River Horse: 5 years under new owners

River Horse Brewing wrapped up its Oktoberfest last weekend, featuring its fall seasonal Hipp-O-Lantern Imperial Pumpkin Ale (among other brews), plus a cask version of its Special Ale, dressed up with bourbon-soaked oak chips, cinnamon and vanilla bean.

The crowd that packed into the brewery and its back loading area made quick work of that cask Special Ale and jammed once again to brewer Chris Rakow's band, Ludlow Station.

If you're keeping score with the Lambertville brewery, then you'll know River Horse crossed a milestone at the end of this summer, something that the annual Oktoberfest was symbolic of.

Five years ago in August, River Horse gained new owners, a changing of the guard that not only rescued a troubled brewery but set it on a steady course that has delivered Garden State craft beer enthusiasts not only a more diverse and quality beer lineup but some really creative beers in the mix as well.

Oh, and the hippos on the six-pack packaging got a makeover, too.

But it was at the 2007 Oktoberfest, then a two-day affair at the brewery (it's now a more manageable single afternoon), that Glenn Bernabeo and Chris Walsh got to really mix with those beer drinkers who remained faithful to the brand and let them know that the new owners were a couple of guys who really appreciate beer and were dedicated to rebuilding the brand.

Back in 2007, River Horse, the about 10 years in business, had fallen into inconsistency with its product quaslity, and among package store beer managers, the name was one that many were beginning to skip.

"A lot of folks thought we were out of business when we had that one and were a little surprised when they heard that things were not good," Glenn says, recalling that 2007 Oktoberfest. "That wasn't the case, obviously."

The turnaround, for a lack of a better term, involved restoring quality, shaking up River Horse's lineup that included a clutch of Belgian styles, some 1990s craft beer standards like amber and hoppy ales, and a lager. It also meant refocusing the River Horse market, ditching some distribution areas that one could easily argue had overextended the brewery.

"What we've done since we've taken over is pull the footprint in to be way more local," Glenn says. "When we started we were in Virginia; we were in D.C.; we were in Delaware; we were in Maryland; we were in Rhode Island; we were in Boston; we were in upstate New York ... We've pulled those territories in, and right now, though production-wise we're much higher volume (but), it's concentrated in a much smaller area.

"We've become focused on being a local brewery. We're predominantly in New Jersey; we're in Philadelphia/five county; we're in Lehigh Valley, out to Lancaster a little bit, Manhattan, Brooklyn, southern Connecticut ... and that's it. That's been working for us."

Something else that has worked is sharpening the brewery's business approach. It didn't hurt the brewery added tank capacity, but Glenn says production efficiencies paid off as well.

"We have added physical capacity with respect to tank space. We've also done a lot of work around our yields; we've done a lot of work around our production timing and the production flow," he says. "At the time we weren't even getting the most out of the capacity we had. So we've grown volume even more than we've actually added tanks because we've gotten a little bit sharper at how we operate the business.

"Now we're very, very regimented in terms of what our brew schedule is, how our product is launched, our packaging schedule ... We have scheduled down days just for maintenance (and) quality control. We always had the mentality that if we get the product right first, then all of the other things are going to fall in line. So far, that's been true."

So what's next for River Horse?

"We're always experimenting. We've got a Scotch ale on the horizon, some smoked beers on the horizon," Glenn says. "We're going to continue to expand our product line and try to keep things interesting and fresh."

Hold up your end of the bargain

River Horse Brewing holds its annual Oktoberfest from 1-6 p.m. on Saturday at the brewery on Lambert Lane in Lambertville.

The brew lineup for this pay-as-you-go event is Lager, Special Ale, Tripel Horse, Hop A Lot Amus, Hop Hazard, Hipp O Lantern and their new Brewer's Reserve, a dunkelweizen; the featured musical entertainment is Ludlow Station, the jam band head brewer Chris Rakow plays guitar in. (Check 'em out here, playing at last April's ShadFest.)

Unlike past years, the 2011 edition is a one-day-only affair (rain date is Sunday; past editions of the fest were spread over the weekend), and the brewery is calling on its legions of fans to lend a hand to a couple of local food pantries that are struggling to keep up with demand for their help in the flat economy.

So if you're going, pack along some of these items, and consider it holding up your end of the bargain in return for the great gig that River Horse puts on ...

• Canned soups, tuna, salmon, chicken, vegetables
• Canned or dried beans
• Rice and whole grains
• Pasta
• Tomato sauce
• 100% fruit juices
• Condiments - ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, etc.
• Baking mixes
• Cereal- hot and cold
• Baby food
• Sugar-free items (juice mixes, Jello, pudding, etc.)
• Dog and cat food

Cheers.

Here a fest, there a fest, everywhere a fest

A busy weekend gets rolling on Thursday in Jersey City and wraps up in along the Delaware in Lambertville and in a place once known as German Valley.

So hang on, because here it comes:

Jersey City hosts its fifth annual Oktoberfest from 4 p.m. to midnight along Grove Street. As far as beer goes, this one is the domain of Samuel Adams Octoberfest and Yuengling. They're obviously not Jersey brews, but Sam Adams Octoberfest on draft is worth putting in your glass.

If you're a fan of this event, you can do your part to introduce the organizers to some of the home-state fall seasonals: Flying Fish's Oktoberfish, Hoffmann Lager Beer Oktoberfest and Ramstein's Oktoberfest. Toss in River Horse's Hipp-O-Latern Imperial Pumpkin Ale, too.

The thing to note about the event is, it wasn't that long ago that a pass down Grove Street was a tour of a moribund city neighborhood – empty store fronts and boarded-up buildings. Some condo development plus the addition of bars and restaurants has helped revive area, turning up the buzz on South Grove.

Down the Shore, Toms River has a brewpub, Artisan's, making those who live in the county seat of Ocean County lucky that fresh beer is only as far as a trip to the corner of Bay and Hooper avenues.

On Friday, Arstisan's pours a flight of its house-made beers, paired with a five-course meal that is chef Steve Farley's interpretation of hearty German cuisine, from appetizers to a main course of braised short ribs (with spätzle, applesauce, red cabbage and potato pancakes) that gets paired with brewer Dave Hoffmann's Oktoberfest beer.

Beer writer and PubScout Kurt Epps emcees, and the Fire House Polka Band provides the entertainment.

Saturday is the busiest day of the week, featuring a cask ale event in Middlesex County and two other Jersey brewer events.

Uno Chicago Grill & Brewery in Metuchen holds the fall answer to its spring cask ale event. It's pay as you go, with a purchase of tickets at the bar that are redeemed for pours of beer in either 10-ounce or pint portions. Food orders from Uno's menu are also available for purchase.

This marks the fifth time Uno brewer Mike Sella has assembled a lineup of great ales that includes cask versions of some of his house brews and beers from the tri-state region and beyond. In March, the event featured the likes of Weyerbacher's Hops Infusion and Blithering Idiot (Easton, Pa.); Sixpoint's Bengali IPA and Righteous Rye (Brooklyn); and Uno's Scotch Ale and Gust N Gale Porter; this time Mike will have a casked Oktoberfest out there as part of the house offerings.

"We've had something from Tröegs each time ... Weyerbacher, River Horse ... I always have something from Climax, and I will again. Last time we had two from Sixpoint, which I may be able to come up with again. Last time they actually helped us out, and the guy who owns the Brazen Head (bar) in Brooklyn helped us out. He loaned us two of his pins, and that's how we got (Sixpoint) in."

On prior occasions, the event has been spread over two days. But there's a caveat here: Its popularity has become such that the beers have sold out on the first day. So figure on Saturday being your best shot. It begins at noon.

Follow your compass a little bit north and west and you'll find a preview of High Point Brewing's Winter Wheat Doppelbock at the brewery's monthly open house and tour, from 2-4 p.m. Other beers available for tasting and growler purchase will be Ramstein Golden Lager and Blonde. The doppelbock usually comes out in November and is the beer that High Point uses to make its incredibly good Icestorm eisbock when winter finally arrives. The brewery announced Wednesday on its Facebook page that its top-rated Oktoberfest beer had sold out. Alas, if you missed it you have to wait until next year.

Speaking of Oktoberfest, the weekend wraps with a pair of fall observances – River Horse Brewing's two-day gig in the brewery's back lot, and Long Valley Pub and Brewery's annual fest on the patio of a centuries-old stone barn that houses the brewery and restaurant (which underwent some renovations last year.)

The folks at River Horse know how to entertain, and twice a year – at Lambertville's ShadeFest and the brewery's Oktoberfest – they make a show of it. Like ShadFest, the fall event is a pay-as-you-go affair, with a brew in a commemorative pint glass available for purchase for 7 bucks and refills for $4.

At ShadFest, brewer Chris Rakow was running the fretboard on a Paul Reed Smith guitar, fronting his band as part of the entertainment. Look for that again this weekend, plus plenty of food from vendors.

And don't forget, Triumph Brewing's New Hope brewpub is just a short stroll over the bridge to the Union Square plaza.

Meanwhile, Long Valley's party settles in with a pumpkin ale and Oktoberfest brews on its patio on Sunday, beginning at noon, with music from Mama's Stew. This event has quite a following and is usually well attended.

Officially a part of Washington Township in southwestern Morris County, the Long Valley hamlet was known as German Valley from its founding during Colonial Days until World War I, when a German reference to anything in this country was certain to invite a backlash of hostility and prompt a name change. (Incidentally, World War I, and the subsequent anti-German sentiment, were catalysts for the advent of Prohibition, with the dry factions ardently pointing out that most of the brewers in the US at that time were German or of German lineage.)

And then there is this item from Peter Kennedy over at simplybeer.com, a tasting of Garden State beers (Ramstein, New Jersey Beer Company, Boaks Beer and Cricket Hill) from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at Halo Lounge, in Rutherford. The event benefits the Meadowlands Museum.

Tickets are 40 bucks and can be purchased by contacting the museum (201-935-1175 or e-mail meadowlandsmuseum@verizon.net).

Lastly, NJBeerEvents has a calendar round-up here.

Roundup

Reminder
Basil T's in Toms River, soon to be known under the moniker Artisan, holds its Oktoberfest dinner on Friday evening (starts at 7 p.m.). It's a multi-course dinner by chef Steve Farley, paired with several beers from brewer Dave Hoffmann. PubScout Kurt Epps keeps the event on pace as emcee.

Upcoming
The Garden State Chapter of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America holds its fall show on Sunday (Oct. 4) at the Polish Cultural Center in Clark.

It starts at 10 a.m., and speaking of Dave Hoffmann, you'll find his Climax beers being poured there.

River Horse
River Horse's annual nod to fall will be held the weekend of Oct. 10-11, noon to 5 p.m. both days. As usual, it's pay as you go with the lineup of RH flagship beers; proceeds benefit Twin Rivertown Project.

Missing from this year's Oktoberfest beer lineup is Dunkel Fester, the dark larger RH did last year as a fall seasonal. Co-owner Glenn Bernabeo says the brewery had to sacrifice the seasonal to keep up with demand for RH's mainstay beers.

For instance, for 2009 the brewery nearly doubled last year's 7-barrel production of Summer Blonde.

The brewery also slipped a special project into its production, brewing the winning beer for a homebrew contest connected to the Office chain of restaurants. Glenn says the brewery hopes to boost capacity soon by adding additional tanks.

Given all of that, if you were a fan of last year's oatmeal milk stout, fret not. It's due back in Novermber, while RH's Belgian Freeze comes out this month.

Recap
If you made it to last weekend's cask ale event at Pizzeria Uno, then you saw a great model for scaling down beer fests: a low-key, pay-as-you-go affair with access to good food. Some of the bigger festivals (like Atlantic City) have become drunkfests, while the beer festival idea in general has become overplayed. It makes sense to rein things in a little, downsize and bring some focus.

Speaking of the Uno event, a shoutout goes to Kai Todd of Somerset County, who took the time to talk to us about the beers he was sampling, and Jersey beer in general. (Kai say he's considering adding his voice to the beer scene discussion with a Web site. There's always room for another perspective.)

Constructive criticism
We won't pound this too hard, since we couldn't make it up to the Woodbridge event held in mid-September. But a lot of folks told us about the long lines at the gate and beer staind, and the event running out of beer. Sounds like the Central Jersey Best Fest hit a growing pain, one that limiting ticket sales and boosting the $20 admission price to $35 could solve. (Thirty-five bucks is a common price, and quite frankly, 40 is not out of the realm of reason.)

Granted the Woodbridge festival is a charity event, so if organizers (J.J. Bitting brewpub is the main one) are worried that capping ticket sales will limit the amount raised for the dedicated charity, that can be addressed by having an informational booth to explain where the proceeds are going and to solicit donations. The festival's been a sensible fall addition, and the park where it's held is a great location. Some fine-tuning should help.