Cricket Hill Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine

Another bottle that my friend Jeff picked up from Cricket Hill for me was the Reserve Ale- No. 3 Barleywine. The beer pours brilliant amber color with a frothy white head that sticks to the side of the glass. The aroma is malty and sweet, with bits of orange peel, caramel, and toffee. The taste is sweet and malty with a good dose of raisin, toffee, and caramel. It has a slight orange zest on the finish with a modest compliment of dry hops. The alcohol content is not posted online, but I would guess around 8% ABV. This barleywine is everything that a barelywine should be, and I highly recommend checking it out. The orange zest that came with the drinking of this beer was a pleasant surprise and really rounded out the flavor.

Cricket Hill Reserve Ale- No. 2 Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter

I had my friend Jeff in New Jersey pick me up a bottle of Cricket Hill Reserve Ale- No. 2 Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter. The beer pours a dark brown color with a foamy tan head that is about a finger thick. The aroma has bits of chocolate and an underlying bourbon alcohol bite. The taste is full of chocolate and toasted malts with some cream rounding out in a sweetening manner. The beer finishes with a bit of a bite from the bourbon aging. There is also some oak accents and a hint of black licorice. The alcohol content was not available online, but I would guess it to be around 5% or 6% ABV. This was a delicious porter that goes above and beyond the call of duty. The bourbon barrel aging really brings a new dimension to this beer with a nice alcohol bite and bits of oak laced in with the chocolate and toasted malts.