Cricket's Nocturne - Cricket Hill Brewing Co.

cpanossian

New York

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep cola brown color. Pours a rich foamy biege head between two and three fingers high. Leaves a nice abstract lace residue around the glass. Rich chocolately malty aroma with taste to match with some coffee. I'm pretty sure that's anise or licorice I taste too. I think you could enjoy this with a nice red meat meal or just buy itself like a dessert. I am not a dark beer guy but this was pretty darn good.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2010 01:12:25 | More by cpanossian

shamrock1343

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

06-13-2013 23:42:38 | More by shamrock1343

Drknight

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-01-2013 04:49:07 | More by Drknight

Zimm

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -21.3%

05-15-2013 17:40:50 | More by Zimm

gwiedman1

New York

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

04-28-2013 19:55:34 | More by gwiedman1

danedelman

Pennsylvania

4.29/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Purchased at RSVP in Maine on sale for $3.99 a bomber and poured into a Portsmouth Brewing tulip

A-dark black with a one finger head although poured too cold which could have affected it. Ruby red hues around the edges where the light hits it.

S-dark roasts of chocolate and a hint of light roasted coffee.

T-chocolate malt with a hint of chalkiness. Roasty and smooth. Very well done for this style. Very clean and crisp.

M-smooth and medium bodied with perfect carbonation for this style which is low/medium carbonation

Overall this is a well done beer. I would have and did think it was a porter when I first had it and liked it then. Now I see its a lager and give it more credit. My first cricket hill I have ever enjoyed.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 21:57:28 | More by danedelman

kangarooAdam59

Wyoming

4.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cricket Hill, welcome to Maine (bomber acquired at RSVP for $3.99):

Into a pilsener:

A: dark brown body with a three finger off-white foamy head lasts a good two minutes, head gently fades to valleys, light foamy lacing clings to the sides of the glass

S: some light chocolate, coffee and malts

T: bittersweet - combined spectacular between previously mentioned flavors

M: medium, rolls nicely between tongue and mouth leads to a nice smoothness, slightly sessionable, coffee aftertaste and finish

O: what a nice Munich Dunkel that I would come back to pretty quickly, could be perhaps I had it just at the right time - unsure, but hey of course I would have this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 17:29:26 | More by kangarooAdam59

sixpaxrcool

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

03-18-2013 18:38:11 | More by sixpaxrcool

mdstillman

Maine

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

03-10-2013 02:59:10 | More by mdstillman

smiga

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Opaque beautiful blackish-brown in color with a 1" tan head that laces extremely nicely, and has large bubbles. Beautiful color, as good as they come in black lager.

Smell: the mild malt sweetness is pleasant, appealing, inviting. Roasty, but not over powering. A winter beer.

Taste: Of course malt, but subtle. Less cloying than brown ales, with some herb, earth, chocolate, grass, and hint of bread. Bitterness moderate, fresh tasting, and with nice sweet-bitter-earthy balance. A great session beer. Approachable, will be great with food, tonight shrimp cocktail and sphagetti with meatballs. Stands up to any foods. A great seafood dinner or roast beer. Also great with cheese.

Mouthfeel: medium-to-full bodied, a little creamy. Crisp, sessionable, satisfying. Aftertaste short-lived. Leaves one in a good earthy not too sweet place.

Overall: this is a drinkable dark lager that can be a session beer. Great NJ Brew! worth trying out. I will definitely get more. If I am to drink dark lager, this would be near the top of my list. I could see drinking this and surprising my friends with it.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2013 23:11:02 | More by smiga

HoppyHomo

New Jersey

3.08/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I had the pleasure of attending the Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield last week. The man in charge of the brewery, Rick i believe his name is, really knows how to draw a crowd. Sure the crowd looked like they had just left Comic Con but overall everyone was very nice and it was a good time.

One of the beers on tap at the Brewery was their dark lager (nocturne). On tap i thought it was pretty good so i decided to pick up a 750 at the local bottle king and see how it would taste out of the bottle.

Warning:Pour gently, there is a lot of head.Too much head in my opinion.

But once the head settle you have a delicious dark lager in front of you. Feels smooth in the mouth and while not overwhelming with flavor is just perfect for those November nights where your along sitting on the internet(eh?).

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 02:32:15 | More by HoppyHomo

sommersb

Tennessee

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Tasted On: 10-21-2012
Freshness: Not indicated
Packaging: 22 oz. brown bottle, pry-cap
Glassware: Willi Becher
Purchased: Received in a trade

Starts with a huge off-white head on a murky, dark brown beer. Excellent retention and lacing in the glass. Aromas are malty and sweet, followed by some roasted malt notes.

The taste brings to mind a dark, french roast coffee initially, plus malty caramels and chocolate. Earthy hops give a light bitter element. Medium bodied, with a crisp and clean lager mouthfeel. Finishes slightly dry and with the coffee roast flavors noted before.

Overall a tasty balance of roasted/toasted notes in a not-too heavy lager beer.

Thanks to Steve for this one!

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 00:40:34 | More by sommersb

Bung

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. a very dark brown pour, some amber around the edges. Thin off white layer on top.

Aroma, a lot of chocolate, some peat, leather.

Taste, Some molasses and sassafras. Some malty toffee and chocolates, almost a milk chocolate like quality. A dry cocoa and noble type hop finish.
Quite dry. Feels like the high carbonation is hurting the flavor profile some.

Lighter bodied and drinkable, but I found the carbonation prickly and a bit distracting.
Fix that and this is a winner.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 01:26:49 | More by Bung

jnardone235

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5%

09-03-2012 04:21:39 | More by jnardone235

kylehay2004

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: very large head on this one with excellent retention on a clear amber brown body

S: simple aroma with toasted caramel malts, rye breads, musty hops.

T: smokey and roasted malts with strong coffee presence. flavor is good but the soft drink level of carbonation is distracting. breads and light spices.

M: lighter than expected with very very high carbonation. semi dry finish and crisp.

Overall: drinkable and fairly flavorful but not really a great representative of the style.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 02:11:07 | More by kylehay2004

nickfl

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - The cap comes off to a quick gusher that continues to foam up even after it is gently poured into the glass. The result is a massive, five finger head of foam that overtops the glass like a mushroom cloud. The body is a hazy dark brown and the head retention is epic.

S - An aroma of roasted malt with some nutty caramel and spicy notes of pepper and lavender.

T - Bready malt up front with some caramel and brown sugar. Some lightly roasted notes in the middle and a finish of dry caramel and more bready malt.

M - Medium body, very high carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - Based on the over the top carbonation, I assumed that this beer would taste infected, but it shows no off flavors or other signs of infection. It is a little on the dry side, which may be related to the carbonation, but otherwise fairly good.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 02:10:51 | More by nickfl

buckyp

South Carolina

3/5  rDev -21.3%

05-20-2012 22:55:51 | More by buckyp

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

04-23-2012 20:13:32 | More by ygtbsm94

mdfb79

New York

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

03-23-2012 18:30:38 | More by mdfb79

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.83/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

poured a solid black with a foamy off-white head. aromas of yeast, bananas, toasted grains, tobacco and coffee. tastes like a watered down stout (roasted grains, caramel, chocolate). totally not what i was expecting. a little bready tasting and some metallic hints throughout the pour.

very refreshing, crisp (could be a summer/spring beer), light on the palate with subtle toasted hints, dry finish.

i was expecting a shit beer honestly. i sent one off to a friend in wisconsin and he was not a fan of it. maybe it got better with aging, it's been sitting at room temp for about 3 months. the very subtle flavors honestly make it a great beer for any season.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 01:17:27 | More by facundoCNB

kennylopez

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

03-13-2012 20:40:32 | More by kennylopez

RoryOMoore

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%

02-28-2012 00:34:36 | More by RoryOMoore

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

02-02-2012 12:46:08 | More by djrn2

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cricket Hill "Cricket's Nocturne"
22 oz. bottle; no apparent freshness date.
$5.99 @ Wine Legend, Cherry Hill, NJ

Not really sure of what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by this offering. It's caramelish, toasty, chocolatey/cocoa-ish, and a touch roasty. There are some nice floral and leafy hops to it, and it initially balances quite well. Unfortunately, the roasty edge builds on the palate a bit, thus accentuating the bitterness a bit as well. It finishes dry with a coffee character and solid bitterness. The first quarter of the glass was great, it lost luster half-way, and then it became softer and more enjoyable as it warmed. The roastiness is a little bit much given the malt component, but that makes it unique. Probably worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 22:38:53 | More by NeroFiddled

Tpsauer

New Jersey

2.5/5  rDev -34.4%

01-21-2012 17:52:02 | More by Tpsauer