New Belgium Dig: Spring in a bottle.

As you may be aware, today was a pretty important day. This morning, at 7:28, our favorite prognosticating marmot, Punxatawney Phil (speaking through his interpreter, a gentleman dressed like Abraham Lincoln), foretold an early spring. Though the National Climatic Data Center asserts that Phil’s predicative accuracy is minimal, I’m about as inclined to trust a subterrestrial rodent as I am the average television meteorologist, so this is very exciting news.

To assess the imminent arrival of spring, I took my snowshoes out for a jaunt around Lake Mendota. After verifying that spring had not yet made an appearance, and that swimming conditions are not currently ideal, I returned home to pursue a more appropriate mode of celebration. New Belgium’s recently-released spring seasonal, Dig Pale Ale, seemed an appropriate choice for the occasion.

On location at New Belgium in 2010.

While pretentious types argue that Fort Collins-based New Belgium has gotten too big for its own good, and that no self-respecting connoisseur would consider its products seriously as craft beers, I happen to adore the place and thoroughly enjoy many of its fine offerings (I am, in fact, wearing a New Belgium t-shirt at the moment). You may judge if wish, but I’ll continue to imbibe their delicious elixers, anyway.

Moving on to the beer, Dig is possibly my new favorite among New Belgium’s pale offerings. Aromas and flavors reminiscent of lemon, peach, mango, and other tropical fruits imparted by the Sorachi Ace and Nelson Sauvin hops are quite amazing, and a little roasted maltiness balances out the hops nicely. Those lively fruit flavors, combined with a light body and an exceptionally clean finish, make Dig an exceptional accomplice to the rodent-foretold spring. Even if Punxatawney Phil’s prediction proves faulty, Dig might be just the thing to keep us from from taking drastic measures as the dismal torment of winter wears on. The facts:

New Belgium Dig Pale Ale