No Reindeer But a Rhino Delivers This Holiday Cheer

Warming his hands over a blazing fire pit in Westover Market’s outdoor Beer Garden during a recent tap takeover, Lost Rhino Brewing Co. master brewer Favio Garcia introduced me to his latest creation: - RhiNoel - his first-ever winter seasonal, brewed in the tradition of the Trappist ales of Belgium. We were just outside the door to Arlington’s legendary Wall-of-Beer with over 1,000 varieties to choose from, including all the holiday gift-boxed sets, on display for this year’s givers and getters.

RhiNoel is a Belgian dubbel, blending the complexity of pilsner and caramel malts with a dark candi sugar that gives it a beautiful deep ruby coloring and sweet finish. With no spices in the mix, it’s even more drinkable and refreshing. Available in sixtels, halfs, and 750-ml. bottles, it’s sure to take the chill off at 7.5 percent alcohol by volume. Fresh yeast was added to this beer before packaging, so cellar a bottle or two of this bottle conditioned beer, which will improve with age as it continues to ferment in the bottle.

The Belgian yeast strain was a gift from Port City Brewing Co. in Alexandria, according to Garcia. “We go way back with them… Jonathan at Port City trained me how to brew at Bardo’s way before my days at Old Dominion,” Garcia reminisced.

Garcia and his co-founding partner Matt Hagerman, head of brewery operations and fellow brewer, certainly have a lot to celebrate this holiday season: their dream of their own Virginia-based brewery became a reality last summer. “Matt hangs mostly in the office keeping the day-to-day operations under wraps, and I find myself doing most of the brewing,” said Garcia.

The brewery was born out of the fierce desire to keep the tradition of craft brewing alive in Northern Virginia. The partners were longtime brewers from Old Dominion Brewery who were already considering breaking out on their own before Coastal Brewing Co, bought Old Dominion and moved all operations to Delaware. Garcia and Hagerman bought back the brewhouse and moved it to its new location in Ashburn, Va. “It is here that we're brewing some of the most outstanding pilsners and ales in the Washington, DC area,” said Garcia.

The two intend to be as adventurous as their namesake: Rhino Chasers are surfers who travel the globe to catch the big waves.

Their regular offerings include Rhino Chasers Pacific Pils, refreshing and spicy from a hopping with U.S.-grown Hallertau and Saaz. It’s an excellent example of an underappreciated style.

For the hopheads, Rhino markets New River Pale Ale, aggressively hopped with citrusy Pacific Northwest hops. Garcia and Hagerman used to brew this brand at Old Dominion. After the pale ale, you can graduate to Faceplant IPA, which draws its floral aroma from whole-cone Cascade and Centennial hops.

Rhino has also experimented with an Oktoberfest lager called RhinO’fest, and even makes a root beer, sweetened with cane sugar and honey and full of sarsaparilla and wintergreen flavors.

Garcia and Hagerman had just held an ugliest Christmas sweater party at their taproom in Ashburn, where they sell all of their drafts plus wine. Garcia notes, “We’re dealing with some changes in ABC laws at the moment, but expect to offer bottles in the near future.” Taproom hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 12 noon to 8 p.m. They offer tours on Saturdays until 6 p.m., and yes, they have growlers! Lost Rhino Brewing Co. is at 21730 Red Rum Drive, Suite 142, Ashburn, Va. Give them a call for more information at 571-291-2083.

Meanwhile, back at Westover Market’s Beer Garden, there is more HO HO HO in store this coming week with Sierra Nevada’s Holiday Party Tap Takeover on Sat., Dec 17 beginning at 5 p.m. They will be serving up a line of their delicious seasonal favorites and some big surprises, to boot according to Brad Phillips, regional market manager and life of every Sierra Nevada party in the area.

Also, remember to bring a new toy for the Toys for Hops tie-in that evening. If it gets too nippy in the Beer Garden in spite of the cozy fire pits, you can now belly up to the bar at Westover with the recent addition of an interior lounge that seats about a dozen people at the bar with more room at adjacent tables. There are plenty of beers on tap and great grub with locally sourced meats and cheeses from their revamped deli. This great gathering place for friends is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.. Westover Market also offers Wi-Fi and a widescreen TV for watching football.

If you’ve been looking to get out of the house this winter with your beer buddies, a new MeetUp group has started in Arlington for craft beer lovers both novice and experienced. The group, which meets twice a month, is called BEER HEAD. So far 21 new members have left an R.S.V.P. for its inaugural meeting at Westover Market Beer Garden and Lounge on Thursday, Dec. 15. With the common interest of craft beer, you can expect strangers to become friends in this crowd of all ages.

For more information and to get in on some holiday fun, check out http://www.meetup.com/Beer-Head/?gj=ej1b&a=wg2_l4. 

Happy holidays, everyone!