Happy April, everyone! Today's review post on River Rat Brewery's 3rd Birthday Party will tend to focus more on River Rat's core beers and lighter offerings, compared to Wednesday's post, which had several of River Rat's higher gravity and higher ABV beers.

In case you missed Wednesday's set of Beers in Review, you can find that post here. In addition, if you missed the event recap video, you can find it here!

In the recap, I gave a review of the 2016 edition of the Moncks Corner Abbey Dubbel Ale. Immediately after, I had the 2015 version of the Abbey Ale. It pours a bronze-to-orange color, is listed at 7.2% ABV, though this aged version seemed heartier than that, as I detected a ramped-up boozy note and boozy sweetness compared to the 2016. I also got a lot more dark fruit sweetness, especially raisin, and these combined with the Belgian candy and some sweet malty notes to give a feeling of fruitcake to the Abbey Ale.

With that Abbey Ale, I took a hard left turn to their core 803 IPA. Also fairly high in ABV (7.3%), this light gold-colored beer brings plenty of grassy and especially piney hop notes that combine with a mildly sweet note. There is also a little bit of orange and orange rind in there. This IPA had a medium-light body, and the prickly carbonation stood out in the mouthfeel.

I started ramping down a bit with a few fruitier beers, starting with the Pineapple Pale Ale, which poured a very light gold color, and was very easy drinking, especially considering my palate was nearing the end of its usefulness. This pale ale had very nice pineapple notes with no sourness or acidity and very little sweetness. Overall, it tended to be more on the mild side, and in a normal drinking environment, I might want more out of this. But given the situation, I was fine with a milder beer.

Finally, I tried the Blackberry Saison, which was a hazy, ruddy gold color. This Saison featured plenty of funk aroma, which carried into the taste. There were also some pepper notes and a little bit of berry, as well. Frankly, at this point, my palate was starting to tap out, so I might want to give this one another go, if River Rat ever offers it again.

I also had the Twisted Lemon Wheat, but my palate wasn't up to giving impressions on it.

So, that wraps it up. I gave River Rat plenty of love in the event recap, so I'll just say it was awesome to have so many, and such a varied selection, of River Rat beers. This included a number of their offerings that I hadn't tried before. A very good event by River Rat.