Bugs:”Duck season” Daffy:”Wabbit Season” Bugs:”Duck Season” Daffy:”Wabbit Season!”
*The following is a guest post from beerschoolblog reader Brett. He recently spent a weekend in Asheville, NC so we thought that this would be a good follow up to the Highland post. We thank Brett for being a super Teacher’s Aide* Gold star! haha
This past weekend my wife, Katherine, and I decided to venture over to Asheville, NC for a little rest and relaxation. Asheville is a great town to visit, especially if you like hippies. We spent most of our weekend perusing small shops and dining at some recommended restaurants in the area. And, of course, I sampled a bit of the local North Carolina flavor, and by flavor, I obviously mean brew.
You’re probably familiar with Highland Brewing (of course they are Brett, they just read our last post!) I sampled of few of their beers, which were definitely tasty. They have a nice IPA. However, the standout beer of the weekend was a milk stout brewed by The Duck-Rabbit Brewery out of Farmville, NC. I enjoyed this beer at the Bier Garden restaurant. You should stop there if you’re in Asheville. The food is great, the atmosphere equally great, and the beer selection is nice too.
Milk stouts can be very hit or miss for me, personally. As they usually sit rather heavy, you want to find a good one the first time. I typically wouldn’t order a stout for lunch, but for whatever reason, I was intrigued by the waiter’s description of this brew, and decided to give it a go. And I’m glad I did! Duck-Rabbit has discovered a recipe for a dark beer with just the right combination of maltiness, sweetness and smoothness that so well fits with the relaxed atmosphere of North Carolina, that I found myself thinking that this just might be the perfect North Carolina beer. My first thought was that it was one of the smoothest dark beers in my recent memory. My second thought was that I could drink two of these…at lunch! My third thought was that the label on the bottle was just cool, so I took a picture of it. Enter Katherine. “May I try it?”, she asks. “Of course”, I respond. Her expression is one of delight as this dark beer smacks her taste buds. And as she is usually pretty picky with her beers, I deem it a win for Duck-Rabbit’s Milk Stout when she exclaims, “Mmmm, that’s really good!” Yes. It is really good!
If only I could find this beer in Nashville. Perhaps a suggestion or two to a local brew-house? For now, Duck-Rabbit’s Milk Stout will have to remain yet another fond association with the beautiful state of North Carolina.
Amateur taster Grade: A-
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