Based out of Ewing, N.J., River Horse Brewery has five year-round brews and 10 seasonal brews to go along with a few special brews. Their Summer Blonde is, you guessed it, a summer offering.
The beer pours a hazy gold. There was a decent head that formed of about one finger but it quickly dissipated. You could see moderate carbonation as the bubbles rose to the surface. The aroma was one of biscuit, bread, malt and a faint hops.
The first sip was definitely one of biscuit and bread. There was a bit of malt on the backend. The hops definitely take a background flavor here. It feels light and refreshing in the mouth and definitely light-bodied. No one flavor stands out and the balance is nice. This is a beer you can make a long session out of. The flavor is nice and if I had to say which flavor stood the most it would be biscuit. There is moderate carbonation, just enough to tickle the tongue as you drink but not overwhelming in any sense.
After a few sips the head pretty much disappeared with only a slight ring remaining around the edge. It didn’t lace the glass at all. However, this seems more like a session beer than an oddball beer you turn to for flavor.
This beer is pretty basic. That isn’t a bad thing. There is a familiarity to it which is reassuring. It isn’t one of the best beers you will ever have but it is far from the worst. It is a good, drinkable beer that you can easily stock up on for that big BBQ if you wanted to be different. It has a nice buttery biscuit flavor, finishes smooth, and offers repeat drinkability and at 4.5% ABV that is easy to do.