Beer pick of the week: Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter

The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery

Farmville, NC

9.0% ABV

Baltic porters have their origin in the export trade between Great Britain and the Scandinavian and Eastern European ports of the Baltic Sea. They were brewed with extra strength and robustness to travel well and satisfy the market demand for bold beers in the frigid winters of Sweden, Finland, and the eastern states of Russia. Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter is brewed in eastern North Carolina for the relatively balmy markets of the Southeastern United States, but is still appreciated on a chilly winter night. Pouring an inky, opaque black with a creamy, mocha-colored cap of foam, this American version boasts a rich aroma of coffee and blackstrap molasses. The roasted coffee carries over into the taste, but shares equal billing with a smooth dark chocolate and burnt caramel. Some dark berry and raisin fruitiness emerges briefly, but the sweetness is nicely countered by an herbal, licorice, and Brazil nut bitterness. There’s a pleasant, lingering piney resin in the long finish. The alcohol is evident but not overwhelming, making its presence known in the cheek-flushing warmth that banishes any chill. This one is disappearing quickly, so pick some up if you see it.