Duck-Rabbit

The philosophy of a good brew

Paul Philippon has been brewing beer for nearly 30 years and he’ll never forget the day he first heard the term “home brewing.”

“I was a beer lover, like people are, and I was in college working in the summer at a research farm to make money. At the end of one day, my supervisor said he had to get home to bottle his latest batch of home brew,” Philippon said. “Bells went off in my head, so he told me to go to the Summer Meadow Herb Shop to get the ingredients, and I got started.”

The first batch made by the dark-beer lover was a brown ale he described as nothing fancy, made with the hope he could just brew something that tasted like beer.

“I was really happy with it,” he recalled. “I don’t know how I’d feel if I tried it today, but it was enough to keep me going and want to try to make more.”

That was 1987 in Ithaca, N.Y., and Philippon soon started entering his brews into competitions.

“My love of brewing was growing as I was getting more and more serious about it. I was enjoying it more and more, but at the same time, I saw opportunities becoming scarce in the career I was pursuing,” he said. “I felt like I saw people more talented and smarter than me struggling to get good jobs in that field, and I thought that if they were struggling, I’ve got little hope, so I took a hard, inward look at what else would make me happy.”

He dove head first into brewing, attending conferences and working at other microbreweries. In 2004, Duck Rabbit was born, but the name actually came later. The brewery's Rabid Duck, a Russian imperial stout, is one of the seasonal beers that takes its name from a story retold by an eavesdropping employee.

“When we were brand new and hadn’t selected our name yet, we were invited to sell at the Farmville St. Patrick’s celebration,” Philippon said. “My one and only brewer at the time was in Greenville later, and someone said they tried a new beer named Rabid Duck or something.”

With a laugh, he selected the name Duck Rabbit to pay homage to his past career in philosophy. The logo also has a philosophical background with a depiction of the two animals depending on the viewer’s perspective.

The brewery sold about 200 barrels of beer in 2004 and has grown ever since, selling just under 8,000

barrels in 2015. Unlike some brewers who add bottling to their repertoire down the line, Philippon added it immediately.

“It was partly because I love bottling, but it was partly a function of our location,” he said. “We’re out of the way, even in Farmville, so with a rural Eastern North Carolina home, I felt like bottling was really necessary to get our beer out there.”

Milton & Miles owner Bryan Rankin remembers trying Duck Rabbit for the first time when he added the company's brews to the craft beer selection at his Rocky Mount restaurant.

“They are one of my favorite regional breweries,” Rankin said. “I like their beers. They are well made and represent the individual styles, but they also each have a uniqueness that you can tell is Duck Rabbit.”

The Milk Stout is the most popular Duck Rabbit beer, often selling out before the shelves are restocked, but the seasonal brews also are popular among customers.

“For us, we’ve always tried to start as close to home as possible with our products,” Rankin said. “Duck Rabbit is our first choice for dark beers because the quality is so high.”

“THE FIRST BATCH MADE BY THE DARK-BEER LOVER WAS A BROWN ALE HE DESCRIBED AS NOTHING FANCY, MADE WITH THE HOPE HE COULD JUST BREW SOMETHING THAT TASTED LIKE BEER.

Duck Rabbit has grown from a staff of three employees to nearly 20. e reach of the brews has expanded over the years, too, with distribution across North Carolina first, then growing to eight other states along the East Coast. Attendees of beer festivals across the country also can try Duck Rabbit on tap with a full list of the events available on the brewery's website.

“I definitely think Duck Rabbit beers are a reflection of me,” Philippon said. “It is my taste. I like other things too, for sure, but when you taste a Duck Rabbit beer, you’ll have an understanding of who I am and what I like.”

Fans flock to the Farmville brewery three days a week for tastings and tours with attendees enjoying lawn games, food trucks and more as the days grow longer. Some fans have questioned his decision to open in such a rural location, but Philippon said the price was right for the 4.5 acres he owns and leaves room for expansion in the future.

He’s learned a number of lessons along the way. One surprising one was how much paperwork is involved in owning a brewery.

“ e amount of paperwork is numbing, and you have to find a way to deal with that somehow,” he said. “You delegate as you can and carve out time when you can’t.

“You’ll learn that sleep is less important than you used to think it was.”

His biggest advice for those new to the industry, though?

Get a job in the field before opening a brewery.

“ ere are 100 ways to skin a cat, but my advice is work in the industry before you found your own company,” he said. “Having said that, I’ve seen people start breweries from scratch and have success, but to me that is a big roll of the dice. I think it is best to learn the industry from the inside first, then branch out on your own.”

Not undervaluing your product is his second piece of advice.

“Quality beer comes first,” he said. “You’ve got to make a quality product, then you’ve got to sell it at an appropriate price. Once in a while, in times of growth in the industry, you’ll see people sell craft beer at discount prices, but I think that is a huge error.”

As for those who are new to the Duck Rabbit beers, the recommendation is to start light.

“I would say the Amber Ale or the Milk Stout is a good trial beer, depending on how dark you want to go,” Rankin said. “The amber is dark, but not too dark, while the Milk Stout has some perceived sweetness, which helps because people think really dark beer equates to really bitter.”

For more information on Duck Rabbit and where to try it, go to http:// www.duckrabbitbrewery.com/.

Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery: Arrive a stranger, leave with new friends

By Kymberlie An

On a sunny Friday afternoon in early April, the Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery is bustling with patrons on the front lawn listening to live music by Greenville musicians Billy Smith and Jason Bullard. A cornhole game provides a resounding “thunk” as the bean bags hit the boards. ere are benches, chairs and picnic tables add to the welcoming atmosphere.

Patrons also bring their own lawn chairs and sit chatting in small groups while enjoying one of the Duck’s fine beers. Everyone is smiling and laughing. Everyone is welcomed.

Farmville native Jamin Dixon enjoys this atmosphere. He and his wife Natalie have visited several times.

“ ere are always people who are from here but there are also people from around the area,” Dixon said. “ is is one of our favorite places to come.”

It’s also family-friendly. Dixon brings his two little girls, Mary Clair and Caroline, along for the evening and several other children run around on grass while their parents get to enjoy some adult time sampling and sipping the Duck Rabbit’s fabulous beers.

Inside, the taproom is separated from the brewery by a glass wall. Rocky Freeman serves patrons at the custom-made copper bar and there are two small tables with bar stools. Its close quarters but everyone is gracious and makes the small space work. It’s a dance of sorts, but one that you get used to quickly. Nod and smile, say hello, let them pass to the bathroom and repeat when they exit the bathroom. And it works for everyone.

Originally from Ahoskie, Freeman is the taproom manager. In addition to working on site, she draws the Duck Rabbit suds at such regional events as Greenville’s Umbrella Market held throughout the summer, at Pirate Fest in April and at Freeboot Fridays during football season.

Freeman inquires with first-time visitors Keli Martin, Derek Eaton, Kristy English and Casey Garrison what they’d like to drink and offers samples if the patrons are unsure of their choice. e group of four was invited to check the Duck out by regular patron Maria Stubbins who is often at the Duck on Friday nights with her husband J.R.

“I’ve always liked the beer,” said Eaton. “My favorite used to be the Milk Stout but now it’s Hoppy Bunny.” e Milk Stout is Duck Rabbit’s most popular beer and is available year round. Hoppy Bunny is an America Black Ale that is brewed with eight varieties of hops to provide a balanced bitterness. Milk Stout and Hoppy Bunny are two of the four core beers manufactured year round. e other two are the Amber Ale and the Brown Ale.

Paul Philippon founded the Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery in 2004 after he learned the trade through working at a succession of breweries. He’d also been a hobbyist since 1987. e Duck Rabbit is tucked into the back pocket of Farmville’s downtown core. Philippon selected the location carefully for a couple of key reasons; he didn’t want to rent and he wanted to be able to expand without moving. e tasting room didn’t open immediately. at didn’t happen until Aug. 19, 2011, and was originally only Friday nights.

Farmville resident Chip Galusha remembers that first Friday.

“I was here,” he said. “ at was many, many beers ago.”

Since Freeman started a year ago, taproom hours expanded from Fridays only to 3-10 p.m. ursday-Saturday and there’s more of a party atmosphere, according to patron and part-time employee Sherry Vick.

“Since Rocky started we’ve had a lot more nights like tonight,” Vick said. “It used to be just people in the taproom. Now we have live music and food trucks. It’s more like a party.”