Capital Hop Bock

Brewed by Capital Brewery
Style: Doppelbock
Middleton, Wisconsin USA

On tap the Malt House: Poured a dark but clear copper colour with a with a medium sized off white head. On the nose, plenty of caramel malts, maybe some ginger or some sort of spice but not spicey. Taste is noticeably syrupy throughout which might be it’s only downfall. Otherwise a nice beer overall.

On tap at the Wisconsin Micro-Brewer’s Beer Fest. Poured clear, clean coppery-amber with a creamy, well-retained cap of off-white head. The aroma was fruity, floral, and fragrant with deeper caramel and toffee undertones.. well-balanced. The flavor found sweeter caramel and dark fruit at the core with earth, floral, and citrusy bitterness around.. warm, but again well-balanced, and I loved the use of hops here. Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation on the palate.. nice flow to it.. spicy and tasty!

Pours ruddy amber with a thick, foamy tan head. Aroma is caramel with mandarin orange. First sip was decidedly disappointing: a bready, vegetal dopplebock with hop bitterness but little in the way of hop aromas. Decided it was too cold, gave it a chance to open up, and it was much improved. A significant caramel malt bill is offset by hop bitterness, floral to hay-like aromatics, and a twinge of orange. On the whole, more bitter than sweet despite the maltiness. Figgy malts emerge on the linger. Medium to full body, soft on the palate, creamy but not spritzy carbonation.

On tap at the brewery. Mostly transparent, ruddy brown color with a thick layer of fizzy ivory head. Rich malt melanoidin aromas are complimented nicely by a moderate herbal hop bitterness. Notes of raisin, treacle, and a hint of toast. Clean. Medium-full bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a spritzy texture. Flavors of raisin and toast up front on the palate, developing more of a well caramelized sweetness as the beer finishes. Finishes moderately hoppy, with a lingering herbal bitterness to counterbalance the hefty malt bill. Very nice, but in my opinion, doesn’t need this level of hop flavor and bitterness. The malt construction is quite nice already, and being exceptionally clean and properly attenuated, is worth highlighting in and of itself.

On tap at the Capital Beer Garden in a trendy plastic mug. Leave it up to Capital to create every kind of Dopplebock they can think of. Considering most of them are good, I’m all for it and this one was pretty darn good too. Dark caramel color with a medium tan head that fades away. Taste of caramel, toasted malt, toffee up front and some mild citrus and pine mixed with toffee on the back end. Not really over the top with the hops, but they make their presence known in this decent experimental brew. They had it as part of the Capital Square series, so who knows, maybe it will get into a bottle some time. Not quite as good as Autumnal Fire but a solid effort!

On draught at the Capital Brewery’s taproom in Middletown, Wisconsin. Pours a clear, dark copper brew with a creamy beige head that has some nice retention and spotty lacing. Aroma of sweet bread dough, a touch of cotton candy, floral hops and some caramel. Taste is full bodied, smooth, creamy with flavors of caramel malt, some toffee, some cotton candy, floral hops, and a touch of honey. Finish is sweet caramel malt, some fruit and floral hop aftertaste without the bitterness.