New Normal
Crossroads Brewing Company

Poured a hazy light copper color into a pint glass from a tall boy marked batch 14622. 2 Fingers high head that lasts for a while with loads of lacing. Aroma is that of tangerine & guava with a mix of malty earthiness. Very flavorful that starts out hoppy then flattens out and ends on a slightly bitter sweet note. Mouth is medium bodied and very drinkable @ 6.2 ABV where you can pound back a few without worry. Looking forward to next trip to Catskill where I can pick up some more.

 

 

 

 

 

This place used to be great, but in the past 2 years it has fallen apart, I understand covid but hot dogs n chili are the only thing on the menu, they finally added a salad. I understand the world is understaffed, but marone..... this place used to have great food, great beer, great people....... it's a world of a difference, service is still phenomenal but my lord it took them months to put a burger on the menu and it's meh..... you could've been making a sub par burger months ago..... but noooo they didn't want to put out a bad product.... the worst product is no product at all........ TLDR: PUT THE MAC AND CHEESE BACK ON THE GOD DAMN MENU

 

Crossroads Brewing Co. "New Normal"
16 fl. oz. can coded "BATCH # 23220".
$4.49 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Crossroads Brewing... where do I know that from? Ah, Catskill, NY ~ yes, I've even been there. I'm a little surprised I picked this up at Total Wine & More though as I was just up that way, but whatever. It's poured a murky deep golden, amber, almost brass color beneath a full head of rocky off-white foam. ... ... ... I've been waiting for the head to drop and it hasn't so kudos to that. In the nose I'm getting berries, orange, and pineapple over a mildly sweet and grainy malt base. Ahhh, there's alight touch of pine in there as well. It's nice; I want to dive in. The taste confirms what the aroma has suggested and I'm glad that the berries have remained as I was unsure about listing them first in what I found. They're almost like blueberry. There's also a very strong peach flavor to it. Other notes include papaya, lemon, mango, grapefruit, and melon-in-general. A solid bitterness balances it, bringing it to a dry finish with some berries, pine, and a touch of earthiness lingering. I'm not sure what to say about the malt. It's more than just basic but I can't figure it out. There may be some caramel/crystal malt in there, or perhaps they're using something like honey malt. That would make sense in my opinion as it tends to amplify peach notes but I'm not sure. There are a lot of hop notes going on as well which masks the malt a bit ~ I won't complain about that! It's nicely rounded and balanced, and a little bit unique. OK, let's wrap up. In the mouth it's medium bodied but it seems a little fuller than it is because of all the residual proteins - this IS a murky beer! It's gently zesty on the tongue and then it smooths. I'm not particularly tasting oats but I suspect they're in there. It's interesting, and charming, and surprisingly just 6.2% ABV so you could drink a few without getting out of hand.
Review #7,302

 

 

Poured from their "tall boy" can into a standard pint glass. Served at fridge temp. Wafts of mango, juicy citrus, papaya and star fruit. Very hazy golden thick body with strong foam head reducing to strong lacing retention. Fairly active carbonation. On the front of the palette lots of tropical fruit juice-- mango, papaya, and clementine. Subtle hints of grass and pine. On the mid-palette very juicy and refreshing. Lots of grapefruit, kumquat, and oranges. The grapefruit and kumquat end in bitter notes as it moves to the back palette. A pungent bitter note lingers with grapefruit, lemon peel, and mild pine hop notes. Some lemon grass and grapefruit after taste. Very crisp finish for such a juicy mouthful of NEIPA beer. As it warms some more biscuit and malt comes through mid-palette and bitters decrease. Overall very good example of the NEIPA style while maintaining that upstate NY drinkable texture and taste. NYPIA? Maybe that's a bit much to say, but either way recommended.

 

 

Deep amber in color with an appropriate protein haze and sporting an off white head that recedes to a firm, clotted ring of foam, leaving sheets of whispy lace behind.
Aroma is gorgeous as it pours. A jumble of sprucey-conifer and woodsy wildflowers above a musky grain note along with some berries in whipped cream sort of thing. Sweet!
It tastes like what it says it is - a NW IPA. Solid, medium bodied malt sweetness carries the firm bittering from front to back in the mouth. Some berry and stone fruitiness slides along but the malt flavors show deference to the hop sharpness.
Interesting and unique hop flavors emerge as it warms and the grain character starts to stand up to those hops offering some toasted nuts and (cold) warm cereal chewiness.
Finish is long, pine needles and a lingering sourness on the back of the tongue.
Ahhhh.... a REAL IPA. This new normal is just the old normal. Welcome back.

 

 

 

Can to English pint glass.
The appearance was a fairly burnt ruddy yellow to orange color with a finger and a half's worth of white foamy head sustaining very nicely. Slight speckled rim of lace near the top.
The aroma had a wonderful blend of shaved orange peel, light dose of guava/papaya, some grapefruit pith, some creamy lactose, piney bitterness and a clean biscuity malt sweetness.
The flavor leaned towards a subtle piney to shaved orange peel bittersweetness. Nice aftertaste of biscuits, bittersweet pine, and orange peel.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Some zesty hop harshness invades but more or less just seems to keep that "feel" from being cloying. Nice low key carbonation as expected. Zesty hop finish with piney bitterness and orange peel.
Overall, I'd say pretty nice APA leaning towards the New England style pretty good. I'd definitely have again.