Tasting Notes: The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

I'm finishing up a six pack of The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout which I purchased from Lowe's foods. The Duck-Rabbit is a NC brewery. The milk stout is one of several beers that they offer. As the name suggests this beer is a stout brewed with lactose.

As you scan the beer aisle, this beer catches your eye with its cool red and black label that shows off the company's optical illusion logo (the duck-rabbit). The price at Lowes Food was $8.49 - standard fare for a microbrew. 

Initially there is nothing out of the ordinary upon pouring it into the glass. The color is as dark as any other stout, with a slightly less dark, brown head. You may need to turn a few more lights on in the house because the dark beer sucks the light out of the room. For someone who loves stouts though, this black-hole effect is a daily event. Nothing special here.

With the aroma you begin to get a sense that this is a rather extraordinary beer. Vapors of wheat and coffee - which attend most stouts - rise combining with the unique aroma of lactose that bring thoughts of latte or cappuccino. 

Don't be fooled though. Take a swish of this beer and you won't be thinking cappuccino for long. On the front it is a thick, smooth, bitter wheat flavor with subtle hints of chocolate. The finish leaves you with a hint of coffee and a distinct sweetness that clearly comes from the lactose. On top of that lactosey sweetness, the finish is characterized with a distinct acidic bitterness that keeps you coming back for another sip.

Unfortunately, the sweetness of this beer prevents me from being able to enjoy a bowl of pipe tobacco while I'm drinking it. I don't like to smoke my pipe with sticky lips. With that insignificant squabble aside, the Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout is a very enjoyable beer that will be a staple of my beer diet for years to come. I really love to find such high quality beer that is brewed in my home state. I would like to find a pub that serves it on tap to get the true experience.