Tell someone
you’re matching wine with cheese, and they won’t bat an eyelash. Tell them
that you’re pairing it with beer, though, and they might just give you a
double take. That’s OK, though, because I can one-up them on that with a
most splendid match: one of beer and chocolate. Indeed, some beers are even
made with chocolate, something I doubt many (if any) wines can claim.
That said, Duck Rabbit Brown Ale is not made with chocolate. But it
really does go great with it, at least if you ask me. Farmington, North
Carolina’s Duck Rabbit Brewery likes to think of themselves as “the dark
beer specialists”, and they certainly have the pedigree for it. At least as
far as their lineup of brews goes. And their Brown Ale is a very good
example.
As a brown ale, I’m kind of on the fence on this one. To preface that
comment, I should mention that there really are two kinds of brown ales
these days, the soft nutty malty English ones and the darker, maltier and
decidedly hoppier American ones. Duck Rabbit’s is akin to neither, and to be
honest reminds me more of a brown porter than a brown ale.
But here’s what Duck Rabbit says:
The Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale is an American brown ale brewed with loads of
hops from start to finish (it’s hoppy and beautifully bitter). Amarillo hops
in the boil provide a spicy citrusy bitterness. Saaz dry hops in the
fermentor provide a refined flowery aroma. These hops are supported by a
grain bill of seven varieties of malt. Oh yeah!
And here’s what I say.
Duck Rabbit Brown Ale pours to a burnt mahogany color with a thick
creamy tan head and a sweet malty chocolate chip cookie nose. Sweet malt
hits you right away when you sip, and the beer is very chocolatey and nutty,
cookieish as in the nose. There’s a lot of rich dark chocolate, and that
serves to make this almost more porter-like than brown ale-ish. I love the
fresh malt flavor, and the grassy herbal hop finish deposits a delightfully
bitter, long dry herbal hop buzz on the tongue. Certainly too dark, malty,
and hoppy for a British brown, and again I almost think it’s out of place as
an American, too. Still, a fine, fine beer indeed.
And oh yes, back to the aforementioned chocolate. A wonderfully chocolaty
dark brew like this is a perfect match for rich, dark chocolate. Something
bittersweet and light on the sugar works best for me, and I paired a bottle
with several squares of Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate. The
intensely cocoa-accented quality of the chocolate worked extremely well with
the roasty-bitter traits in the beer.
Beer and chocolate? Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.