River Horse Imperial Cherry Amber

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

A very interesting bottle from Thaichile. Pours a dark amber color with a medium tan head. The aroma was light hops, some caramel malt, and perhaps some sweet cherry. The flavor was fairly straightforward, but nice; some sweet malts, a large hop presence, not too bitter but flavorful, and some very light cherries. A very quaffable beer and no notice of alcohol. More like a Pale Ale than anything else really.

Bottle. Amber body with an of white head. Sweet cherry, caramel malt. Over all tastes like a sweet lager. Not much here.

On tap served in a trappist glass. Cherry, vanilla, malty, ever so slightly hoppy. Dark red slightly amber body almost like cherry coke. Slight head. Maybe a little too much carbonation as it seemed to permeate and distort the flavor slightly. But a good malty and nutty body balanced with light cherry and hop flavor. A good beer to be sure but a work in progress. It has a lot of potential.

12oz. Bottle: Faint aroma of caramel, cherries, toasting and vanilla. Poured deep amber in color with a small, off-white head that disappeared over a long time. Slightly hazy. Sparkling. Small lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet. Tastes of toasted malts, caramel, vanilla, alcohol, slight cherry, and a little chocolate. Medium body. Thickish, creamy texture. Soft to average carbonation. Slightly sticky, toasted malt and caramel finish.

12 oz bottle. This doesn’t deserve a standard review. You ever play beer pong with some cheap-ass lager ? You know how the beer tastes after it’s been sitting in a plastic cup for a while ? That’s what this tastes like, right out of the bottle. Not Imperial, not cherry, not amber. A major disappointment.

Sampled on draft, I thought this was an alright amber ale that has the traditional caramel malt flavor and aroma. Unfortunately, everything else about it was rather lacking. However, here’s the $20k question.........where’s the cherry flavor???

Pours a transparent copper orange with a clingy-lacing light tan head. Has a toasty grainy musty nose with a touch of tart fleshy cherries. Body starts with good fullness and caramel malty sweetness with a semi-tart musty cherry flavor before a slightly drier finish. An interesting beer, but could use either more of a sugary sweet cherry character or a tart sour cherry character.

Appearance: Pours a clear, deep reddish-amber body with, well, no head. Pity. Smell: Toasty, caramelly malts with a lightly tart cherry note. Taste: Toasted caramel maltiness with a tiny, tiny touch of roast. Never overly sweet. Hint of graininess. Whoa! Now wait just one damn minute -- where’s the cherries? Touch of spicy hops with a light bitterness. Drying finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-low carbonation. Drinkability: Don’t stay up waiting for this beer to really deliver much in the way of cherries or imperialized anything.