Hopnotic India Pale Ale - Cricket Hill Brewing Co.

y2jrock60

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A- Very pale orange, almost yellow. The head quickly fades leaving behind virtually no lacing.

S- Almost no aroma, very mild malt tones with some grapefruit hops.

T- This is an IPA? I understand that it's an English IPA, but this tastes more like a craft lager. It's very light with a malty character. Grapefruit hops are present at the end, but are not very pronounced and only leave a slight lingering bitterness.

M- Very light bodied for an IPA with moderate carbonation.

D- High drinkable for an IPA since there is virtually no hop presence.

I wouldn't consider this an IPA, it's closer to a Pale Ale. It actually tasted very similar to Appalachian Brewing Company's Mountain Lager, which is a completely different style of beer. There is nothing offensive about this brew, but there's nothing great about it either.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 08:49:08 | More by y2jrock60

BFCarr

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

06-17-2013 21:58:07 | More by BFCarr

JMScowcroft

Vermont

3.74/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Cricket Hill Brewing Co. - Hopnotic India Pale Ale

First things first from reading the few recent reviews and the old reviews, I am guessing they changed the formula for this brew because after I reviewed mine I read others from earlier dates and it sounded like we were drinking different brews. The label changed as well but that doesn't always been the brew did. Anyway, just wanted to mention that.

Look - Pours a slightly hazy mostly clear golden amber orange with a massive foamy head that dissipates quite slowly and leaves lots of sticky lacing. Bubbly and medium carbonation.

Smell - Sharp citrus and piney hops with a faint bready malt backbone.

Taste - Snappy carbonated and then juicy lemon hop intro, then fades to bitter grassiness and bready malt.

Mouthfeel - Medium-bodied, somewhat creamy in fact but otherwise on the dry side. Rests bitter. Boozy for its low ABV, a little throat hot. Decent drinkability.

Overall - A light IPA, crisp citrus and refreshing. I am not seeing most of the same negative qualities on some of the older review, again I am guessing this is a reformulation attempt. I did notice that it is a little on the tart side, but otherwise this is a decent brew. Would not recommend this one to hop heads necessarily and if I did I would call the hops lemonade hops, not really my favorite style.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 11:22:07 | More by JMScowcroft

Kendo

New York

3.75/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Poured from the bottle into a tumbler-style pint glass. Body is hazy tangerine orange with a fluffy 1.5-finger white head. Leaves behind some good thick rings of lace.

S: Juicy citrusy hops - think oranges or clementines. Touch of biscuit/bready malt underneath. Solid nose, though for some reason I think it smells more like an APA than an American IPA. . . . Wait, I see it's listed as an English IPA. Hmmmm. . . . Slight mustiness keeps this from a higher score.

T: First impression is the citrusy hops again. Some grapefruit, some orange. Kind of juicy hops over bread doughy malt. Finishes with a juicy hop bitterness that's pleasant; lemony and minerally bitterness on the back of the tongue. Again, tastes more like an APA than an English IPA; the citrus gives the impression of American hops (C-hops perhaps) rather than the British counterparts (Fuggles, Goldings, Kent).

M: Creamy in feel, call it medium in heft. Carbonation is a bit lacking.

O: Decent. Better than I expected, to be honest, given the reviews here and the reputation of this brewer. Maybe I got one that's uber-fresh (I'll check the bottle for dating info). I bought a single bottle at Price Chopper and doubt I'd buy a full sixer of this (there are so many IPAs that I like better than this), but I'm not unhappy with the purchase at all.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 00:12:18 | More by Kendo

zoober911

New York

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

05-23-2013 03:00:10 | More by zoober911

John_Crozier

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +16.5%

05-22-2013 20:13:47 | More by John_Crozier

erialbill

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev +0.9%

05-22-2013 18:13:07 | More by erialbill

NJBeer265

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

05-22-2013 17:40:08 | More by NJBeer265

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap at Little Town NJ in Hoboken, NJ

A: Pours a lightly hazy pale yellow in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation and some golden yellow highlights. Pours a finger tall fluffy white head that slowly reduces to thin film covering about 70% of the surface of the beer with a very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of pine/resin hops and light citrus/grapefruit hops over the top of some slightly sweet grainy malts.

T: Upfront there are some light flavors of slightly sweet grainy malts with just a touch of caramel malts. Then there are moderate flavors of pine/resin hops and some lighter notes of citrus/grapefruit, floral, and spicy hops. Light to moderate amounts of lingering bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Relatively crisp.

O: This beer is probably a slight amount hoppier and more bitter than I expected in an English IPA but it is still enjoyable and pretty easy to drink. The flavors of the hops come through nicely and are not quite as subdued as some others in the style, Enjoyable and one I would likely order again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2013 01:01:38 | More by dbrauneis

Bustersuess

New York

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

05-14-2013 19:02:40 | More by Bustersuess

EROCK75

Illinois

3/5  rDev -6.8%

05-13-2013 15:39:58 | More by EROCK75

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev +0.9%

05-12-2013 18:04:29 | More by mikeburd1128

metter98

New York

3.69/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is slightly hazy pale yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high off fluffy white head that has very good retention properties and consistently left a short head covering the surface as well as lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of pine resin hops are present in the nose along with some notes of grapefruit citrus.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and also has hints of floral and spicy hops. It has a light to moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer seems a little hoppier and bitter compared to other English IPAs but has a nice amount of flavors of hops.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 00:52:55 | More by metter98

CMalenda

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

05-02-2013 01:42:51 | More by CMalenda

gwiedman1

New York

4.25/5  rDev +32%

04-27-2013 19:52:22 | More by gwiedman1

brheuer

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

03-24-2013 20:58:00 | More by brheuer

Celtics76

Rhode Island

3/5  rDev -6.8%

03-21-2013 13:40:45 | More by Celtics76

PoolFishGolf

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

03-11-2013 20:03:12 | More by PoolFishGolf

bacher468

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +8.7%

03-09-2013 18:31:34 | More by bacher468

marlinsfan4

Maryland

2.75/5  rDev -14.6%

02-27-2013 06:40:09 | More by marlinsfan4

duceswild

Maryland

2.75/5  rDev -14.6%

02-27-2013 06:07:20 | More by duceswild

tdm168

North Carolina

3.19/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3

A - bright, hazy orange with a huge, dense cap of thick, foamy, pure white head; really good retention

S - huge bready malts, some faint citrus

T - creamy, bready, soapy, citrusy, mildly bitter finish

M - medium bodied, well carbonated

This beer is almost what I would have expected. It's dominated by bready malts with a nice citrusy hop character. Unfortunately, it has an intense creamy, soapy, almost lactic off-flavor that ruins everything. This is definitely not a beer I ever want to have again.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 22:05:54 | More by tdm168

rorjets

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +16.5%

02-10-2013 04:14:01 | More by rorjets

LouDogg114

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +16.5%

01-20-2013 03:54:07 | More by LouDogg114

tubeman

New York

2.5/5  rDev -22.4%

01-12-2013 00:16:04 | More by tubeman