Pennbrook Lager
River Horse Brewing Co.

Pennbrook LagerPennbrook Lager
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From:
River Horse Brewing Co.
 
New Jersey, United States
Style:
American Lager
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
72
Avg:
2.86 | pDev: 19.93%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
28
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 29, 2013
Added:
Jan 27, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by NJpadreFan:
Photo of NJpadreFan
Reviewed by NJpadreFan from New Jersey

3.29/5  rDev +15%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
River Horse- Pennbrook Lager

A- Beautiful deep golden orange with a thick frothy head. Small 1 ringed lacing.
S- Sweet sugary corn husk. Light caramel malt grains.
T-Sweet sugar malt, husk and toasted grains.
M- Light and sweet, very grainy. Slight lemony finish.

Overall- Not bad for $5.60 a 6pack!
Feb 22, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by dgherm from Pennsylvania

Jul 29, 2013
Photo of Bradvarg
Reviewed by Bradvarg from Pennsylvania

1.3/5  rDev -54.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Just a mediocre beer all-around. Pours with too much head and I do enjoy a foamy beer but this is ridiculous. I tried three different classes and even brought the angle of the pour down considerably didn't work. The head had dark specks all through it something I haven't had in a "traditional" amber lager. I'd expect that more in a weizen beer of some sort.

S:The smell was sweet but clouded by the effervesence.

T: not sure what is going on here. If anyone has used a Mr. Beer kit then you can imagine what this taste like. slighlty acid sweet with no detectable hoppiness. Just a bad decision from the start with ingredient selection.

M: mouthfeel is nonexistent. A thin beer. It was like drinking club soda with a bit of beer flavoring added in.

D: forget about it. I only had more than one because I don't feel right about dumping the case out and no one would take it from me once they tasted it.

In the end I think this beer should never be brewed again. I am sorry if this sound like a slam but I am just being honest here.
Jan 10, 2010
Photo of hondo2160
Reviewed by hondo2160 from New Jersey

2.51/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Unbalanced. And for me to say that takes a lot. Feels like each component is sitting alone, not coming together like they should. Somewhat drinkable, but not as a craft lager. Doesn't seem to be on style save for the characteristic somewhat sulforous notes barely penetrating the confused aroma. Needs retooling to become more homogenous. A shame as River Horse is one of my pocket faves.
Aug 03, 2009
Photo of drcarver
Reviewed by drcarver from Pennsylvania

2.89/5  rDev +1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
A - Flat dark yellow color with a small off-white head

A - clean and slight hop aroma

T - Slight bitter-sweet finish with a short after taste.

M - Light and watery. Flat with an astrigent feel.

D - Goes down easy. Could drink it all day if you really wanted to.
May 26, 2009
Photo of beerthulhu
Reviewed by beerthulhu from New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A: Poured a clear, coppery-amber with a 1 finger creamy bone colored head. Retention was short, lapsing to a patchy covering within the first minute. Visible carbonation was light and lazy with but only a few streams observed. Not much , if any lacing was left behind. Overall for a lager was dark, with an interesting coloring.

S: The nose had fresh pine needles with light sour citrus notes. Soft traces of apple cores and oranges are found as well a nice maltiness rounding things out.

T: tart, with hints of sour citrus (oranges), with a brief showing of fruitiness of green apples along with a cidery touch. The malting was quite nice, toasted grains with a woodsy touch which was accompanied by a fairly aggressive hoppiness per style. The malting leaves a husky, and toasted-grain lacing behind while dry sour apple cider notes and a citrusy hopping is also well noted.

M: medium full, grainy and husky, with toasted feel. A sour citrus hopping and grainy residual powdery malting laces the tongue upon the swallow.

D: Overall not my ideal session material, the flavor just doesn't blend well together. An average drink at best and honestly wouldn't flip for a six pack or drink in multiples.
May 08, 2009
Photo of jrodvog148
Reviewed by jrodvog148 from Sweden

4/5  rDev +39.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Reminds me of what yuengeling used to taste like before they went ot main stream. Associated with the River Horse Brewing Company where the tour guide broke open a bottle for me to taste even though it wasn't on the sampler list. Was sold only in PA for a while but now finding it in the jersey stores more often. Try a six pack, worth the affordable price.
Mar 28, 2009
Photo of Schmidts
Reviewed by Schmidts from Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours Amber in color with a nice malt smell! It is a little sweet and nicely Malty and rather refreshing! It has a nice feel in your Mouth and surpirsed me how nice it was to sit and just drink 3 of them. It is very drinkable. It was a nice surprise as I got it on a very good sale and I find it to be a good drinkable lager! And A Bargan for the Price
Feb 08, 2009
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

2.43/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Poured a hazy, medium orange color with a smaller white head. Malty aromas of caramel and toffee. Bread in the tastes on top of the caramel. Lightly sweet. Smells better than the tastes. Watery and thin body. This one started out looking good then went to smelled OK to tasted not so good to ending with body bordering on nasty. Nice downward spiral.

Notes from: 12/16/04
Jan 07, 2009
Photo of Vendetta
Reviewed by Vendetta from New Jersey

2.2/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Pours clear yellow with a thin head. No lacing.

Aroma is a faint hint of light fruits.

Tastes of malt, a bit of fruit, but nothing is very apparent. This is very much a token light beer in my opinion.

Palate is resting on a thin, overly carbonated body that isn't all that enjoyable. At least the thinness leads to drinkability in for nothing else the fact that these brews aren't filling at all.

Steer clear, this one isn't really worth trying.
Dec 27, 2008
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

3.18/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Shared from a friend's 6-pack. Pours a clear amber with a short white head. This beer is a bit unremarkable, I found it hard to describe at first for lack of stand-out flavors. Really, it's just a simple, clean, drinkable lager. I might call it an "amber" instead of "all-malt" as it has a little caramel to it, but it basically has a sweet bready malt flavor balanced by a small hit of spicy hops. Nothing big here, just a sessionable lager.
Nov 20, 2008
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

3/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Single, twelve-ounce bottle just copped from Palisade Liquors in Jersey City...
Appearance: Clear, light-copper, bronze hue, slight carbonation... minimal head, minor lacing...
Smell: Minor malt aroma with hints of caramel and vanilla...
Taste: Slight hops balanced by a thick dose of malts... caramel and vanilla likewise noticeable on the tongue along with a heavy suggestion of bread and butter nuances...
Light-to-medium-bodied mouthfeel...
Fair level of drinkability...
All in all, nothing special... Mediocore at best...
Oct 07, 2008
Photo of ATPete
Reviewed by ATPete from New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
12oz bottle

brewed and bottled by the Bucks County Brewing Co. Wilkes Barre PA...am i missing something?

A- Decent looking beer, nice amber brown color, orange highlights, a small off white head and lots of cola-like visible carbonation.

S- Lots of detectable roasted malts and a woody, chocolatey sweetness.

T- Very malty, a bit unbalanced, it could use some more hop bitterness for sure. A caramel sweetness and a slight fruity note on the finish.

M- Heavy for a lager, but thats a good thing.

D- Eh, it feels like a session beer but there's just not enough going on to drink more than 3 in a sitting before undeniably noticing the lack of hops and craving bitterness.
Jul 13, 2008
Photo of DevilDogBeer
Reviewed by DevilDogBeer from Pennsylvania

2.36/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pennbrook lager poured an orange color more than an amber as the label classifies it. The beer was way over carbonated, taking a couple of minutes to actually pour the bottle into a mug to let the fizzy white head settle out. I had descent head retention with medium bubbles and again, way too much carbonation. The aroma was of malt and some aromas left over by the yeast. I am guessing that this beer was not lagered long enough to let the yeast ester and phenols get absorbed back in to the brew. The taste was average; light and clean with little aftertaste. The hops are not very detectable but have an aftertaste of earthiness. Very thin in the mouth, but not watery. This beer can be a good session beer once you overcome the yeast taste (not bread like, but more of an incomplete fermentation in the lagering vessel). Overall, if you're looking for a micro and you usually drink CMB this would be a nice change, if you're a big micro drinker, try to find this in a bottle or a six pack so you don't have to drink an entire case of it.
Jun 27, 2008
Photo of MmmIPA
Reviewed by MmmIPA from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +29.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to Randy for this beer.Im not expecting much but lets see whats here.

Amber colored beer.Nice white head that falls flat fast.Fizzy carbonation.Grainy,malty smell.Typical lager smell.Actually nice taste,Im shocked it has taste to it.Its a clean taste but still some taste there.Easy drinking and could be a great beer to tailgate to or at summer partys.Its a sweet taste to it and cant really taste any hops.Ide have again.
Jun 04, 2008
Photo of AltBock
Reviewed by AltBock from Ohio

2.15/5  rDev -24.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
12 oz. bottle that has a plain and simple label of a man fishing on a river. Don't get confused by the Bucks County Brewing. It's River Horse all the way!

When poured into a Flying Fish standard pint glass, this "Amber beer" is a clear amber/orange hue with an less than 1/2 inch head of fizzy white bubbles. It didn't take long for it to dissipate into a handful of fizzy rings and no lace. None whatsoever! The aroma was light with crispy floral hops, lightly toasted malts, and a pinch of peanut butter. That's a first! It's a good thing that the taste didn't have any peanut butter in it, but however it did have a light taste of toasted malts, crispy floral hops, and the slightest touch of lemon zest at the finish. The mouthfeel was too light and was overly carbonated. Most of the time the carbonation covered up what little taste there was in this beer. There was that and it had a faint aftertaste of crispy floral hops and a splash of apple juice. I honestly wouldn't drink this River Horse beer again. It's worth a shot if you can buy a single and it's less than $1.
Mar 28, 2008
Photo of jpweisel
Reviewed by jpweisel from New Jersey

3.32/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I was at the brewery and the tour guide let me try the pennbrook lager even though it was not part of the regular tasting. I thought the beer was a pretty good lager.

I didn't even realize this was made by Riverhorse. It pours a amber/copper w/a small head. I enjoyed the taste and would recommend a try. Not the greatest example but still an ok lager.
Feb 12, 2008
Photo of Drewcifer
Reviewed by Drewcifer from Pennsylvania

2.54/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
This was one of the first few craft beers I tried years ago. Back then, I thought is was pretty good. So, I saw a case, and at the price, I figured I'd forego my bi-weekly higher-priced craft case. My bad.

The appearance upon pouring is probably the best thing this lager has going for it. A nice golden-amber color, a nice head that dissipates quickly, leaving some bubbles still clinging to life around the top.

The smell, though, is probably the worst part. Earthy and malty, not in a good way, almost slightly skunky. Definitely not very pleasant.

The taste is pretty average, fairly bland. A little more taste than your average macro lager, but not what you are looking for by going to the craft market.

The mouthfeel is quite decent, though. While the head disappears quite quickly, the carbonation stays, giving it a pleasant feel. Very enjoyable.

It's rather unfortunate that they can't or won't improve the taste and smell, as they really kill this brew and its drinkability. It's a slight step above your average macro, but a far cry from a beer you'd make a point to get a hold of.
Nov 18, 2007
Photo of AudioGilz
Reviewed by AudioGilz from Pennsylvania

2.1/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Pours a light copper brew with ample carbonation that stays a while in the appearance and mouthfeel. The head is rather fizzy though, a bit of a turn off. Very faint aromas of lightly toasty and bready malt; and that's about it, not much to smell here. Very light flavor profile; tiny bit of bready malt, a weird twang in the background, watery mouthfeel and fizzy carbonation. Everything about this brew is thin and faint; that being said it's a touch better than most macro-brewed light lagers. I'll take a properly chilled pour of this beer over Bud, Coors, or Miller for sure. However in the Microbrew market alone, it falls well short of interesting.
Apr 12, 2007
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This beer poured with no head, just some evidence of CO2 bubbles. There was a light maltiness on the nose. It was an exquisitely clear golden yellow color, which is the only aspect of it that raises it above "average". It had a really light mouthfeel with a light malty taste in the mouth. The finish was also light with a slight malty aftertaste. It just did not do anything for me, but I suppose that it was decent enough to return to, if the occasion arose.
Jul 21, 2005
Pennbrook Lager from River Horse Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 72 out of 100 with 28 ratings