Hop-a-lot-amus - River Horse Brewing Co.

JAXSON

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2009 rate.

Multiple drafts at Flannigan’s Boathouse. Clear dark orange color, small soapy head. Brisk, vibrant aroma bursting with pine needles and orange peel. More orange sweetness in the mix than most IPAs. Really delicious hop presence and candi sugar, this one is awesome. I’m probably under-rating it at this point.

Serving type: on-tap

07-31-2011 02:48:58 | More by JAXSON

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

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

Pours a hazy orange-ish to yellow color with an off white head. In the aroma, dry pine hops. In the taste, pine hops and a gritty dry yeast like taste. A small hop bite and a medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry pine hop in the aftertaste. Big hops and some dry yeast, but a bit gritty, but nice nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

06-11-2011 15:50:49 | More by OWSLEY069

CuttDeez

Virginia

3.45/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - A cloudy golden brown with some tinges of orange in the light. The head faded but was nice white and stuck to the glass.
S - Very herbal nose on this beer with distinct citrus that comes in on the end. Good bitter hop notes that are balanced by a slight roasted caramel. I could also detect some rustic earthy notes.
T & M & D - There is some malted fruit sweetness mixed with airy floral notes. This is a somewhat bready bear that finishes dry with some hoppy bitterness on the back end. Decently carbinated and medium bodied with only a slight warming sensation on the back end from the alchohol.

-Cheers

Serving type: on-tap

03-16-2011 13:16:59 | More by CuttDeez

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appears a dense fold with a fluffy white cap that slowly fades. Tons of scattered lacing is left arond the glass.
Smell is of English Ringwood yeast with the signature buttery aroma. Some notes of herbs and citrus creep to the top along with birch bark.
Taste is biscuity, fruity, with nots of caramel, citrus and herbs.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, bitter yet sweet, buttery, and semi dry.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2011 22:37:49 | More by weeare138

david18

New York

3.18/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had a twelve ounce glass of this at the Amsterdam Ale House on Manhattan's upper west side. This beer struck me as many east coast double ipa's do. It was a little all over the place. Hops not present enough, too much alcohol flavor. Too much malt.

The color was a cloudy copper with a bunch of carbonation. Actually looked pretty good coming up from the bottom of the glass. Aroma was weak for a double ipa, a little malty, not much hops. Flavor, as said earlier, was a little on the strong side, not enough hops and intense on the malt.

At 8.5 percent alcohol, it was able to drink a glass without feeling wasted but in general it was not what I called a great double india pale ale.

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2010 23:55:51 | More by david18

mrgrinch

New Jersey

3.58/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance - A copper yellow with a healthy head and adequate carbonation. Served in a plastic sample cup at the brewery so I cannot comment on the clarity.

Smell - Wonderful flowery smell with a sweet boozy nose.

Taste - Super hoppy, but not as killer as the Hop Hazard.

Mouthfeel - Thick and smooth.

Drinkability - A bit on the high-alcohol side for me, but certainly more drinkable than the Hop Hazard. If you are trying to decide between the two, this one gets my vote.

Serving type: on-tap

07-31-2010 20:44:54 | More by mrgrinch

Tomdee74

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this a few times but most recently on tap. It was decent i must say..

A - Pours a great DIPA color. Orangeish/amber light brown color with a good head and pretty good lacing.

S - I smell the floral, fruity hops but not pungent and not overpowering which is what i would prefer.

T - Decent taste to it. Not horrible at all and I wouldn't go crazy seeking this out when there are so many good beers. but this is worthy. i was not disappointed in it.

D - Pretty drinkable. I could easily have a couple of these. I'm happy to try these however i won't be seeking this out as a must have.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2010 12:41:51 | More by Tomdee74

ScarletLady

Maryland

3.83/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap
A - hazy apricot. liked the fact that it was partially filtered. Poured with a great head, the kind that looks like you could sculpt something. Lots of lacing
S - definite hop nose but not super strong
T - slightly sweet at first with a good firm, slightly bitter hop finish. dry on the end
m - just the right amount of carbonation
D - definitely a keeper with a nice hop balance. Can definitely drink more than one in a sitting

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2009 03:19:53 | More by ScarletLady

clayrock81

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured a ruby red amber body with good head and lace along with a textbook smell of citric hops and malty sweetness. Great citric hoppy bitterness mixed with fruit tastes like grapefruit and a caramel malt sweetness all tucked in a medium body that passes over smooth and finishes dry. A graet DIPA that mixes boatloads of hops with sweet malts for an easy to drink yet very full brew.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2009 12:05:01 | More by clayrock81

CHickman

New York

4.28/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours cloudy amber orange color with a 1/2 inch creamy tan head; smells of hops and orange peel.

Tastes of sweet floral hops, grapefruit, malt, pine, a hint of spice and a touch of cinnamon or some other flavor which I couldn't pin down. It tails off crisp and bitter with light carbonation and a little resin. A very balanced and enjoyable beer that has a nice hop flavor throughout, along with a nice taste of grapefruit up front which makes it overall very enjoyable. The ABV was not a factor as the sweet hop taste dominates the palate.

A very good beer which I recommend as I could drink this beer all night! For a DIPA with 8.5% ABV, this went down smooth and easy.

Serving type: on-tap

10-10-2009 04:09:36 | More by CHickman

maddogruss

New Jersey

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

Got this on draft a little while back at the Cloverleaf Tavern.

A: Pours a hazy, orange-amber body with a a nice, fairly silky white head with very nice retention and lacing.

S: A fairly hoppy smell with some Cascade notes accompanied by the nice, grapefruit citrus smell with some alcohol undertones.

T: A nice, bitter, nice, hoppy taste with some slight, citrus malt undertones and warming alcoholic notes in the aftertaste.

M: A nice, fairly smooth mouthfeel on a nice, medium-bodied beer that went well with the taste, overall.

D: A nice mouthfeel and taste combination made the beer somewhat drinkable. A fairly hoppy beer, with the bitterness of the hops getting to me later. Overall, a nice beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-03-2009 22:19:14 | More by maddogruss

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-Tap

A- Hop-a-lot-amus is a nice mix of deep orange and bright gold. Some white foam sat on top of this leaving some nice patterns.

S- A nicely balanced DIPA with hops working with the malts. Getting some pine scents and some sweetness from the malts.

T- Along with the pine needle taste some citrus comes through with the malts trailing behind. There indeed "a-lot" of hops in this but they are balanced well. Some sweet caramel undertones and some bitterness towards the end.

M- A delicate balance between sweet and hoppy but I believe the latter is winning. With that comes some bitterness. I believe that just a bit of alcohol did sneak through.

D- A nicely balanced double IPA that I will be going for again. Not extremely high in ABV like some other imperials can be.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2009 05:30:03 | More by onix1agr

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

River Horse- Hop-A-Lot-Amus

On tap at the Flying Pig- Malvern

A- Hazy reddish orange with a thick white foam head. Good messy lacing.
S- Sweet thick caramle malt, dried fruits, pine hops.
T- Thick heavy sweet caramel malt with even sweeter pineapple and pine hops. Slight touch of alc.
M- Very sweet sugary creamy malt with a sweet hop finish.

Overall- Very good, more malt then hops though.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2008 10:59:09 | More by NJpadreFan

AltBock

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was on tap at High Street Grill during their River Horse promo night on 12/2/2008. I asked the brewmaster there if this was going be one of their new bottled seasonal beers like the Double Wit and they said that they have no plans as of right now to bottle this beer. It's only available on draft at certain beer bars.

They of course served this beer to me in a River Horse pint glass. This River Horse beer poured a cloudy cranberry orange color. Sitting on top of this orange beer was a creamy 1 to 1 1/2 inch head of pure white foam. It was another one of those heads that looks like there's a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of your beer. This creamy head of foam had excellent slow retention that left behind a small white skim of white foam and an abundance of milky white streaks of lace of around the glass. Great color, but the head of foam was better. What a splendid looking beer!

For a Double IPA, the aroma was on the mild side. There wasn't much jumping at you. This mild aroma contained bitter citrus hops, a hint of tart grapefruit, a tiny splash of pine needles, a speck of toasted malts, and a nice subtle touch of coriander at the finish line.

Like the aroma, the taste was also on the mild/ bitter side of things. Instead of having your taste buds being assaulted with hops after hops, it went down the drinkability road instead. The taste was mildly bitter with bitter and crispy citrus hops, tart grapefruit, a little pinch of lemon zest, a hint of fresh pine needles, and then this mildly hopped beer ends up on the dry side of the beer with some lightly toasted caramel malts. In other words, it was a well balanced not overly hopped IPA.

This River Horse beer was light to medium bodied with a slightly hoppy and dry aftertaste of toasted malts, bitter citrus hops, a hint of tart grapefruit, a dash of sweet yeast, and a splash of lemon peel. This hoppy aftertaste will stick around for a few seconds on your tongue and then it will decide to leave.

As you can probably tell from reading this that River Horse didn't want this beer to be overly hopped where the only thing you can taste is hops. Those kind of beers are great, but this Double IPA is the kind of beer that you can have 2 or more in a sitting. If you see this new River Horse Double IPA on tap at your local bar, don't expect this beer to have an overwhelming amount of hops in it. Just expect it to be really good and more on the drinkable side.

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2008 18:38:32 | More by AltBock

jmunsters

Michigan

3.35/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Brought back to Michigan for me as a Christmas gift from my in-laws hometown. Still fresh enough to rate confidentially as a DIPA.

Poured a light amber with a finger head that clings hard to the snifter glass. Smell of hops and sweet, ripe North American summer fruits. Tastes of light pine, hints of citrus and strong strawberry jam. Decent carbonation, a bit of stinging alcohol and a clean finish for a DIPA.

Overall: There's a lot going on here. If I tasted this blind I would have labelled it a fruit beer. Malts are not profound enough to make the color what it is. I would bet strawberries of some sort lend to the color and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 02:33:27 | More by jmunsters

SolipsismalCat

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Murky orange-amber with two-and-a-half-finger, white, creamy head that lasted a long time. Great lacing.

S: Caramel malt and floral.

T: Light to moderate sweetness and solid hop bitterness. Bitter and alcoholic.

M: Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Smooth and refreshing.

O: This beer looks phenomenal in the glass. The smell and taste were underwhelming though.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 03:46:39 | More by SolipsismalCat

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.93/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter glass.

Appearance: This looks borderline perfect. Cloudy deep amber held towards the light you see little bubbles on the body with the right size off-white head about 1/3" off the body.

Smell: Light hop smell but strong floral feel. It feels like smelling a forest but no poo.

Taste: Has a bitter taste that you will not forget. It isn't bad is definitively acquired. I love Double IPAs and this one is to remember. Floral, bitter, piney but still smooth. It might come off light to some but after a few sips it feels just right.

Mouth: Medium to heavy smooth and right. This is a crisp beer that comes off toasty in the end. Think your Vienna lager meeting an IPA.

Overall: Great brew, I was already drinking before taking a glance at the previous reviews and this beer has something more than potential. It's that good. Grab a movie and a glass and you're good to go....Salud!

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 06:19:22 | More by BlurryVisi0n

nimrod979

Maryland

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz brown bottle into a pint glass. Didn't feel like getting too fancy.

Appearance: Poured a murky opaque copper with a two finger light tan head. Retention holds up quite well and there there's a lot of sticky lacing all over. Definitely unfiltered.

Aroma: Nice big grapefruit citrus. Some pine/resin oil and caramel malts

Taste: Starts with that grapefruit citrusy hop, some hemp oil earthiness and a fairly prevalent caramel malty sweetness. It actually kind of reminds me of an English IPA with the flavor profile I'm getting. Just everything turned up a notch.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied. A little oily but chewy mouthfeel. Decent carbonation. Plenty of sweetness throughout with a decent bitter finish.

Nothing groundbreaking per the style but a decent enough beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 23:14:01 | More by nimrod979

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A lot of things on this one strike me as "different" for a dipa. First, it's very dark. And the flavor profile is very oily with a subdued pine tone. The nose is very much so pine influenced. It might be considered a bit misleading as it doesn't taste as interesting as the nose might lead one to believe. Overall though, it is an okay ale. This really doesn't strike me as a dipa. But as a beer, unrestricted by style parameters, it isn't too bad.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 04:54:06 | More by RblWthACoz

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Not the clearest looking DIPA (unfiltered?) with a 1/2 inch of tan colored head. Mild sediment and some lacing.

S - Smell is good citrus and grapefruit hops with a caramel like malt bite and a touch of sugar cookie like sweetness. Mild sweetness.

T - Not bad it does borderline on a "dirty" IPA with earthy like bitterness next to the regular citrus/grapefruit mending. The caramel like malts and sweetness help to block any detection of ABV so no alcohol in the flavor. Still I have had better.

M - Medium and kind of chewy. Not sure if a DIPA should be chewy.

Overall it wasn't the worst DIPA I ever had but it was worth the $1.75 for sure. Maybe they should filter it so it would look cleaner and balance some of those hops.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 00:48:10 | More by DrDemento456

gkatsoris

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Cloudy and murky; swampy. Thin head, but lots of lacing. The color is drab brown.

S: Wow! Floral hops and slight slight malts. Sugar cookies. Buttery.

T: Maybe not the freshest bottle. Pretty blah.

M: Thick and fluffy.

O: Sorry to say; meh.

I should note I have had this on tap and it was spectacular; unlike this pour.

thanks redliner8!

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 02:14:29 | More by gkatsoris

microbrewlover

Pennsylvania

1.95/5  rDev -45.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

This brew pours a nice deep copper color. There is a one finger head which takes a few minuets to disspate and lacing which stays on the glass till the end.

The smell is of floral hops, some grapefruit, I could not detect anything else.

The mouthfeel is light, mostly creamy, a bit bready.

The taste starts out with floral hops and grapefruit then that is it. This brew calls itself a double IPA but I did not detect enough hops for this beer to be a single IPA. No subtle flavors, no malts, fruits or spices, nothing but a slight grapefruit taste then the hop oils sit on the tounge leaving hop bitterness without the hop flavor.

I was very dissapointed by this beer. I had heard good things about River Horse and the Double IPA moniker had left me expecting a hop feast and instead I got a hop meh. I hate to say, this brew was just weak.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 01:58:36 | More by microbrewlover

mikeg67

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle from a variety pack. Pours hazy-orange with a long lasting, off-white head and a lot of lacing. Aroma is of caramel malt, citrusy hops and some fruity esters. Body is full and smooth. A lot of piney, grapefruity hops balanced on the palate by large amount of caramel and biscuit malt. Finish is long lasting, dry, grapefruity. Solid brew. I think I will be buying more of River Horse brews.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2012 01:12:08 | More by mikeg67

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A - poured a mellow amber, slightly cloudy with very little head.

S - smells of fruits (peaches, pear), sweet caramel, piney hops, slight hint of a rubber smell

T - a very malt heavy ipa with a spice to it.. almost seems like they used belgian yeast for fermentation. taste of pepper, bready, banana, lemon peel, pine, earthy hops, caramel

M - pretty heavy for an ipa, nice and thick. pretty sweet as well so it goes down quite easy. good for a hot day like today :)

O - one of river horse's best beers, way different than hop hazard - lots more unidentifiable flavors! just gotta be careful because they are really tasty and "light" feeling, until you've drank the 4-pack and realize you're walking down the highway naked with a puppy cradled in your arms.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 17:37:34 | More by facundoCNB

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-golden color with a white head and some lacing

S-citrus fruit and yeasty bread aromas

T-fruit and yeasty bread flavors with some sweetness and moderate bitterness

F-medium body with moderate carbonation, a slight stickiness to it

O-a decent DIPA but nothing distinguishing about it

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 17:30:18 | More by MDDMD