Capital Blonde Doppelbock

Brewed by Capital Brewery
Style: Doppelbock
Middleton, Wisconsin USA

I hate the new capital labels; thank goodness it’s the same beer in those bottles. The beer pours perfectly clear with a deep blonde color and a thick white head. The aroma has some honey with some hay and earthy hops. The flavor has some earthy hops up front with some honey and a little saltiness. Some spiciness, generally pretty dry. Pretty nice stuff.

What is not to love about this beer?! Oh my word, it was wonderful from beginning to end. Now, I’m a malt-head (and not a hop-head by any stretch) but from the moment I took a sip I was hooked. It certainly looks a bit odd, to pour a "doppelbock" that looks like a pale ale. But the aroma lets you know that it’s more like a Belgian ale with notes of honey, alcohol, fresh baked bread, a little bit of banana, dried cherries, and caramel. The body has some tingle of carbonation, some alcohol, and some thickness (probably not as thick as the best doppelbocks) and the flavor reaches across the spectrum of the aroma, throwing in a note of cedar wood and a gentle touch of bubblegum. It might be closer to a Belgian golden ale, but whatever you call it, it’s very much worth drinking. I don’t mind the alcohol in the flavor (it wasn’t burning hot, just obviously present) and the overall picture is very very compelling. Bottle.

12 oz. bottle. Amber pour with a medium yellowish white head that recedes quickly. Lots of malt aromas with caramel first and foremost. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel complements the medium/full body and light carbonation. Flavor mirrors the aroma with a large dose of sweet malty goodness, even some roasted flavors, and finally a hit of spicy hops right at the finish. Alcohol is understated. A pretty good doppelbock.

12oz bottle from some random grocery store in asheville north carolina. clear amber pour with a thin to medium white head a ring that sticks around. sweet candy apricot and dark fruit aroma. good slick thin to medium syrupy texture and little carbonation. taste seems on the mild side and complicated at the same time. get hints of sour, bread, honey, vegetables and dark fruits.... seems like a strange combination - but everything is tasty enough. wouldn’t drink a sixer. interesting though.

Little to no lace--Starts with a small head but recedes to a single layer of fine bubbles. Bright copper color and very clear. Strong molasses/brown sugar aroma. The smell comes through in the taste. Rich body with a relatively low carbonation level. Nearly no hop--on the sweet side (even for the style). Not crisp--round, like an ale.

pours crystal clear and dirty blond with an off white head. sweet smelling... pale malt, grass, yeasty earthiness and red apples. the flavor is surprisingly yeasty.... sweet...really sweet graininess, apples, faint citrus, grass, wet straw and a mildly bitter finish. a bit too sweet without a balance. medium bodied. it is a bit slick and creamy on the tongue. 6/3/6/4/13/3.2

Pours a clear, dark amber with a medium, off-white head. Sweet malty aroma. Also tastes quite malty with slight hints of fruit, apples, honey, raisins, and some vanilla. Quite a mouthfull. Good overall.

Aroma began with the butt of a skunk and ended with sugary malt. Nice copper pour with a 2 inch eggshell head that diminished into a small ring around the inside of the glass. Extremely sweet and syrupy with a hint of dark fruit and alcohol. For 8%, this seemed to have a lot of muster. Not a favorite but have had worse.