RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
COLEBROOK, CT – After abruptly ending formal weekly cruise nights in mid-June last year due to excessive noise, Norbrook Farm Brewery plans to revive cruises on a twice-monthly basis in 2026 at the urging of customers.
“As much pressure as I received from a neighbor about the noise, I received many, many times that from people who absolutely love it and did not want to see it go away,” wrote brewery owner John Auclair in an email this afternoon to RIDE-CT.
Cruise nights will be staged on the second and fourth Thursday nights of each month, beginning in May and running through September.
“It really fits in here because a lot of families attend just to see the cars, have a meal, etc.,” Auclair wrote. “By just having the event only on the second and fourth Thursday of every month cuts the number down by half, then some of those are going to get rained out.”
Weekly cruise nights began last year on May 1 and lasted into June when Auclair pulled the plug after some rude cruisers did burnouts upon leaving the property. “It’s not worth upsetting neighbors who work hard, come home to their sanctuary and have their peace and quiet disrupted by loud vehicles,” the brewery stated in a Facebook post the evening of June 13 announcing the shutdown of cruise nights.
While the formal cruise nights ended, many classic vehicle owners continued to show up on Thursday nights at the hilltop brewery for the remainder of the summer and into fall.
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The short-lived weekly cruise nights in 2025 attracted as many 150 vehicles or more. Despite signage that asked customers to be polite, a rude few felt the need to engage in noise pollution.
“If need be we can post an imposing authoritative figure at the end of the driveway,” Auclair wrote, adding “I’m not sure if it will help or hurt.”
(Photos by Bud Wilkinson.)
