Hunga who?

Moscow’s budding craft beer scene got another boost with this week’s arrival of Hunga Dunga Brewing .
The taproom rather quietly opened its doors Monday downtown at 333 N. Jackson, in a renovated Quonset hut that formerly housed a feed and garden supply store . Hours are 4 to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Owners have been equally quiet when it comes to returning messages, but here’s what we can tell you so far:
– They’re not shy about their hops, based on the opening beer lineup: Summer Ale (5.8 percent alcohol by volume, 74 International Bitterness Units), Oatmeal Pale (6.1, 67) and Red Rye (6.3, 59). A black IPA is on the way, according to Facebook comments.
In a January interview, co-owner Graham Lilly told us that the focus would be on “big, but very clean and great-tasting beers.”
– The initial food menu includes two entrees – a Brewhouse Beef platter with paprika pesto and vegetables, and Smoked Red Ale Sausage with homemade sauerkraut and IPA mustard – along with a few small plates and a gourmet S’more for dessert. Selections will rotate seasonally.
– Taproom aside, the goal is to become a production brewery distributing throughout the area, with a canning line. The 15-barrel brewing system is capable of turning out 4,500 barrels per year.
– As for the name, that comes from a wacky skit in the Marx Brothers film “Animal Crackers.” As Lilly previously said: “We take our beer very seriously, but we are making beer, after all.”
Hunga Dunga joins the Rants & Raves brewery/restaurant just down the street at 308 N. Jackson, which opened in January and began brewing in April. Tiny Moscow Brewing , which got things rolling locally in 2013, closed recently and was for sale at last report.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "On Tap." Read all stories from this blog