River Horse Summer Blonde

Brewed by River Horse Brewing Company
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Lambertville, New Jersey USA

Pours a hazy golden straw colour. Small quickly dissipating soda like whitie head. Sweet grainy nose, faintly olive, toffee, vegetable. More of the same as far as the palate is concerned. Mostly boring, but refreshing nonetheless. Faintly herbal hops showing through on the finish, but not enough to get excited about.

Pours hazy gold with a one-finger white head. You can see the individual particles suspended in there. Dry malts and light piney hops in the aroma. There is a slight sweetness, as well, like molasses. The flavor is very watery, with a slight taste of hops at the end. Surprisingly creamy mouthfeel

Bottle from Lou18. Pours a lightly hazy orangish amber color. White head forms and leave slight lacing. Aroma is light and somewhat fruity. Light bodied. Flavors are uncomplex with a light toasted malt background and just a slight hop presence to balance. Somewhat watery. Fair.

12oz bottle poured a hazy yellow with small head. The nose was malt and small bits of pine-hops. Flavor was light and being the end of summer, I want a fuller taste for my brew.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with slob, thanks Bert!) Lots of grain and corn flavor in this lightly sweet beer, but at least it has flavor and it isn’t unpleasant. Frankly, I’ll happily take that in a blonde ale since many entries in this category can’t even manage to avoid being offensive. Light bitterness and very gentle spiciness from the hops adds balance. The nose is all corn, but isn’t especially aromatic. Light bodied, but turns a bit watery in the finish. Hazy, pale straw color, but the white head pours to an average height and settles to a thin, broken layer. Just a few small splotches of lace are on the glass. Not something I’d care to drink again, but like I said, it’s not offensive.

I was expecting worse- after having soem infected bottles in the past. With that said this still isnt that great, but ok for these hot summer days. Light gold color, thin head, aroma is light malts, some floral hops. Flavor is light and a bit malty with a light bitter finish. Pretty smooth though.

12 oz bottle: Hazy pale yellow w/ a very small, almost non existant white head. Bland malt characteristic w/ a bit of toffee and diacetyl at first. A bit of green apple 2nd. Beyond that, fruitiness is minimal and overall aroma is a bit bland. Well balanced, a bit on the malty, worty, sweet side. A bit of a freshly crushed pale malt flavor at first, then a bit buttery in the finish & aftertaste. The finish is also semi sweet w/a bland and diacetyl aftertaste. Low, medium carbonation, smooth at first, but a bit dry once it’s in the mouth for a few seconds, & a fuller light body. Overall a bit disappointing. Not a horrible beer, but nothing special.

Tastes ok and it’s less filling too. River Horse makes a point that Summer Blond has lower carbs. Typical ABA -- pours hazy straw-amber with floaters. Solid white head, lasts pretty well, leaves a bit of lace. Nose is tart fruit: apple, quince, lemon, with straw and slight malt caramel notes. Taste is lightly malt, tangy fruit, and an odd phenolic, metallic taste. A tad of noble hop in a barely bitter finish. Mouthfeel is good for a summer refresher. Refreshing balanced brew, although I’m not too impressed with River Horse after sampling several of their offerings. They’ve all been low on flavor, almost overwhelmingly sweet and fruity, like craft versions of macrobrews. They’re all rather light.