effervescent refractions

New Belgium was my portal to the world of craft beer, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. I’ve always thought of New Belgium as an honest brewery, a virtue too often lost when production reaches such large scale. New Belgium’s expansion has inevitably led to a line of dampened, disciplined brews, a sense of unfortunate uniformity. Yet truth be told, even the colloquial Fat Tire leaps far above the set of taps standardized across America. New Belgium entertains a rare balance of authority and quality which can only be respected in a market overflowing with vapidity. Springboard is one of those lures, inspiredly named because its aim is just that: to be a springboard towards more involved efforts such as Abbey; a hope that some day, like I have, the common drinker will evolve to appreciate their chef d’oeuvre, La Folie. With Springboard, I took the reverse route, out of curiosity more than anything. The extravagant list of ingredients betrays our poorly masked stratagem, flagrantly developed in the marketing rooms rather than the brewhouse. Nonetheless, I appreciate New Belgium’s let’s-get-this-over-with attitude which seems resolved to avoid the potential multiplicity of novelty brews.

I’ve soliloquized more than I thought I would, so let’s get to it. Ghostly in it’s pale gold robes, the cloudy liquid gives rise to a very thick sudsy foam. Noble hops are prominent, crisp, light with a slightly chalky and grainy undertone. The subtle sweetness of pineapple and peach add surprising layers of complexity which also lead to mystifying hints of barnyard funk and stinky hop. The flavor begins at the tip of the tongue with a spicy zing of coriander and moves on to a creamy mid-palate. An awkward bitterness takes over at this point, portrayed by more funky hops. The flavor is certainly unique, almost like an herbal variant of the witbier. The mouthfeel is enjoyably creamy but finishes with a dry, lingering bitter aftertaste. Overall, this isn’t a bad brew, but despite the colorful description it feels rather spiritless.