Island Rhino Suit
Alesong Brewing & Blending

Enjoyed on draft in a snifter at Loyal Legion in Beaverton, OR.

The nose is sweet, milky stout, fortified with coconut and plenty of rum. Smells like a rum-laden Almond Joy without the almonds. Flavor follows agreeably, leading with milk chocolate and a surplus of coconut. There's an undertow of brown sugar, toasted malt, and vanilla. Sweet, but not too sweet. The finish is toasted Hawaiian bread, coconut, and rum, with milk chocolate mousse on the back end. Medium-heavy body with creamy texture and carbonation that's subdued but persistent. Mild alcohol warmth in the finish.

Overall it's an enjoyable if rather simple barrel-aged stout. It has plenty of coconut flavor, which works nicely with the rum barrel influence. Nice beer.

Look - Pours a very dark brown/black color with a nice dark brown head.

Smell - Coconut, malt, and light chocolate.

Taste - Malt coconut, rum, and lactose. Different with rum (Island Rhino Suit) rather than bourbon (Rhino Suit), but I really like it!

Feel - The 12.2% is absolutely perfect for this beer. Carbonation is perfect, and it goes down super easy!

Overall - I found this to be far better than the original Rhino Suit with bourbon. Then again, I prefer rum to bourbon, and coconut probably goes better with rum as well, so I guess that makes sense.

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a one finger khaki head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, rum, lactose, light cocoa and coconut, a little boozy. Flavor is dark toasted malt, rum, dark chocolate, lactose and coconut. Chocolate rum ball finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. The always flavorful Rhino Suit base supports the authentic tasting rum character from the barrels. Nice imperial milk stout profile with good chocolate and lactose; coconut is present, but mild. Pleasant rum, chocolate and coconut confection flavors in the finish. Smells a bit boozy, but alcohol is well covered in the taste. This has been a great series of barreled stouts and this is one of the better ones.

Poured from 500 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours an extremely dark brown hue with 1 inch frothy dark mocha head with excellent retention.
S: Aroma hits from a couple feet away. Smooth dark chocolate with sweet bourbon followed by vanilla, coconut, and soft molasses.
T: Smooth dark chocolate with equally strong coconut followed by creamy vanilla, sweet bourbon, soft molasses, and just a hint of oak.
M: Medium heavy body. Thick and velvety/creamy feel. Layers of dark sweetness that linger and mature nicely on the palate.
D: A lovely variation on the base beer. Coconut is very present, but not overpowering and complements the other notes well.

500 ml bottle into a snifter. A 2023 release, had 1/20/24.

Pours a mostly opaque dark brown, with a quarter inch foamy head and light foamy lacing. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, malt, vanilla, some rum- more as it warms, some coconut. Flavors of rum, chocolate, malt, vanilla, cocoa, some coconut, light oak. Smooth, a thinner fuller body, appropriately carbonated.

While it’s very good overall, it’s not an intense beer. The barrels have a good presence and the coconut is always there, if understated. Well developed aromas and flavors. It’s definitely thinner, but not thin and there’s no real impact on the flavor.