Capital Island Wheat

Brewed by Capital Brewery
Style: Wheat Ale
Middleton, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Shaker, Weizen

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UPDATED: NOV 15, 2006 Rerate 11/15: I had another bottle of this over at a friend’s place. For some reason, this batch tasted more "chemical" than the first one I tried. I detected something in the background that reminded me of the art room back in elementary school. Also, it was "fizzier" than I remembered. Nuts, I’m going to have to pull the ratings down a tad... Original rating: Quite a marketing campaign for this brew being waged here in our area. From a bottle, this pours a hazy straw color with a sizable white head. Good lacing. Nice wheaty aroma. First taste is full-on wheat with a good balance of hops in the followup. As usual from Capital, this is a well-crafted beer.

Hazy gold color with a thin head. Aroma definitely smacks of wheat (I should hope so!) but also includes a bit of spiciness I’d expect from a Belgian ale. Taste is, well, wheat. Add a little more wheat, then a few bushels of wheat, and top it off with a dump truck of wheat. Oddly enough, in this beer, it is done well enough to not get repulsive. It’s like drinking a liquid wheat field. Whatever kind of hops are in here do not react badly and ruin the wheat taste. Nicely done.

12 oz bottle

Rich, huge foamy head over a cloudy yellow carbonated body. Hints of wheat, grain and hay in the light airy scents wafting upwards from the glass. The taste, on the other hand, was underwhelming. There is an immediate sensation like eating a piece of buttered wheat bread followed by some light citrusy tones. Extremely light and easy to drink but also very simple. A good choice to introduce someone to the world of craft beers, but then move on - thiis isn’t one you are going to want to have again and again.

Pours cloudy golden color with thin white head. Aroma of citrusy hops and wheat. Flavor is a mild watered down version of the aroma. Not too impressive.

Tap. Lightly hazy straw color with a moderate off white head. Mild pale malt aromas dominate the nose. Hints of fruit, dough and light caramel. Full feel. Wheat bread flavors throughout. Hints of floral hops. More a cream ale than a wheat, but a decent brew.

An interesting concoction. Taste nothing like many of the wehats I have had. The best way to describe this beer is it taste like a buttered bread. Very interesing and not bad.

Tap. Pretty hazy and dull yellow in color with a creamy white head. Aroma sustains the pleasant progress with banana esters, cloves, pepper, cornhusks and lemon rind scrapings, but it’s all downhill from here. Dulled carbonation and a dime a dozen yeast strain sum it up. (I don’t think they needed to venture to Washington Island for this wheat and then hang their hat on it - they could have just as easily borrowed some of Berghoff’s house selection when it’s being bottled and have called it quits.) I digress... Flavor divulges precious little. Honey wheat bread, dispersing away from the palate like rain does to a freshly sealed wooden deck. One of Capital’s worsts. Get back on track, Kirby, and kick out some more Doppelbocks.

UPDATED: OCT 24, 2005 Couldn’t take 10 steps without being clubbed over the head with Capital Island Wheat marketing last weekend at the Taste of Madison. This is definitely brewed as a mass-appeal beer. Capital’s answer to NG Spotted Cow. Anyway, it’s a decent drinkable and refreshing American-style wheat beer with a little spicy character.

I had this one at a local restaurant, served as a "mystery" beer. I think it was more of a cream ale. Aroma of tortilla chips, flavor is malty with lots of that buttery corn taste. My wife really liked it. Slightly creamy palate, but really it was more watery. I rated it ratebeer style and sent them the postcard. I thought this might be their "Cream Ale" but the other ratings described a completely different beer. jewedekind’s rating confirmed to me that this one is different.

UPDATED: DEC 31, 2005 On tap in bier garten. Capital has been releasing several versions of this "new product" for the last several months - or is it that they screwed up a really big batch of 1900 and are having a hard time passing it off? They claim it is an experimental brew, but none of the crew knew much about it. I am calling it a "pale lager" but it may very well be a farmhouse ale (think New Glarus Spotted Cow). Has a frothy white head and a huge yeasty nose. Hot rolls and butter. My wife claims some grapefruit, but I missed it. Has that "corn beer" flavor, and I liken it to a "Cow", but it is way yeastier and more cloudy. It is an interesting, albeit nothing special kind of beer. Will sell well if summer ever gets here. Re-rate in bottle - Yah a fine American Wheat. I like KlosterWeizen better, but it is a different beer. I don’t agree that Kirby needs to throw out more dopples...just more varieties, and this is OK for a first go at it. Rating stays the same.