The hippopotamus is called the river horse. It’s name was derived from the greek word hippos meaning horse and potamos meaning river.  So, if you ever wondered why the hippo is the mascot of River Horse Brewery, now you know.

Before the brewery was even thought about, the building used to be a Oyster Cracker Factory.  In 1996 the building burnt down and in that same year, it was rebuilt to house what is now very well known as River Horse Brewery Company.  The building is set between the Delaware River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail.  So whether you’re driving around or if  your even biking the trails, you can drop in Friday through Sunday from 12-5 and grab yourself a taste or maybe even a tour of the brewery.

I got the chance to meet with Rob Gentile, the Cellar Man of River Horse for a private little tour and a sampling of everything he could offer me.  It’s a tight set-up they have going on, starting with upstairs where the boilers are, down a few steps into storage, right into the fermenting room (where the magic happens) and then into the bottling line is a few steps away.  For having such a limited space, three tanks  of beer are in and out every week, that’s about 120 Barrels.  River Horse Brews travel as far as New York, Philadelphia and of course the Jersey area.  The brewery sometimes ventures up into Connecticut for events where people up there go crazy for their beer.

I was able to sample the Tripel, Hop-a-lot-amus, and the Special Ale.  They also have a new Pumpkin Beer, Hipp-O-Lantern, that just got bottled before I got there.  They sent me home with a few, I’ll be sure to crack one open tonight and try it.  The new Head Brewer Chris Rakow does an amazing job with the beers.  Chris used to be the brewer for Harpoon Brewery up in Boston and made his way down here to work at River Horse.  His team consists of himself, Barry Holsten the 2nd brewer, Chris McGrath the 3rd brewer, and Rob Gentile the “in training” brewer.  Rob was saying, “if you show a passion and dedication to this place, they will show you everything if your willing”.

The Tripel pours a deep gold with a nice head, it smells of a Tripel with the spice and yeast and tastes like one too.  Nice flavor profile, complex, a big malt which coats the mouth and with some citrus, vanilla and hops finishing at the end.  This is a dangerous beer coming in at 10%ABV, you don’t even realize it.  This one goes down VERY easy.  It finishes very clean and dry.  A very outstanding beer.  The Special Ale was a malty beer with the hint of caramel, very light on the hops and the Hop-o-lot-amus was their version of a DIPA.  The Hop-o-lot-amus wasn’t a punch in the face you get with most DIPA’s, it was a balanced beer with the piney and citrus aspects you get from an IPA.  Coming in at 8.3% ABV and having 93 IBU’s this was a really nice beer.

Out there in the insanely large beer world are some casks of River Horse’s Oaked Hop-o-lot-amus floating around.  If I ever find one, it’s a must try.  They have some new ideas brewing in their heads and may come out with a few new things.  I did hear that they may try and come out with a barrel aged beer of some sorts, but that was just talk, keep your eyes out for that one if it appears.

River Horse has a lot going for them.  They have new faces, new beers, and a new attitude.  Great ideas are all over that place and they keep making good beer.  If your ever in the area, I would suggest taking a little detour and stopping in for a flight of whatever they may have on tap, and you can also pick up some beer to go while your there.

River Horse Brewery
80 Lambert Lane
Lambertville, NJ 08530-1920
(609) 397-7776
Tours and Tasting Friday-Sunday 12-5PM