Midtown Lunch Happy Hour: Rattle N Hum

There’s an ever-changing cast of characters from Midtown Lunch who show up, monthly or so, to partake of alcohol and food together. While this meeting was a little more subdued, we chose to meet at Rattle N Hum, a beer-focused bar on the outskirts of what ML calls “Midtown”.

Rattle N Hum typically keeps 40 beers on tap, plus another on cask in the back (where they can better regulate the temperature). When there hasn’t been a brewery event, where up to dozens of the taps are given over to one brewery, RNH keeps an eclectic, interesting list of beers, and a staff that knows something about all of them. While the prices are on the high side, at least there’s a selection of them that are a buck off during Happy Hour, which runs till 7:00 weeknights. So I drank a few beers over the course of the long evening, and thought to document them.

This night, I started out with an old favorite, Stone Levitation, described by RNH as an amber ale, but it’s more of an English bitter, using American hops. At any rate, it’s 4.4% alcohol by volume, making it Stone’s lowest-alcohol beer, and dare I say it, the best beer in their lineup. I’m really impressed at Stone’s ability to coax so much flavor out of such a delicate style.

Next up was to be the Captain Lawrence Kolsch, a new beer this year brewed in Pleasantville, and, when it’s on, it’s a fantastic interpretation of this German style: bready, nearly void of hops but not sweetly malty, just a refreshingly easy drinker, and low in alcohol. Sadly, tonight RNH must have received a keg in poor condition, because this was laden with diacetyl — think buttered popcorn, which incidentally is added to microwave popcorn for just that reason — and so I passed it around to see the reactions and ordered something else.

To replace that, I opted for the Victory Prima Pils, a beer I’ve talked up to a lot of people, most of whom could not care less I’m sure, as my favorite pilsner. Look how beautiful it is! And this was a super fresh keg, too, so the crisp pilsner malt bite was just wonderful; add the boatload of spicy hops and it’s tough to not drink this all night long. It’s also just a bit over 5% abv, so it’s no more potent than the average beer. Truly a sessionable pint.

A new brewery out of Florida, high on the hype-o-meter, got its due next. Cigar City Jai Alai IPA delivered what it promised, for the most part: a big lip-smacking hoppy punch to the face. At times it felt a little astringent, like the malt wasn’t pulling its weight, but for the most part that aspirin-like flavor was kept away and I enjoyed this beer, too. Unlike a lot of hyped breweries, Cigar City does a good job with the “standard” beers in its lineup, which get ignored sometimes in favor of limited-edition crazy kitchen-sink beers, which is a shame.

Around this time I remembered I should be drinking Oktoberfest beer, since it’s the season after all. Rattle had just a couple that could be considered festbiers. Given the choice, instead of making myself ill and getting Avery’s The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest — an unpleasant, alcohol-laden, mess of a beer — I chose the Hofbrau Oktoberfest. It’s more Helles style than Oktoberfest/Marzen style, much lighter in color and in body, but that’s the trend in Munich these days, so they’re giving the people what they want. I rather like this beer, as it’s very well made, reasonable in strength, and delivers a tasty malt-focused flavor without trying to get fancy or weird.

There’s no shame going back to the beers you enjoy, so, given such a great experience earlier with it, I ordered up another Prima Pils and basked in its tasty, tasty glow. Really, even with so many beers available at so many beer-centric bars, if there’s a Victory lager on tap — you’ll find one of their Braumeister Pils on tap sometimes, or the basic Lager, in a few places around town — I get at least one pint. If you visit the brewery in Downingtown, PA, there are typically 6-10 different, wonderful lagers to choose from among the couple dozen beers available.

Earlier, I’d guided Hungry to the Sixpoint Otis, brewed in Brooklyn by some great guys who have really taken over the city in their five-plus years here. This is their oatmeal stout, and it was in good condition: a little roasty, a bit chocolatey (from the barley; there’s no chocolate in the beer), and the addition of oatmeal in the brewing process kind of rounds off the sharper, roastier edges. I hate to use the work “smooth” to describe a beer, but… well, Otis is way too easy to drink. Which is why I was about halfway done before I remembered to take the picture.

I rounded out my drinking with the Founders Pale Ale. I’ve reviewed the Breakfast Stout in the past, and while that was on tap — at $7 for an 8-ounce pour — I decided I wanted something a little lighter in body, and hoppy enough to keep me occupied. While I wasn’t really in a position to really review by this point, this pale ale was spot-on, citrusy hops carried along by an unobtrusive malty background, and I savored this till it was time to go.

As usual, I enjoyed my night at Rattle N Hum. The staff are friendly and know what they’re doing, and while it gets noisy and crowded, that’s only for a short while — it is Midtownish, after all. The bar food we ordered, huge battered onion rings and saucy wings, was really good, and honestly, it’s worth coming here for a few beers and dinner if beer’s your thing. I highly recommend RNH, especially on weekends (no after-work crowds). I’m glad we chose this place for the (first) Midtown Lunch Happy Hour of September!