River Horse Belgian Freeze Winter Ale

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

Clear deep ruby body with a frothy ligh tan head. The aroma is lightly sweet, dishwater, and not much else. Rather neutral aroma. Flavor is roasted malt, think brown ale, light to medium spicy hops. and loads of sweet sugar. I do not like the candi sugar plus roasted malt interaction. Very umpleasant. Body is medium lightly syrupy with a lingering astringency. Unpleasant all around.

Intriguing stuff. Red-brown. Nose yeasty, lots of caramel, some peat. Taste is interesting, some definite caramel and toffee as in a standard winter ale, but then there’s a lemon/yeast combination that’s very reminiscent of a weizenbock. Finish dry and a bit nutty. Kind of tastes like a winter and a weizenbock mixed together, certainly not perfect but at least an interesting combo of flavors.

Bottle: Dark ruby/brown color with a small beige head. Aroma: spicy yeast, malt, chocolate, nuts, toffee. Taste: clean hops, malt, fruits, sweet toffee, raisin, molasses. Finishes thin and with a tea-like hops taste. Light to medium bodied.

Dark amber in color, large head from vigorous pour. Has the classic Belgian aroma, but with a slight tart note to it that comes through in the finish. One of the better offerings from RH.

Not really up there with other Belgians, but for Jersey, its good. A delicious beer for winter. And cheap too. Similar to the Flying Fish Dubbel...that means cheap but good enough to be in the same category as great beers. Good but not great.

An average winter beer at the most. But I still have to give credit for attempting to creat a semi-decent beer in the process.

On draft at the Drafting Room, Spring House. I’m not a huge fan of River Horse beers, but this one was fantastic. It was so good that I took a growler to go. Pours deep amber with ruby menisci. Not much head or lacing. Aroma of malt, toffee, cabernet, nuts. Tastes malty, somewhat nutty and fruity, with a somewhat dry, crisp finish. There is a definite Belgian Ale presence here, and that ramps up the complexity for this one.

Bottle. Another fair to middling effort from Riverhorse. Easy on the hops, a bit sweet, and a touch of nutmeng. Alcohol well hidden - I’d have guessed < 5.5%. Recently upgraded. Potent belgian-style aroma: flowers, herbs, chocolate. Starts off kind of like a baby trois-pistoles, excellent carbonation, finish however, is a bit off with some tin and cardboard.