Duck-Rabbit Hoppy Bunny
North Carolina’s Duck-Rabbit has been brewing some tasty dark ales for a few years now. From their tasty Milk Stout to the excellent Duck-Rabbator, the brewery knows now to make a dark brew. So it only makes sense that they would try their hand at a Black IPA or American Black Ale or whatever we’re calling these things now.
Hoppy Bunny is a 7.3% ABV brew that attempts to meld the dark, roasty nature of a porter with the citrusy, hop-forward character of an IPA. The brewery certainly captures both types of beer within this one’s dark depths, but without the balance and smoothness of other examples that I’ve had in this vein — Firestone Walker’s Wookey Jack is a great example of this beer done right.
Appearance
Hoppy Bunny pours like a massive porter with an opaque, black color and large column of light brown foam.
Aroma
Chocolate presents itself first and then comes dark coffee followed by a soft, earthy hop component with citrus and pine notes. The brew smells pretty darn good.
Taste
Well, the flavors of this brew aren’t quite as enticing or as balanced as the elements of its aroma. Dark, bitter coffee hits first with chocolate and roast notes before shifting gears rather sharply to a citrusy and piney back half. The hop bitterness is moderate in nature and present throughout the long lasting finish. The individual components of this beer tast just fine, but the overal experience is lacking a little balance. The alcohol comes out more after the beer has had some time to rest in the glass.
Overall
This isn’t a bad brew, really. It just needs a little more refinement to get everything a bit more balanced amongst themselves. I’m sure that there are those that love the abrupt shift the hoppier end of things as they drink this beer, but I’d personally prefer something a bit more evenly distributed.
Rating: 3.5/5
