Capital U.S. Pale Ale

Brewed by Capital Brewery
Style: American Pale Ale
Middleton, Wisconsin USA

12 oz. twist-off bottle, no freshness date, sampled in a pint glass. L: Crystal clear orange hued golden with a slightly off-white head of fluffed creamy foam, decent retention, the head settled into a thin sudsy layer with a light amount of lace sticking to the brim of the glass. Not the best looking APA I have ever tried, but not a bad one either, fills the bill for me on this warm summer evening. S: Light, brisk and neatly aromatic hop nose, touches of pine needles and grapefuit peel, a little sweet orange blossom as well. A mild backing of sweet pale malts with hints of caramelized sugar. A pretty basic, stock smelling APA, a lightly refreshing smell in its own way. F&T: Light bodied with enough carbonation zip to give it a soft firmness and a mellow creamy crispness. I would have liked more of a hop presence, especially since this is called ’U.S. Pale Ale,’ the hop use is a bit too restrained for the APA style. Hop tastes of grapefruit zest, somewhat watery pine and drops of lemon and orange juice. A weak pale malt backbone, hints of toasted grains added to sugar water. Finishes on the watery side, sugary malts with a little sour citrus. I am a fan of the beers from Capital, but this was quite disappointing. If the recipe changes, I will try this again, but as it stands now, this is ready for retirement.

Thanks to terminus for picking this one up for me. Pours golden / copper with a large rocky off-white head. The aroma has lightly toasted smooth malt with spicy / piny hops. Medium crisp body with lots of sharp carbonation. The flavor starts with oxidization, dry caramel malt and spicy hops. The finish is about the same. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a fresh bottle and get in a rerate.

Pours an attractive orangeish colour with a small thin white head. Nice lacing, decent amount of citrus character but weak on the hops and a little unbalanced. Nice ale from Capital, normally a big fan of their brew. But this one needs a little work.

12 oz can. Pours a light golden yellow color. Not much different to some "mega-swills". Could be a little darker. There is also a nice white head that at first was big and bold but quickly fell down to a nice top coat that laces very well. Very nice nose on this beer. Not too overpowering but not understated. Hints of citrus come through in the forefront, with a bit of peach in the end maybe? Very smooth flavor. Very sessionable beer. Mostly fruity/citrusy flavor with small notes of pine in the background. Hop bitterness shows up more as the beer warms up. Just the right amount of bitterness. Finishes a little dry but nothing too bad. I would use the word "crisp" to describe this beer.

12oz bottle.
Pours a clear, pale golden color with never-ending streams of bubbles that feed a thin white head. Aroma is crisp, bitter, earthy, slightly spicy hops with a slight off-putting vegetal element with little of the distinctive piney/flowery/citrusy attributes of PNW-variety hops one has become accustomed to for this style of beer these days. Flavor is crisp and clean, bitter, green-grainy, decent malt support, very light fruity tones, and again no overwhelming pine/flowers/citrus/whatever that this style almost invariably possesses these days. This actually tastes similar to a Kolsch. Finishes with a medium body and a tingly, bubbly palate. <P>I found this beer quite jarring at first, having become so accustomed to the contemporary renderings of this style. but it grew on me after a while. It’s fitting with Capital’s penchant of doing beer the traditional, old-school way rather than trying to re-invent a given style. In that sense, this beer is quite good at what it is -- a pre-PNW-era American pale. Unfortunately, that makes it kind of boring by contemporary APA standards. I won’t go out of my way for this but I won’t run from it either.

I dunno, this just didn’t click with me for some reason. Certainly not a bad beer but it’s not particularly memorable either, From a bottle, this pours a clear light golden with a small white head. Plenty of cascade hops aroma. First taste is all piney cascade hops, with little else in the followup. Somewhat bitter finish. Good hop prescense but nothing much backing it up. Honestly, Point’s Cascade Pale Ale is very similar and costs less to boot.

12 oz. bottle. Pleasant, floral, dry, hops-dominated aroma. Buttery, fruity smell, like peaches or apricots and cream. Also a touch of pine scent. Pours a sparkling, pale gold with a lot of bubbles. Moderate to large amount of tightly laced beige head. Produces nice, thick lacing. Buttery primary taste. Light spices, pine, and lemon sourness. The flavors aren’t strong, but they are nice. Dry finish and appetizing, dry aftertaste. Medium body. Smooth, silky texture complements the creamy taste well. Some liveliness on the palate. Capital U.S. Pale Ale is a friendly, accessible, and very pleasant APA across the board. I’m impressed!

Poured golden with a small head. Aroma was mainly piney hops. Flavor was pine and perhaps some light citrus. A touch bitter. A bit watery. Eh.