River Horse Belgian Freeze Winter Ale

Brewed by River Horse Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Lambertville, New Jersey USA

Excellent Copper coloring with huge brown head. Not my favorite of beer. A cross between a lager, with slight tartness of a lambic mixed with some caramel.

cloudy amber with reddish head. big aroma of sweet yeasty malt, the body is rich and full.

Bottle... Hazy, mahogany ale with a small, creamy, khaki head. Good retention. Mild aromas of caramel, dark fruit and chocolate. Perfectly balanced flavor. Lightly tart. Fizzy and thin. Not even close to any true Belgian strong ale I’ve ever tasted. Leans toward Flanders, but ends up in Golden, CO... the Coors Light of Belgian strong ales, I suppose. Much like Coors light, there’s not enough going on to be offensive. The relatively high ABV is extremely well-hidden... maybe too well-hidden.

DArk amber, cloudy, off white head, spice aroma, some hops, slight hint of sweetness and some malt, but nothing overly outstanding. Not a great attempt.

This winter beer pours a amber/tan color. The head is tan and disappears very quickly. As I smell this beer I pick up some spices nutmeg, cinnamon, and some toasty aromas. As this beer hits my palate I def detect some sweetness maybe brown sugar, or molasses. Also some floural presence which is very different in a winter beer also some nutty flavors that really taste well together. The negative aspect of this beer is the "sour grapes" taste that comes threw although faint enough to notice. Overall this is a decent beer that could use some minor improvements.

12oz bottle-pours a tan head with dark brown color. Aroma is sweet, malt, dark cherry. Taste is malt, oak barrel taste, sweet, mild carbonation. Medium bodied. Nothing that stands out as bad, just lacking.

Bottle (12oz). Deep dark clear brown-red with a small beige head. Aroma of nutty roast caramel malt, slightly vegetal, yeast, hints of cocoa, tart fruit - quite roasty and dry, a bit funky and, uh, dung-y on warming. Taste is sour fruit and dry sour roast malt, I can’t taste any alcohol in it - this reminds me more of a dunkel than a "belgian strong." Mouthfeel dry, flat, reasonably thick, relatively short bitter/sour - as a dunkel this is decent, but doesn’t measure up to the style.

2004 bottle. Light brown with a foamy tan head. Aromas are light cola and sweet candy. Mouthfeel almost explodes in your mouth with all light flavors of yeast and cani sugars. Similar to the aroma this is a weak ass attempt at a Belgian style ale. NJ sucks.