Tag Archives: river horse

River Horse Hop A Lot Amus

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When my kids were little one of their favorite books was But Not The Hippopotamus.

How could I not pick up a beer called “Hop-A-Lot-Amus”?

(Did you know that hippos kill hundreds of people each year? Many more than sharks, but we don’t get a “Hippo Week” do we?)

They say:

Continual hopping during boil gives our Double IPA tons of hop flavor and aroma. Pine and citrus notes are backed by rich malt base.

It’s the color of caramel, cloudy (it is unfiltered after all) with virtually no head. Definitely citrus in the aroma, but not as much pine as I expected. Maybe bit of vanilla. The pine really comes through in the flavor, along with a lot of alcohol heat. There’s a bit of a burnt biscuit flavor in the aftertaste. I think the jury is still out on this one. As we like to say: Requires more research.

River Horse Hop-A-Lot-Amus

River Horse Tripel Horse

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River Horse Tripel HorseBeer-a-Day #47

Back when I was shopping for Tripels for the Session I had trouble finding any. Now that I’ve done that, they’re practically jumping into my shopping cart.

Deep amber color with a prodigious head. So much so that I had a spill-over and am afraid that it’s over-carbonated. Or worse.

Smells nice, with some vanilla in the aroma. Some tart fruitiness in the flavor; more vanilla. Pretty good, although too big to have too many.

River Horse Tripel Horse


Hop haZARD dry hopped pale ale

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When I saw River Horse Hop haZARD, dry hopped, pale ale at my local candy store, I just had to pick it up. I love hops, especially a beer with a nice hop bouquet.

hop-hazard.jpgHere is what the brewers in New Jersey have to say about it…

Brewing the perfect ale is truly a balancing act … Hazardous work you might say. With Hop Hazard our challenge was to hand craft a malt rich base that could counterbalance a combustible five-hop blend and still leave your taste buds with enough room to enjoy a unique, dry-hopped finish.

What is dry hopping? Dry hopping is when a brewer adds hops after the boiling of the wort, either while it is fermenting, or at the end of fermentation in a secondary or aging stage. Hops in beer at this stage only add to the hop aroma, not to the bitterness of the beer which comes from boiling the hops.

Mmm… hops…

Anyway, Hop Hazard poured with a billowing head of foam and a cloudy amber color. (my photo does not show the true color of this beer) It had a nice hop aroma. Though I expected it to be stronger, it still was not a disappointment. The hops were more floral than citrus, nicely bitter, which lingered after sipping. There was some natural sediment so I was more careful the next time I poured.

Hop Hazard was a drinkable and very good pale ale altogether.