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Lost Rhino Brewing Company/Retreat

Unfortunately, when I went to my planned brewery visit for this week (Ocelot) on Wednesday, they were hosting a private event and I couldn't come in for a tasting. But, as I mentioned, there are several breweries in the immediate area, so I decided to stop by Lost Rhino Retreat. 

Overview

Lost Rhino Brewing Company was founded in 2011 by  Matt Hagerman and Favio Garcia, who previously were associated with  Dominion Brewery in Ashburn, VA. Over the last four years Lost Rhino has enjoyed tremendous success - they brew over 5,000 barrels per annum, they have been distributed in local stores (such as Harris Teeter and Wegmans), and this past spring they opened a second location - Lost Rhino Retreat (just miles away from the Lost Rhino Brewing Company). Here is the map which shows their proximity to one another.

Beer Jargon

Here are some terms that I will refer to when I give the review of my tasting:

*Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Amount of alcohol in beer in terms of percentage volume of alcohol per volume of beer
*Hefe- A German word meaning "yeast". Used mostly in conjunction with wheat (weiss) beers to denote that the beer is bottled or kegged with the yeast in suspension (hefe-weiss). 
*Hoppy- Aroma of hops

* IPA - Indian Pale Ale. This is generally a hoppy/bitter beer. 

*Lager- Beers produced with bottom fermenting yeast strains, Saccharomyces uvarum (or carlsbergensis) at colder fermentation temperatures than ales.

Tasting

As you can see, they have an extensive beer menu - ranging from lighter/mid flavors, hoppy IPAs, and yeast/fruity options. For my tasting I chose the following:

Dawn Patrol - This was a lighter IPA with a smooth taste. Unlike may IPAs I've had this was not bitter or overpowering. Only containing 3.8% ABV, this beer is definitely something I would order again.

Megafauna - This was not for me. It was also an IPA, but it tasted like a mix between grapefruit and diesel fuel. I gave this sample to my husband. 

* this concludes my review of IPAs (I only picked two). Here is more information on IPAs and how the beer is made. 

Oatmeal Brown Ale - Hands down my favorite beer at this brewery. This was pumpkin pie heaven! I would suggest adding a pumpkin spice rim to the glass to complete the experience, but I ended up taking a growler of this home.

Kolsch - I assumed this would be my favorite. It's described as a light, easy drinking beer. And it is. Light and fruity, with a hint of bitterness. However this isn't something regularly drink. It turns out I don't like fruity tastes in my beer.

New River Pale Ale - This is one of their main staple, local's favorite beer. My first reaction: YUCK. It was dry, heavy, and bitter enough to make me shudder. It made me wonder why the brewery favorite tasted like a combination of mothballs and formaldehyde. Again, my husband received this taster.

Final Glide (Hefeweizen)- The initial scent I detect with this brew is a mix of cotton candy and cough syrup. Luckily, it tastes slightly better. It's still too heavy/fruity for me.

Native Son-  My tongue might have been in shock by then, but I couldn't really taste much of this beer. It was dry with a light flavor. Neither good or bad, really. 

Overall it was a pleasant experience, and I was exposed to some unique flavors. I took a growler of the Pumpkin (Oatmeal Ale) beer home. But, I'm not ready to start coming to the Lost Rhino as one of my regular hang outs. I'm still in search of a new favorite beer...