Brought to you by:
BrewTools Homebrewing iPhone App

Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

Blonde Doppelbock

Other reviews for this beer:
Nigel Tanner		read it ›

Capital Brewery
Middleton, WI
USA
http://www.capital-brewery.com/

Style: Doppelbock

Eddie’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
I used to be an ardent Capital Brewery fan, but a series of questionable decisions in the brewhouse have left me less than enthused. First, they dropped their superb Klöster Weizen, an authentic Bavarian-style wheat, for the more pedestrian Island Wheat. It’s my contention that they’ve dumbed down their Autumnal Fire recipe to make it more accessible. Plus, maybe their best offering, Dark Doppelbock, has been AWOL for two years plus. And although they made a much welcomed foray outside the German-style lines, their gambit was the lackluster U.S. Pale Ale. Add that in with the debacle that was this year’s Bockfest, and you’ve got a brewery that’s threatening to fall off my top 10 list.

But they can still make some damn fine beer. Their Blonde Doppelbock pours the lightest you’ll probably ever see in a doppel (hence the moniker): a dark, reddish gold topped with a barely off-white head. No lacing at all, but still a gorgeous beer to behold.

After an initial waft of sulfur (a common problem with lagers) gives way to sweet Munich malt with the tiniest hint of roast on the edges and a very small bit of Euro-style hops. Capital’s brews tend to show restrained carbonation, and this one’s no different. In some styles (namely, wheat beers) this can be a detriment, but here it’s just getting out of the way so the rest of the beer can shine on its own. And shine it does. Smooth and malty, Capital’s Blonde is the easiest drinking doppel on the planet. Despite caramelly and grainy malt sweetness from beginning to end, it drinks clean with little to no astringency. Some detectable earthy hops serve to cut the finish amazingly short, making this brew all that much more drinkable.

Although Capital has made some missteps over the last few years, tampering with their Blonde Doppelbock hasn’t been one of them. This is one of the best doppels in the world.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on May 13, 2008.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...