River Horse Summer Blonde Ale

There is a lot to like about this beer.

First of all it is produced by River Horse Brewing in Lambertville New Jersey. I currently live in New Jersey and like it, which will naturally produce a biased attitude.

Second, I love the Hippo they use on their labels (Hippopotamus means River Horse in Greek).

Third, I do not know much about the history of the River Horse Brewery other than according to their website it seems to be run by two guys named Chris and Glen who before they purchased the brewery in 2007 "were finance geeks living in a world without soul". The world of craft beer brewing seems to be full of stories like this, and this particular story makes me want to like this beer.

Unfortunately, there is nothing particularly distinctive about this beer.

There is a crispness to it that makes this a very clean drinkable beer and it is fun to look at the cartoon hippo and entertain my own fantasy about starting a craft brewery on the banks of the Delaware River, but otherwise.... ho hum.

We are well into the dog days of summer and I have tried quite a few summer beers. It seems that a common tactic for brewers is to crank out a low-alcohol, mild tasting ale, slap a clever label on it and ride the wave of enthusiasm for "summer beers" that was initiated by the Boston Beer Company when they started producing Sam Adams Summer Ale a few years ago.

This beer doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't have any flavor characteristic that makes it stand out.

Tom likes this beer and thinks that you will too, especially if you are from New Jersey.