New Belgium Springboard Ale

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

Bottle... Poured a hazy, light gold color with a nice white head that lasted. Malty, lagerish aroma. Soft palate with flavors of malt, dry hops, sugar and maybe herbal tea or something like that. Short finish.

Admittedly, I don’t really have a frame of reference for goji berries, wormwood or schisandra since I don’t recall ever tasting any of them at any time in my life. With that being said, this wasn’t a bad tasting beer. Crisp, light, refreshing. Aroma was sweet, fruity, wheaty with a subtle lemony character. Appearance was a pale yellow with a decent off-white head. Flavor was all over the place. It had subtle sweet fruits, lemons, spices, with a low hop bitterness that finished it off nicely. It’s not going to garner much attention, simply because it’s a lighter beer. Still, I’m sure it has a time and place.

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.

Appearance is clear straw gold with white head and some suprisingly good lacing. Aroma of lemon, floral spices, grass, and strange fruity herb. Flavor is dry and fruity with lemon grass, pepper, hay, and grain. Interesting beer, but it just doesnt seem to work.

Looks like your typical wit. Body is spritzy, light, effervescent and a little cobwebby. Wheaty malts. Tea-like spices with hints of citrusy fruit. Balanced bitterness. Kind of refreshing, albeit a little cloying. Another new light offering from NB.

Beer pours cloudy, honey golden color with a mostly dissipating egg white colored head. Has an interesting aroma of yeast, esters, and sour tarts. Most unusual. Flavor is bitter and has wet wood. This is a somewhate refreshing beverage and would have application as a lawnmower beer. Not something I will seek out unless I am hot and thirsty.

6 pack purchased at Nugget on Covell in Davis, CA. Aroma is unique with some definite banana-like estery notes. Also, this is rather metallic with a fruity aroma that I can only imagine is due to the Goji Berries. Smells kind of like a Witbier. Has a pale yellowish body with some mild haziness and a rather large, frothy white head. Starts off a bit tart and rather sour, which is then followed by a creamy, milky, cereal-like maltiness. Followed by some fruity berry-like flavors. There is a weird dry, aspirin-like bitterness in the end, which does not really taste like hops. I imagine this is the wormwood. An interesting beer, although not overly enjoyable. I do give them props for creativity, though.

Light in color and mild in the nose. Simple and gentle with spice notes and a touch of malt and hops throughout.