Are you kidding me? This is the best I can do? Its pretty DARN good? WTF? Well let me tell you a little about my week, and perhaps you will cut me a little slack for this somewhat uninspired post. OK, first I started my week by driving for about 8 hours through a spring snowstorm to Northern Idaho. I am now doing public meetings each night, and staying in the Holiday Inn Express in Lewiston, Idaho working during the day and conducting public meetings in the evening in four different cities in four nights along the US 95 corridor in Norther Idaho.
That in and of itself is a pretty exhausting schedule but Jim and I are also working on some really big changes that we will be discussing later on this site. We aren’t at liberty to discuss it right now, but it is pretty big for a couple of midwestern boys. More on that later.
So I did drink a few beers this weekend and one of them was River Horse Oatmeal Milk Stout and you know, it was pretty darn good…
This brew is a local Jersey brew that uses Hippos as their logo. Is a matter of fact a River Horse is another name for Hippopotamus. I don’t really get it, but it is a very good Oatmeal Stout. Remember I am looking for the world’s best Oatmeal Stout, so we have a new leader.
This brew poured an deep rich brown with a billowy creamy head. It is a dark brown and pretty opaque, not much light getting through here.
The nose on the beer was pretty pronounced for an Oatmeal Stout. It really had a grainy, well oaty smell that was very enticing.
The flavor was great. It started out sweet with just a tinge of bitterness and the oats were very pronounced, but the whole thing had a rather creamy mouthfeel that took a lot of the edge off of the bitter flavor. Oatmeal stouts can have a bitterness that is infused by the oats, but this is a Milk stout, so I am pretty sure lactose was used that led to a creamy mouthfeel and smoothed out the bitterness that the oats can infuse through the mash.
All in all this was a very tasty brew and I liked the craftiness that went into it. It is a difficult thing to balance the bitterness that the oats bring with a creamy mouth feel and a smoothness to take the edge off of the bitter oats. River Horse does this very well and have crafted a great breakfast beer. I highly recommend it.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
I thought it was OK, certainly not the best oatmeal stout but not bad. Gotta give it some extra love coming from Jersey! Here’s my Idiot take on the same brew if interested…
Looking forward to the changes! Rumor has it that you will be doing beer review podcasts in the nude. Is this true?
Well we write everything that way already, Scott. As a matter of fact, i have an itch to scratch…
Yes Scott, you have broke the story, Jim and I are secretly nudists and we will be doing naked reviews, is a matter of fact we are contemplating a change to the name of the site calling it Jim and Don’s All Nude Review! 😉
I really liked this brew. It was a good oatmeal stout that wasn’t too bitter or thin, and was easy drinking. So far it is the best I’ve had, so you can tell 1 I haven’t had that many, and 2 the ones I have had aren’t that great.
Good stuff!
Hey – let’s keep the cats in the bags around here, bro! Really big changes, huh? Are you going to reveal the fact that we’re headed to Sweden to become the Beer and Whiskey Sisters?
And this is a decent beer, but the main reason I sent it to you is that I still had one sitting in the fridge when I was packing the box. It had lasted for about 6 weeks, due to a combination of it being good enough to not guzzle down, but not so great that I just had to drink it. It’s pretty good, but it can’t touch The Best Oatmeal Stout In The World (Southern Tier’s Oat).
Come to think of it, I’m gonna have to load you up on bombers if you make it east in the near future. They are a PIA to ship!
I thought you were already the Beer & Whiskey Sisters. I’m so confused!
Jim is the sister i never had! All the cats are securely locked away in bags for the time being, but they are starting to meow a little.
I know how tempting those soft cries for freedom can be, but once out of the bag, the kitties are impossible to get back in there.
Also, you have two sisters, Don. You don’t need a third. GOD KNOWS you don’t need a third!!! (Hi Stacy and Wendi!).
Do you suppose that Stacy ever feels slighted that her name didn’t end with an “i”?
Yeah, no chance to dot it with a little heart…tragic really.
Big changes. Sounds pretty changy (or changi for Wendi’s benefit). The news sounds really exciting. It’s so exciting that you should be thanking your lucky stars that I’m not doing naked beer writing. I really can’t wait to meet up with you in Idaho and hope to bring some brew that is worth appreciating. I’m gonna share some homebrews which ya. We’ll hold our breath for the changes but I don’t suspect I can find this Oatmeal Stout out here, so I’ll have to sip some I’ve made in the meantime. Maybe I’ll look for it when I head to the Gem State.
Hey Mike, don’t be afraid to bring some extra to Idaho so Don can ship ’em to me in NJ. I’d love to taste your homebrew. And thanks for keeping your pants on while typing. It’s not a given on the Internet.
I will bring some with me for you as well
Woo hoo!
So nice to read this post after the Brewforia post. Went from being thoroughly pissed to laughing my ass off. Nice guys! Thanks for the good reads.