Oxbow Brewing Crossfade
Allagash, Maine Beer Company and Shipyard are pretty synonymous with their home state when it comes to beer. But there’s been — like just about every other state in the country — a surge of smaller breweries the past couple of years. The likes of Bissel Brothers and Rising Tide have been growing steadily. And now we have products from Oxbow Brewing showing up on shelves in northern Virginia.
Crossfade was purchased with a couple of other brews from the Newcastle, ME company a couple of weeks ago. This 5% ABV brew is a blend of saison-style beers that leans fairly heavily toward the hoppy end of the beer spectrum. Additional aging with Brettanomyces offers the drinking a twinge of wild tartness that playfully teases while a healthy barnyard funk and lemon grass hop traits wash over the tastebuds. The tartness is minor in effect while the hop bite is fairly healthy, leaving a tingling bitterness long into the lightly drying and lasting finish. The hop profile, in conjunction with that wild side, also provides a light flowery trait which is quite unique for the style.
I was thoroughly impressed with my first encounter with Oxbow and their Crossfade. The beer is light and refreshing with great flavor. I love the twinge of wild tartness as it interplays with the refreshing hop bite and light citrusy notes. That flowery trait that comes out a bit more as it warms is interesting and enough to help separate the beer from its peers. I’m looking forward to the other two bottles that I purchased at the same time as Crossfade, even the one brewed with lobster.