 days
dry hop: 8 days

yield: 4.5-5 gal

....my original gravity was: 1.060. hoping for final of 1.015 or less.

Guest Posts

A few guest reviews will pop up soon. Isaac will be reviewing an offering from Kona Brewing Company (maybe 2?). Also, expect something from Ryan in the near future as well.

Southern Tier Iniquity Black Ale Review

One of Southern Tier's big beers, iniquity is "the antithesis of unearthly" (unearthly is their DIPA).




Date: 2/23/10 9:45pm
Beer: Souther Tier Iniquity Black Ale
Abv: 9%
From: 22oz Bottle
Vessel: Snifter
Temp: 48f

Iniquity pours a very rich deep brown (almost black) with a moderate tan head. Nose is full of wonderful aromas, first of chocolate but gives way to scents of coffee and even a hint of hops! Mouthfeel is somewhat thick and quite oily. Flavors of milk chocolate (a nice break from the dark choco taste of many stouts) just dominate this beer and you can even pick out a bit of vanilla at the end. The fact that this beer is moderately hopped is quite clear and makes for a beautiful contrast with the heavier flavors here. Maybe a VERY subtle toastiness lingers on the tongue, but not much as this is quite a clean finisher.

I had to remind myself when tasting this that it is an ALE. The color and mouthfeel alone are more indicative of a stout but you'd be mistaken to characterize this as such. The most intriguing aspect of this offering is the presence of hops (flavoring, aroma, but no bittering). According to the bottle both cascade and chinook are used. Not only is Iniquity hop backed after the boil, but it is also dry hopped after fermentation. These two methods of employing hops in the brewing process allow for flavor and aroma but do not impart bitterness (which would ruin this beer in my opinion). That is done almost entirely by using hops during the boil, which ST must do conservatively for Iniquity. I must say that this is one of the most enjoyable tasting experiences of the last year. Iniquity Black Ale will most definitely become a staple in my cellar.

4.5/5

Lagunitas "Censored" Review

Lagunitas makes some veeeeryyy interesting brews. I'm a fan of their IPA's, but tonight we try a red/copper ale.


Date: 1/29/10 8:45pm
Beer: Lagunitas Censored (Kronik) Rich Copper Ale
Abv: 5.9%
From: Bottle
Vessel: Snifter
Temp: 43f


Pours a very true copper color (obvious) with minimum tan head. Nose is slight malt with sweet hints of cinnamon and caramel. Tongue is decently hoppy, again with some malt, caramel, and coffee falvors. Mostly subtle stuff here, but though it does not boast a complex flavor profile, it's quite refreshing. Leaves a nice tart aftertaste. Nothing worth jumping in the car and picking up right this second, but surely should be part of your next bulk craft brew purchase at the local specialty store!

3/5

Blog Re-Name and HomeBrew Posts

Pournucopia sounded a bit too much like Porn-ucopia. Also, look for homebrew recipe posts in the near future. Until then, enjoy the reviews!

Rogue Chocolate Stout Review

Rogue (Eugene, Oregon) was one of the first craft breweries to make a name for itself on a national scale. Their Hazelnut Brown Nectar is one of my favorite beers of all time. Tonight I try their Chocolate Stout

Date: 1/21/10 10:00pm
Beer: Rogue Brewery Chocolate Stout
Abv: 6.3%
From: 22oz Botte
Vessel: Snifter
Temp: 48f


Pours a jet black color with a caramel head. Nose is quite malty with hints of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. Tongue is only slighty of chocolate and very bitter. Really not that much going on here in terms of complexity, and the taste of chocolate in this stout is underwhelming. This would probably be very tasty after a night of pounding bud lights, but in comparison to the plethora of chocolate stouts out there, this is a let-down.

2.5/5

Green Flash -West Coast IPA Review

This one's been highly touted as a stalwart among IPAs. Not for the weak-willed and hopped to about 95 IBUs. Has drawn a lot of comparisons with Bell's Hopslam. Verdict below!

Date: 1/19/10 7:15pm
Beer: West Coast IPA by Green Fash Brewing (San Diego)
Abv: 7.3%
From: Bottle
Vesse: Snifter
Temp: 42f

Pours a beautiful, hazy, dark-orange color with a nice fluffy white head! Nose is pine at first, then lots of citrus notes going on...orange, grapefruit, and melon. Tongue is VERY pine with a hint of citrus in and out. So hopped it feels like pop rocks on the tongue after being imbibed! A very subtle malt flavor is JUST enough to balace the veritable WAVE of hops in here...PHEW! If you're looking for a perfect balance of malt and hops you will NOT find it here. This is only to really be enjoyed, per se, by those who crave hops. While dogfish head 120min suffers from a bit too much sweetness, what may keep this from being an epic is a lack thereof.

3.5/5

Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale Review

I've had this sitting for a few months and I don't think it's going to benefit from too much aging. Tasting notes below!

Date: 1/14/10 815pm
Beer: Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale
ABV: 8%
From: Bottle
Vessel: Snifter
Temp 46f

Pours a nice clear, copper color with minimum white head. Nose is slighty citrusy with a decent hop aroma and hints of sweet malt. Tongue is NOT very hoppy, subtle malt with notes of brandy and honey. Well-balanced and a lot like a Sam Adams winter lager but less "spicy". Southern Tier is known for some exoctic brews, so it's no surprise that a winter lager seems....plain. That being said it is tasty. Nothing mind-blowing, but it will go down easy on a cold winter night!

3/5

Inaugural Post

As this is the first post, I figured I would refrain from any long, drawn-out hyperbole regarding the impetus for starting this thing. Simply put, I have discovered that beer, for many including myself, is in itself a raison d'etre (reson for living). I've been home brewing for a little less than a year, and am in no way an expert at the craft. I've brewed, fermented, cleared, bottled, and aged 4 of my own batches (@ 5gal/each)as of now, and hope to commence with brewday #5 by the end of the month. The plan is to clone an Irish red ale of some sort, which could provide the perfect timing (the process takes a month or more) for St Patrick's day in March. Stay Tuned.

In terms of tasting and indulging in craft brews....it's a never-ending paradise. Frankly it's impossible to keep up, but I'll do my best with this blog. I've got over 300 bottles of craft brews (including some of my own stuff) sitting in my closet aging wonderfully as I type this. While no longer a craft brewery by any means, I thought I'd start witha fairly simple offering from Sam Adams. I picked up two 4-packs of their imperial series brews (a double bock and stout) over a year ago and 've been letting them sit ever since. Decided to break one open tonight. Tasting notes below!

Date: 1/13/10 - 8:45pm
Beer: Sam Adams Imperial Series - Stout
Abv: 9.2%
From: Bottle
Vessel: Snifter
Temp: 45f


Pours a very heavy, motor oil-like back color with a small but dark-tan head. Heavy caramel nose, with notes of coffee and chocolate. Very clean tongue, first of java and lingering bitter chocolate. Finishes clean with a slightly acidic aftertaste. Surprisingly good product! Sam Adams still sticking to the basics, but with great results!