Tart Cherry Triple Horse
River Horse Brewing Co.

River Horse Brewing Co. "Tart Cherry Triple Horse"
12 fl. oz. can "PACKAGED: 06/27/22" and sampled on 09/11/22
$3.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of concsiousness: I've enjoyed the Tripel Horse in the past so I can only imagine that the addition of tart cherry will be just as good as well. It's poured a cloudy golden-peach body beneath a finger's width of white foam. There's a little bit of cherry in the nose but there's also plenty of spicy, fruity, and clove-like Belgian yeast character and sweetish and bready malt. The cherry is clearer in the flavor while the malt and yeast character remains. The malt is a littl bit honeyish which is nice. The light tartness of the cherry actually helps to balance it overall. I don't have a standard Tripel Horse to compare it to but it think it might have an even better balanced; I guess that depends on how malty and sweet you like your tripels though. It's not that bitter and so it's the somewhat chalky/mineralish and spicy/peppery character of the yeast that dries it, but in this case that little bit of extra acidity from the cherries lends it an extra edge. That's a bonus. On the other hand I feel that maybe the cherry is covering up some of the other fruitiness from the yeast and it's coming across just slightly less complex. I could be wrong. I'm still getting some raisin, both golden and dark, fig, a little bit of apple and sweet pear, and some light berries so who knows. In the mouth it's full bodied and gently crisp. I think the body is great but I would like a little more carbonation is a tripel. With that said, the head held up OK but certainly not great, and thus the lacing was limited. All in all it's a decent enough beer that you can enjoy all year 'round.
Review #8,249

A twelve ounce can emptied into a clear glass Imperial pint mug should be enough. The beer is a dull copper-amber, opaque and with a modest and short-lived off-white head. The smell is only vaguely of tart cherry, as the characteristics of a Belgian Tripel dominate. That is basically the way this drinks. The tart cherry is there, but only subtley and mostly at the finish. The body is rich and remains on the sweet side until the end. Thankfully, the taste of the esters, which can become overwhelming in some Belgians, are also subdued. So, this isn't a ftuitfest and it's probably not going to please those liking and looking for a standard Belgian Tripel. But setting those aside, along with a lack of any glass lacing, this is an enjoyable brew, overall. The double digit ABV is only nearly noticed and it goes down so smoothly, even a twelve ounce serving can have its impact on the embiber. The change from drinking something that starts off somewhat sweet, then finished somewhat tart and bitter is usually an asset in an ale. This may not be exactly what one would expect it to be, but it's quite the pleasant drinking experience.