Last Friday, the club visited Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield, NJ. It was a little difficult getting to, considering the brewery is in the back of a non-descript warehouse and their signage is so small. But once you find it, you are embraced with some live electric guitar music and the smells of beer. Friday nights, they have a beer "tour," where, for $4, you get a pint ($3) and donate ($1) to the guitarist. When you get your plastic pint and a ticket, go to the back where the bar is and tell the bar-man that you're "new" and you want to get a little tasting of what they have; that's the "tour." That night, they had 5 varieties on tap: Hopnotic IPA, American Ale, East Coast Lager, a Smokey Rye, and the Fall Festivus Ale. Of what they had, my favorite was the Hopnotic IPA and the Smokey Rye was nasty. I am not a big fan of strong IPAs, but the Hopnotic was quite pleasant. It's bitter, but the sweetness of it helps balance it out; sort of sucking on the pit of a sweet grapefruit. All of the others were different in their own way, but in the end still have some bitterness. So I wouldn't say that their selection is all that diverse.
The head brewer is somewhat of a nut-job. He gets up on a platform, smoking a cigar, and gives his shpiel about how CH is a brewery and not a bar, and yadda yadda yadda. Wasn't paying all to much attention to him. They have a whiskey barrel beer that is currently fermenting and will probably be ready in a month in a half.
Here's a little more info if you're interested:
Webpage: http://crickethillbrewery.com/
Address: 24 Kulick Rd, Fairfield, NJ
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