River Horse Belgian Freeze Belgian Style Winter Ale - River Horse Brewing Co.

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I poured this into a glass, it has a reddish brown color body with a thin tan head. The smell has a dark fruit and sweet aroma. The taste has a rasain, dark fruit flavor. It also a has a belgian yeasty flavor. The mouth feel is very nice not heavy with medium body. Overall a pretty good belgium

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 01:44:54 | More by chefhatt

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- 12oz bottle poured into a regular-sized tulip. Dark red-brown body with a definite haze to it. One finger light brown head forms and has lackluster retention. A ring and cloud with big bubbles remains and leaves just a few webs of lace.

S- Belgian yeast with a large amount of dark fruit, which is slightly medicinal, up front. Hints of clove, banana, spice, alcohol and apples; likely also from the yeast. Not much beyond that besides some slight toasted malt sweets.

T- Yeast forward again, something I would expect from this style. Light fruits like white grapes and apples come through more here but there is still some dark fruit, not medicinal though. Belgian yeast spice, pepper, zesty citrus peel, banana, clove and some alcohol hints too. Brown sugar, toast and caramel come from the malt and probably sugar additions.

MF- Dried out body but one that does not feel thin. Slightly creamy with moderate carbonation. Light spicy bitterness in the finish.

Really not bad for an American Belgian style ale. I find that fruit notes from the yeast like apple and raisin really drive the beer but don't overwhelm. ABV doesn't bother me but it is not the most well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 03:21:53 | More by cbutova

ranger60

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had it on tap at Southside Grille in South Bound Brook, NJ.

Appearance - very interesting, very red, hazy. no head at all

Smell - has a typical Belgian ale smell, but seems a little sweet.

Taste: very good...picking up all the fruits and spices you'd expect of a Belgian dark ale.

Mouthfeel: wouldn't mind a bit more carbonation

Overall: bartender at Southside Grille recommended it, after a did a 5 beer tasting and did not include it. I love Belgian dark ales...this one is not bad, but is lacking some punch overall.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2013 19:01:19 | More by ranger60

Ryanm1

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours brown into a glass with about a finger of white lacing.

Tingley mouthfeel.

Very powerful smell of cherrys and similiar fruit esters along with a smell of alcohol present as is such in other high abv beers that use belgian yeast.

As for tastes its got the sweetness I expect in my belgians. Kind of tastes like a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. Slightly bitter aftertaste.

Great beer if you like winter belgians.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 02:15:58 | More by Ryanm1

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.03/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle, poured into my Brooklyn Brewery tulip.

River Horse's Belgian Freeze pours an opaque burnt copper, with just over a finger of bone colored foam. There's a little bit of head retention, and not much lacing at all. There's a lot going on in the aroma, with caramel, bready, fig, berry, and clove aromas all easily appreciable. The first two are just a little too prominent for my taste though. The flavor profile is the same story. Yes there are some fruity esters and some clove like phenols, and I even enjoy how they're balanced relative to each other (with the former shining more than the latter). The problem is how prevalent the malt character is. There's more caramel and toasty bread than anything else. The body is headed in the right direction (dry), but it's not quite light enough. Similarly, there's some life to the carbonation, but I find myself looking for even more. Still, the mouthfeel is very close to being great. Belgian Freeze is a pleasant enough brew, but it just doesn't blow me away as a Belgian Dark Ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 04:46:43 | More by axeman9182

metter98

New York

3.85/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is relatively clear reddish amber in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high dense light beige head that has very good retention properties and hardly died down.
S: There are aromas of candi sugar, bananas and Belgian yeast in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has a little sweetness along with notes of toffee and hints of Belgian yeast.
M: It feels a bit shy of medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. No stickiness is present.
O: I found this beer to be easy to drink and rather enjoyable because it was almost as flavorful as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale while having a lighter body.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 03:40:58 | More by metter98

Chas58

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a growler filled at Joe Canal's Iselin into my Weyerbacher Tulip Glass

Appearance: pours a very cloudy orangeish brown with a very active head that is tight but dissipates fairly quickly. A very nice lacing remains. 

Smell: a malty yeasty, almost bready aroma, very understated and pleasant. I expected more, whether alcohol or spicing. 

Taste: a malty very pleasant but not overally memorable. I continue to search for more, but find just the balanced malty yeasty ale

Mouthfeel: tight light carbonation with a typically Belgian yeasty film

Overall: there is nothing to dislike about this beer, it is well crafted, well balanced and very reminiscent of a Belgian Dark ale, but it also does not challenge the style. I would drink this again, without a problem, but it is not unique. 

Serving type: growler

12-09-2012 00:42:01 | More by Chas58

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a deep amber/brown in color with a finger of head.
smells of raisins, dates, fig, apples, banana... a cross between a quad and winter warmer.
tastes of brown sugar, raisins, a slight cocoa flavor, apples, cinnamon, banana.
medium/full body, low carbonation, creamy on the lips..

a sweet and tasty treat. a great seasonal with awesome artwork. it's like drinking an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 18:28:55 | More by facundoCNB

kangarooAdam59

Maine

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Huntley Taverne, Summitt New Jersey:

A: dark cloudy brown colored body with no carbonation seen rising and no head.

S: sweet caramel up front with some light raisins and plums in the background.

T: basically the same adding a bit of cherries in it.

M: medium and had a decent amount of carbonation to it. No alcohol was felt which helped to make this fairly drinkable.

O: I would say this was a pretty good Belgian Dark. I would have this again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-25-2012 02:27:40 | More by kangarooAdam59

MattyK

3.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- dark, cloudy, unfiltered Belgium dark ale.

S- sweet Carmel/brown sugars, raisins, plums, tad bit of some cherries.

T- definitely sweet sugars right off the bat. Can definitely identify its Belgium base, but not overwhelming, tasting a lot of dark fruits such as plum, raisins, and cherries. Very proportionate in all flavors.

M-moderately carbonated, being an 8%'r the alcohol hides very well within the initial taste. Seconds after consumed the slight burn from the alcohol comes into play on the tongue.

O-overall I think this is a great Belgium ale to kick off the winter season. Excellent flavor of the fruits for an 8% beer, but at the same time has that unique Belgium characteristic to it.

Serving type: on-tap

11-14-2012 00:29:22 | More by MattyK

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another thanks to Dan (DSlim71) for this extra. Cheers buddy!

Appearance – Pours into a tulip with a semi-opaque brown color. About a half finger of tan head appears that dissipates quickly leaving decent lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell – Dark fruits such as plums, dates, and raisins. Malty sweetness, brown sugar, spices such as clove, and some honey.

Taste – While the aroma did not lend itself to the “Belgian” style…the flavor sure does. Lots of Belgian yeast, cloves, banana, candied molasses, dark fruits such as those aforementioned, and just a hint of alcohol.

Mouthfeel – Medium bodied, decent carbonation.

Overall – To be frank, not as bad as I feel some people make it out. While not “good” per-say…not horrible. As the beer warms some tart cherry notes come through which are pleasant. In addition, the Belgian yeast is not that noticeable (good thing for me) so that bumps it up a point or two. A decent beer to finish the night with before getting up early to fly to Miami for a wedding. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2012 03:50:38 | More by SpdKilz

bubseymour

Maryland

2.83/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - dark and scary. Like a really murky apple cider look. Average/above average 2 finger head that reduced quickly.

Smell - Very very spicy aroma.

Taste - not into this taste much at all. Something seems off with the water. Very metallic and mineral like flavor. Spice is well noted as well. Fairly smooth, but slight hop bite in finish but very mild. Strong dark beer but not too boozy.

Mouthfeel - full bodied

Overall - Taste makes this barely drinkable to me. Perhaps this just isn't my style of beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 22:07:28 | More by bubseymour

LadyOfMuchBeer

Texas

3.85/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle served in a pint.

Appearance-Pours bright amber, clear, barely any head, fades fast to single ring around edge. Sticky upon swirling. Slow steady visible carbonation.

Smell- sour yeast, like sourdough. light spice-coriander? clover, citrus, honey. pretty typical Belgian smell. Doesn't smell dark however.

Taste- orange rind. Nice Belgian yeast funk. light spice. coriander, and an odd lemon peppery flavor. Tastes pretty pale to me. What makes this a dark ale? the color? seriously?

Mouthfeel- thin, little sticky, but pretty clean overall.

Overall, very nice, not the best, but above average.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 05:22:30 | More by LadyOfMuchBeer

SolipsismalCat

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass. Reviewed alongside Cazeau Tournay De Noel.

A: Hazy dark amber with one-finger, off-white, creamy head that lasted a couple of minutes. Okay lacing.

S: Caramel malt and spice. Mild.

T: Moderate sweetness and moderate bitterness. Spicy hops. Sort of tart. Yeast and funk.

M: Light to medium bodied with fizzy carbonation. Kind of thin. Slightly warm.

O: There wasn't much to the nose, and it tasted kind of weird. I liked the Cazeau Tournay De Noel better.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 03:40:15 | More by SolipsismalCat

magine

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a chalice.

Pours a dark brown with some slight reddish hue. Has good carbonation and a bubbly off white head. Cloudy brew with some sediment floating. Good patchy lacing remains clinging to the glass. Good looks.

Brew smells of candied sugars, Belgian yeasts strains and dark fruits. Good smelling brew.

Brew is sweet and smooth; creamy malts and yeasts. Dark fruits and good malts; caramel, toffee, raisins. Some good sour flavors here as well. Brew has nice peppery spice as well. Finishes slightly boozy and dry. The peppery spice and sourness over takes some of the flavors as you drink, which holds it back a bit. A good tasting and feeling brew.

Brew drinks well and has good flavors. An pretty good american brewed Belgian dark ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 01:01:00 | More by magine

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Not the prettiest beer you'll see, kind of a muddy apple cider appearance, with a small white head that vanishes rapidly, leaving very little lacing behind.

Sweet aroma full of caramel, toasted malt, dark stone fruits, and prominent booze. Taste follows the nose, moderately sweet but not cloying, very fruity, with noticeable booze and a light yeasty spiciness. Very low bitterness, really no hop presence to speak of at all.

Medium carbonation and body with a little creaminess in the mouthfeel. Fairly short finish that has a kind of berry fruitiness and booze in the aftertaste. Not bad at all, feels pretty authentic actually. Good job by River Horse. Not the deepest or most subtle attempt at a Belgian style beer but enjoyable nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 06:28:59 | More by tobelerone

Naugros

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looking good to begin with: apple cider colored with a thick beige head that leaves behind pretty good lacing. The smell is even decent with Belgian yeast evident as well as caramel malts. Dried apricots against a slightly soapy odor.

Yellow raisins and cherries in the flavor. Unfortunately, that soapiness continues from the smell. A little bit of caramel and a minor alcohol note with a clove. A little messy in the presentation in the mouth as well with tingles and bites in various places with astringency. Doesn't leave a pleasant feel behind and there's a film on my lips I'll need to clear off.

Not a big fan of this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 01:35:22 | More by Naugros

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a brownish amber color with a desent size foamy cap. there is little in way of lacing and fades to a strong surface collar. Good carbonation. Nicely aromatic with rich malts of pale and crystal and hints of maybe some roasted malts. A good wiff of Beligian yeast and candied sugar. Taste like the nose rich malts, Belgian yeast, candied sugar, cherries and a nice earthiness. A medium weight beer that slides down smooth with a semi-dry finish. Soft alcohol warming acompanies the finish. A good beer, nice apperancnce, smell and taste. Easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2011 12:49:37 | More by micromaniac129

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a chalice

Pours a dirty amber color with a small off-white cap. Falls quickly to form a thin collar. No lacing whatsoever. The aroma is of spicy clove, tart cherries, banana, candi sugar, and some honey. The flavor profile follows the nose for the most part. Tart cherries carry the load with spicy clove and some honey balancing things out. The feel is medium with solid carbonation. A bit prickly on the finish. Tart cherries and spice linger. Overall, this is a nice little belgian dark, suitable as a winter ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 21:03:35 | More by ColForbinBC

HopsYeast

New Jersey

3.3/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a- 3/4 finger pale beige head. copper color with a slight orangish hue. hazy body with no sediment.
s-sweet malt, subtle hops, and some hints of yeast in the form of pear and banana.
t-yeast, muted malts and a very subtle hop flavor. nothing stands out too distinctly but also its somewhat bland in a way. its a mish mosh of flavors that are all a only little above average, but doing so makes the beer that way too.
m-nice body, has somewhat of a syrupy quality but not too much. has a nice carbonation level. it is decently drinkable especially for 8%
o-this is an ok beer. another river horse brew that has seemed to gone slightly down in quality in the past few years. they still put out great brews, but this is one that seems to have taken a blow.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2011 01:05:12 | More by HopsYeast

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

A: Pours a hazy reddish copper with 1 finger of head that dissipates quickly. Film clings to the side while a thin layer of lacing slides down the glass.

N: Cherry, honey, fig, banana, candy sugar, light funk, hints of cinnamon and perhaps some clove.

T: Banana, cherry, cinnamon with hints of funk and clove. Bready malts and honey flow in with a hint of grape and fig. Finishes with clove and cinnamon.

M: Light-medium bodied, smooth, mild carbonation, clean and dry.

O: Nicely balanced and easy drinking. 8% ABV is well hidden. Mainly consists of cherry, banana and bread. Spicing is light with a mellow yeastiness. Sweet and candy-like. This makes a wonderful winter treat!

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2011 01:19:24 | More by justintcoons

jtierney89

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I think this beer does what it was meant to do very well. Its warming and very good for the cold months.

Pours a very very hazy brown with about an inch of head that eventually recedes to a lace at the top of the glass. Not too much on the nose, just some dark fruit such as dates figs and raisins. Also some mild phenolic scents.

Up front the beer is slightly spices. It follows up with some dark malts and dark fruits whose mild sweetness is balanced by a very mild hop presence leaving the slightly high alcohol content to warm your throat on the swallow.

Medium bodied with lower than average carbonation. This beer is slightly mild overall but does what it does extremely well. Extremely drinkable on a cold winters night

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2011 00:45:55 | More by jtierney89

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

dark brown liquid poured down into the glass. A huge head of tan then rose up to a height of around two inches before settling back down into a frothy and foamy cap that stayed with it throughout the session. Only real knock here being too much head if anything. Aroma was fairly light, nice spice notes up front, hints of caramel, dark prune like fruit notes and a hint of cinnamon of all things. Carried over well in the flavor which was equally rich. Strong notes of spice up front and a smooth, mellow texture that really seemed to hit the nail on the head. Earthy and herbal with nice hints of dark fruit, I really felt it summed up the part quite well

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 12:43:05 | More by mikesgroove

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer poured out with a decent looking amber color. The head was pretty big at first but settled into just a thin layer over the beer. The smell of the beer has some spice to it mixed with malts. The taste of the beer was more of an autumn spiced beer than a Christmas one. The flavors were mixed between sweet and spicy. The mouthfeel was alright, nothing too crazy here. Overall I wasn't too impressed with this brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2011 18:13:08 | More by Knapp85

bpw28

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Deep Tan Beautiful Head, Amber, Cloudy, Very Nice Lacing

Nose: Bannana, Clove, Fig, Sweet Malty, Oaky

Taste: Bannana returns, turning to a nice crisp medium roasty, brown sugar like tail before a nice mellow bitter.

Final Thoughts: Interesting. Good beer, but not blow my eyebrows off amazing.

Food Pairing:Dark Fruits, Medium Body Cheese, Ham, Duck, Roast Turkey, Spicy Dishes.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 01:13:42 | More by bpw28