Sassamanash
Rivertowne Brewing

Picked this beer up recently at Joe Canal's in Parsippany, having never had anything from or even hearing about Rivertowne before. I hadn't had a beer of this style in a while either and after having this, it was pretty obvious why. No, it's not a drain pour but this was too syrupy and lacking in true cranberry flavor to have a broad appeal to me but for a night of relaxing sipping, this ended up being enough...

Surprisingly, this poured a golden hay with plenty of light to it and while that was fine, there was no evidence in the hue of this beer that there was cranberries in this at all! A nice fluffy head topped this off as it settled nicely, with a few rings of soapy lacing left behind along the bottom half of my pint glass. Syrup, cranberries, and some strawberry stickiness were in the nose as the taste had a bit of apple, fruit patch, and sucrose underneath that. There was just enough carbonation in this to be seen and to scrub the palate clean after each sip and keep this from feeling too lip-smacking, although I was still licking them after I had finished this off.

There was hardly any booze in this and given that this was a small can, this beer was relatively easy to finished off after opening. While not quite like a jam or syrup that I use at IHOP, this was on that level and would easily have been enjoyable as a breakfast or a dessert beer. Dated "102320" on the bottom, I had no idea when this was canned but as a "drink by" date, it was fine as this felt fresh and didn't have any sediment in it. This was a fun diversion from what I'm accustomed to having but not my typical fare outside of the novelty factor.

 

 

Poured from a can into a Lagunitas mason glass.

L: Pours a clear light golden color. 1 finger of fizzy white head. No lacing.

S: Fruit and berries.

T/F: Sweet-ish up front... fruity with a strong berry flavor. Wouldn't have known it was cranberry if it hadn't been on the can. Missing the tart kick one would hope for. Fizzy and thin.

O: Not much going on here... sweet-ish berry juice without much else in terms of flavor. Wouldn't get it again. Definitely not a witbier as listed here... more of a pale lager with cranberry juice or a cider.

 

 

This should be entered as a fruit/vegetable beer not a witbier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a light golden color with a short lived head. Good clarity, I can appreciate a fruit beer without chunks of debris in the glass. Some active carbonation is seen rising to the surface.

The aroma is fruity and sweet, reminiscent of a cider. The taste follows suit, I can pick up apple juice and the berry element is just a bit flat. Sweet and grainy throughout, the fruit element is kind of clashing with the malt/grain bill. Interesting tasting beer but not even the best cranberry beer I had that day. Its not every day you go to a bar and there are two cranberry beers on tap.

For fans of cider and fruit beer, give it a shot. It was just too weird for me and definitely could use a cleaner cranberry flavor,

This beer is like a time machine transporting me back 10 years ago when everyone had fruit beers that were based on a blonde ale or some thin wheat brew. Tastes like fruit juice. Maybe that will work for some people. I find it boring. And kind of syrupy.