Capital Eisphyre

Brewed by Capital Brewery
Style: Eisbock
Middleton, Wisconsin USA

My 30th Birthday!

8/28/2008: I’ve held on to this bottle for long enough and think that my 30th birthday is just as good of time as any to finally drink it. Happy Birthday to me! ... Eisphyre has a really deep and intense aroma of rich caramel, golden raisins, subtle dried apple fruit leather, and a touch of sweet alcohol. It appears to be pretty thick judged by judging the pour and there is a pretty low level or carbonation. The beer has a color that I can only describe as dirty golden (my wife says it is "peach-colored") and is hazy with hardly any veil on the surface. The flavor is toward the sweeter end of the spectrum but it’s kept in check by a pronounced earthy/lightly floral bitterness in the semi-dry finish. The prevailing flavor is the caramel and toffee maltiness which is followed by some dark fruity notes and warming alcohol (dry sherry-like). This beer has a medium to medium-full body and is quite smooth and easy to drink considering the alcohol content. Overall this is a pretty solid Eisbock, but to be honest, I was actually expecting more based on many of the previous ratings and other discussions that I have heard about this beer... UPDATE (later this evening): After letting the this beer sit and warm up a bit, it has definitely started to open up. The malt seems to deepen with a roasty edge to it and even a hint of smoke/char and the body seems to thicken and stick to the palate more. It also seems to be stronger, yet the expected alcohol bite/burn is still held well in check. I am amazed by how smooth this beer is. It’s almost too smooth...

12 fluid ounce bottle from iowaherkeye via trade in May 2007. Thank you very much! Rating #142 for this beer...

12oz Bottle. Crazy, rich dense alcohol raisin spice. Wicked nice. Prunes, plums and fruitcake. Bits of spice. Pours a vivid, red orange, with silky white head. Flavor is generally sweet, but develops nice well-incorporated alcohol complexity. Lots and lots of delicious raisin character, brought forward with cinnamon toast. Chewy. But the alcohol and malt texture leaves the tongue not cloying. Nice!

Very dark and beautiful amber color, with a white head that left very nice lacing. Smell is of burnt caramel, dark fruit, and a bit of toffee. Taste was similar to the smell, but not as good. Nice, thick mouthfeel, medium carbonation and medium bodied. Pretty good, and certainly worth a try. I’ll see what some age does to my remaining bottles. Update: Age has helped this quite a bit. I’ll have to put up an official re-rate.

Bottle I’ve had in my cellar for a while courtesy of ? (most likely footbalm or iowaherkeye). Pours amber with no head to speak of and some off white bubbles sparsely dotting the glass. Smells smoky with a pronounced warming alcohol bite and lots of sweetness. Tastes oaky and tarte with some nice sugary touches and some hints of smokiness on the finish. This beer has really come together with some age on it!

Bottle courtesy of iowaherkeye. The pour reveals a cloudy dark amber color with a thin beige head. Very pleasant aroma of rich, luscious malt and caramel. Very good flavor of rich, round malt with caramel, there’s some sweetness but it keeps at a decent level, the malt has all the place to express itself in all its luscious glory, also, the alcohol was undetectable. The body is medium with a creamy and liquorous texture that feels really fine and the carbonation is gentle. Very solid.

Wow, this is a nice brew. I have to thank Brigadier for the honor of having it, I am very thankful for this one. Pours a dark copper color with a nice light tan head. The nose is pretty clean with a hint of my favorite (when not overdone) scent; carmel. Nice roasted malt with carmel and other sweet flavors like vanilla that hide the alcohol in this fine brew. Well done beer by Capital Brewery; it’s my first from them but definitely not my last.

Bottle thanks to toncatcher for sharing. Flavors of malt and sweetness. A pretty good tasting brew that had me wanting more. Interesting style.

Pours with a frothy, initially two-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a reddish tinged, deep amber color and shows a brilliantly clear, bright cranberry color when held up to the light. The aroma has an immensely rich, concentrated malt aroma to it that seems just characteristic of a Bock. Bready malt notes, sweetly complex grain, green raisins, ample biscuit notes and huge, caramelized, toffee-like malt notes. The alcohol notes are hidden quite well. As the beer warms up the nose starts to suggest at the age of this beer; lightly oxidized with some Sherry notes noticed if you dig around for them.

Sweet tasting, but amply rich enough that it is not cloying. Thick, viscous, chewy, this beer is a meal in a glass; the beer coats the mouth and palate with a velvety texture that is just lightly offset by a medium-full carbonation. The alcohol is noticeable at times in the finish, yet it is pretty darn smooth for such a big beer. The rich, clean malt character is big enough that it evokes thoughts of fruit, despite this being a clean lager, hints of cherries, green raisins and maybe something like dried figs. There is a noticeable hop character here as well with a soft herbal note that runs through the middle and lingers on in the finish for quite some time with a soft hop-bitterness. The hop character is actually pretty pronounced for a Bock / Eisbock, but adds a nice dimension and balance to the dominant malt character. As the beer warms up it picks up suggestions of vanilla, flavors of toffee and a bit more of a vinous quality.

Quite a tasty brew and most definitely a fitting way to close out the night. Not one of those beers that wows me with its greatness, but this is a very good beer; a mellow beer that is just about perfect for those cold, slow nights spent in front of the fire with a good book.