Rabbit’s Foot Meadery Diabhal (Belgian style Golden Strong Ale) 8.2% ABV

Rabbit’s Foot Meadery is located in Sunnyvale, close to where I used to work. I found out about them through their meads. I head read up on meads when I decided that I wanted to make one myself and Rabbit’s Foot came up as the local meadery. For those of you who don’t know what mead is, it’s basically a fermented beverage made out of honey. Wine is a fermented beverage made out of grape juice, beer out of malted barley and hops, and mead is out of honey.

Rabbit’s Foot is a great little place who has made quite a name for themselves in the mead making world. In addition to their meads they have cizers (also marketed as “hard ciders”) and braggots (beer where honey is a large portion of the fermentable sugars). When I first tried their braggots, I wasn’t too impressed. It wasn’t that they made bad braggots (they are the only ones who make true braggots that I am aware of), but at the time, I was more into really hoppy beers and the braggots just weren’t doing it for me.

Months later, I’ve cut back on my high hop consumption and can now review this beer with new eyes… and mouth.

Appearance: It may be cliché to write this but this beer runs the gamut of pretty much all the different types of honey that I’ve seen. As you can see, there are honey highlights along the bottom of the glass and towards the top a light caramel color. The head is tan but dissipated quickly. To be fair, this was probably due to operator error as I had washed that particular glass before pouring the beer into it. I must not have rinsed it out adequately. *

Aroma: Smells malty sweet up front but finishes with the honey notes at the end. I notice the alcohol as well but it’s not at all hot or harsh. I think I can pick out some fruitiness, like pears and apples. This smell really inviting. Perfumey. ****

Taste: The tastes like it smells. It is malty sweet without being cloying and the honey is present as well but not at all in a forward or overpowering way. There is low hop bitterness to this beer and I am finding it slightly reminiscent of champagne. ***

Mouthfeel: This beer has a moderate mouth-feel and is very low on carbonation. The Diabhal finishes a little on the dry side, which may explain why I think of champagne. What I had initially thought was my fault, ended up being theirs. Kinda. The label describes this beer as:

“Lightly carbonated when bottled or with a thick head and fantastic ‘Belgian lace’ when poured from the tap.”

Seems to cover all bases, doesn’t it? ***

Drinkability: This is a beer I personally find to be very drinkable. That being said, it took me a couple of servings to get to this point. If you’re a hophead then this beer probably isn’t for you. Also, being a Belgian style ale, there’s some of that “funkiness” that seems to be a common denominator with Belgian style ales. They’re just different. Keep in mind that this is a 8.2% ABV beverage and should be enjoyed slowly and thoroughly. ***

Food: For dinner, I had made some beef curry and I think this would’ve been the perfect accompaniment for that dish. The malty sweetness and higher alcohol content would’ve served as a nice counterpoint to the spice of the curry. I would love to try this paired with a strong, tangy cheese like a Roquefort. For dessert, I think a tiramisu can stand up to this beer or perhaps a fruit tart.

2.8/5 stars*

* Note: When all was said and done, I was very surprised and disappointed on how low this rated. This is a beer that I really do enjoy, but when stacked up against the BJCP standard for a Golden Strong Ale, it falls short. That being said, when you compare my tasting notes versus the BJCP standard for a braggot (look under the mead category), you’ll see that beer would’ve been a prime example of the style, possibly getting a 4-5 star rating. Upon review, I decided to stick to my initial review as Rabbit’s Foot markets this beer as a Belgian style Golden Strong Ale and not a braggot.

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