My time with Creature Comforts has not been particularly good. I very much enjoyed the precursor to Wallace & Gromit that was named Creature Comforts, but I'm not sure that this brewing company has lived up to those lofty expectations. This is a Belgian-style white ale, and they call it Spring. I assume it is supposed to be imbibed in the spring, and so I'm going to. Technically, I think it might still be winter at the time that I'm writing this, and who knows, it may be summer by the time you read it. Nevertheless, it's unusually warm for the winter, and it may as well be spring.
The mostly clear beer does have a bit of a haze to it, and I think that might give it a little character. The head is fairly reluctant to sprout, and it fizzles away to a respectable ring around the sides of the glass and little more. The aroma is Belgian yeast, and that is certainly heading in the right direction. I have had some Belgian-style ales lately that, I assume as a consequence of being made in the United States, have not managed to cleanly establish Belgian yeast. There was some approximation, and it wasn't good enough. This one smells like it's going to be pretty good.
First sip is certainly respectable. The yeast is commanding the flavors. On the side of the can, it says citrus, floral, fresh. The date stamp on the can indicates that it is, indeed, pretty darn fresh. It is slightly over a month from its canned date, and it is roughly 5 and 1/2 months from it s sell by date. However, a simple sip does not reveal very much in terms of citrus. I would argue that the yeast is not covering up any floral tastes, so I guess I am tasting some floral along with what seems to be a lot more botanical. It's not a bad sip, but I don't see that this would be particularly springtime. Maybe that could be said of almost any Belgian ale.
Tip-in is mild carbonation, wheat, yeast, and flowers. The middle is citrus skins surrounded by yeast, flowers, and botanicals rounding out the flavor. The finish is surprisingly mild as the bitter bite is looming, but it never hits before flowers and yeast head into the trail off.
Bottom Line: I still don't know that this is a springtime beer, but it's not a bad one.
3.5/5
