After the very successful first Celtic Festival Missoula this past weekend, we had a chance to stop in at the Rhino to see what new brews were on tap. When a joint has 50 taps, you’re reasonable well assured to find something new, especially if you let a couple of weeks pass between visits. For beers I find at a store, I can check out a label, maybe google it a bit, and have some idea of what I’m going to be tasting. But with the ever rotating set of taps at the Rhino, I often go in blind, having never heard of the beer, let alone know the style.
That was the case with these two beers. First up was Stone Brewing Co.’s Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. Truth be told, I’ve got a bottle of it in my fridge, but had picked it up purely for the name and hadn’t read the label. I was surprised to see how dark it was. Black, actually with some deep red undertones and an off-white head. My initial reaction told me it was a Black IPA, but I quickly talked myself out of that because of a sweetness that appears in the middle and a touch lingering in the aftertaste. There’s quite a nice hit of hops up front and some roasted malt flavors in there, too. It is complex and rich. Full bodied, too, and smoothly enjoyable. On googling it, I discovered it packs a punch at 8.7% abv, which made sense given its full body and richness. The 90 IBUs from Chinook hops also explain the hop punch. It was originally brewed as Stone’s 11th Anniversary Ale back in early 2009.
Next up, I spotted Lagunitas Brewing Co.’s Lucky 13, which Lagunitas calls a “mondo large red ale.” It is indeed a big beer at 8.3% abv with a dark amber color and a thick, almost creamy white head. Like Stone’s Self Righteous, this beer has a rich, full flavor, but this one features malt, with enough hop bitterness to provide balance only. I couldn’t place the flavors at first, finding them to mostly have a bit of candy sweetness. About half way through the pint, I found it: brown sugar. Lots of brown sugar.
I’d call it another successful night exploring what the Rhino has to offer. And if you haven’t tried it yet, they’ve also got Deschutes Brewery’s Hop in the Dark Cascadian Dark Ale which has quickly become one of my favorites.
