New Belgium Springboard Ale

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

On tap @ San Diego Brew Co. A deep golden pour with an amber tint. Medium sized off white head. Nose of citrus and yeast.....something else I can’t put my finger on. Nice dry finish, a classic, but not so traditional of a brew.

Slightly hazy amber color with medium head. The aroma was robust, with a sprucy "jazzy" wildness. However, the flavor didn’t hold up to the aroma. I was disappointed because the mouthfeel was almost oily and the mix of flavors didn’t really come together. I never got the sense that this was a spring brew; it was like a mix of summer and fall ales. It was like this was a brew that had an idenity crisis and couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. It leaves me wishing for more.....

12 oz. bottle. Very unique, I’ve never had a beer quite like this before. Pours a pale cloudy yellow. Fizzy mouthfeel with citrus notes. Aroma: Tough to say (I have a cold), but there seems to be a hint of lemon.

Cloudy pale yellow, small white head. Citrus and maybe a little buttered popcorn aroma. Sweet lemon and a few other flavors I can’t recognize. Just enough bitterness in the end to clean it up. Not bad but a little odd.

My first New Belgium Brewery product taste. Pours golden color with a good 1’ frothy white head. Strong carbonation but does not interfere with flavors. First imression was a slight winey taste which soon gave way to a nice smooth malt balancing a good hop presence with very small amount of bitter. The aftertaste is slightly astringent which leaves a very slight dry sensation on the tongue. This beer went very well with a home-cooked chicken dinner. Would call this a session ale but with a 6.2% abv you would have go slow. Well recommended. Will look forward to exploring many other N.B. products.

To my mind, this is not beer. Drinking this caused me to seek out a place on the web where I might be vindicated in my distaste for its flavour, nose and frightening colour. I was led here and now offer my humble opinion that this is a fad brew. Admittedly, I was taken in by the "last run" line on the box and generally good artwork that New Belgium offers. But upon tasting (now into my fourth bottle) I find it repellent. My advice to New Belgium: keep with the beers that you are so good at and don’t venture into overly trendy, non-beers. Your sales and integrity will remain intact.

Bottle from BevMo. Hazy yellow appearance. Aroma is Mostly yeast and grain with a little spice. Smells like a tripel. Dry bitter flavor. Some odd spices in there. Like a spiced Belgian of some sort.

A light veggie aroma, the unique flavor of wormwood, and a lingering acidic aftertaste put this beer in a category of its own. This beer is certainly an acquired taste. It took me two or three of these before I finally got used to it. Now it’s one of my favorites.