New Belgium Springboard Ale

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

Light pale body with hint of head. Decent aroma...crisp and refreshing. A good early spring ale but certainly not the best

Bottle: A pale yellow color with an overzeleous puffy white head. The nose is bright with pretention as i’m only getting a bit of citrus, yeast and pale malt. What’s up with this badass ingredient list if you’re not going to highlight them? The flavor is thin, is this another Loft relabel? Some husk and orange peel, a bit of floral hops. Meh. Supremely underwhelming. This bottle sold itself out.

Light hay yellow with nice sized head. Nose is pale malts and some citrus and grassy notes. Taste is wheaty lemon with some other flavor I can’t pinpoint, but I like it. Some grainy flavors and a bit creamy on the finish. Really pretty refreshing when you need a your thirst quenched.

12oz. bottle. First impression of the aroma is that it’s highly unfamiliar, although there are some rather standard elements such as a lightly tart, citric fruitiness and pale, grainy malts, there’s something very unusual that is present throughout, manifesting in a blend of musty spices (perhaps ginger?) and doughy yeast funk mixed with drying, decaying herbs and lime frosting. Clear light yellow color with a slight, creamy and lasting head. Flavor is also lightly tart and citric, pairing with the gently sweet, pale malts and those aspects which apparently make this beer what it is, again not being anything I’ve ever tasted before, but being vaguely dusty, spicy and leafy, maybe even a tad farmy, finishing crisp and lightly bitter. Plenty of effervescence on the palate, semi-dry and with a light, thin body. It’s unusual, that’s for certain. I have one remaining bottle that I plan on drinking very cold.

Pale yellow gold, small layer of white head. Spicy cookie aroma, a bit of green grass and berry esters. A bit of corn flour. Fuller body than the ultrapale looks would indicate--a bit creamy even. Lightly toasty, a bit of grassy hop finish. Not bad, but not one of New Belgiums better efforts.

Where to start.... I went into this with an openmind. Not entirely bad - in fact, for what it is (its categorical classification) its pretty good, still I am not a fan of these wierd brews. I appreciate the effort and the diversity but that does not mean that I enjoy tossing a few back. Aroma is sour and pungent. Looks like an unfiltered messy St Pattys day drain pour. Palate is nicely malted. The spice plays hard up front but it is overly sour and woody with strange spices and herbs. Hops are nice and it is very well balanced. Not my cup of tea.

12 oz bottle. .. Herbal, citusry aroma with malty hints. .. Lt. golden, hazy (with yeast from bottle), White head. .. Complex herby/citusry flavor. Not a lot of malt or hoppiness. Clean finish. .. Light body, light carbonation. .. Interesting, very refreshing and tasy beer. Will be great in the summer. ..

This spiced ale pours a slightly cloudy pale yellow color from a 12oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is citrus. Lemons and some spices. A medium to light bodied spiced ale. Malts are fruity and sweet, kind of wheaty and sort of wit like. Yet it has a strange herbal and spicy flavors as well. Light and refreshing. Its weird but I kind of like it. Not something I would want to drink a lot in a row of, but a nice refreshing spring beer. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.