Capital Brown Ale

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

100th Rater - Bottle provided by Jimbowood, thanks. Pours brown with some lacing. Aroma is weak, some molasses-sweetness an maltiness. Flavor is not strong either. Mouthfeel is fizzy. A watery beer in general. Nothing off-putting but nothing distinguishable either.

2006 bottle from StewardofGondor consumed on 5/21/06. Initially large off-white head recedes fairly quickly to cover, with some moderate lacing. Brown, chestnut-beige body is lightly bubbly and quite clear, with no sediment on the bottom. Damp soil, nutty, leafy hops and light root-beer-like notes. A touch of cola adds zest, while medium-dry toffee pinches at the nose, not overly strong and lasting. Some light honeysuckle rubbed with chocolate finishes off the nose. Dry brown malts and soft, nutty hops cover the palate, with loose carbonation exposing a good deal of wateriness. But it’s clean, with some minor fruitiness and soft buttercream and mild bitterness mixing/balancing on the finish. Dry chocolate is there as well, though very passing. With warming and breathing the hops do become a touch more piquant, but the buttercream and soily malts keep things rather basic, if I may be so bold.

In the bottle. Light brown in color with a fleeting white head. The aroma is fairly indistinguishable: maybe a hint of cherries and almonds. As the head quickly subsides, you can get a subtle maltiness. The flavor is pretty watery and the most pronounced taste is mild chocolate. Sort of like an unsweetened Yoo-Hoo. The palate is a bit fizzy. Finishes sweet.

On tap at brewery: Initial smell of butterscotch and chestnuts. Dark golden brown in color with a soapy off white head. Smooth on palate. Very nutty and butterscotch flavor just like smell.

This is a solid Brown Ale, like a slightly tastier Newcastle. Brown and somewhat clear, average aroma, a little bit of head, and a solid brown ale taste. I find it difficult to describe tastes, but if you’ve had one brown ale, you’ve had them all. Another very drinkable offering from Capital.

Granted, the only other Brown Ale I’ve had is Newcastle, which I think is great, but this is better. This beer makes Newcastle seem watered down.

12 oz bottle

Poured a deep brown caramel with a thick dense two-finger head that refused to fade. Scents of fresh peanut butter and rye bread combine to form a rich but simple aroma. The taste of ground peanut shells, slightly burnt chocolate and rye combine to form a nice first impression and full body. The aftertaste soon fades leaving no trace behind. Overall, this was a great beer for those times when you don’t want to go big. Extremely smooth, drinkable and affordable.

clear mahoganey color. Thick dirty / light tan head. Raisins and cinnamon greet the nose on first whiff. Sweet malty coconut follows. Sweet, yet slightly dry and lightly roasted malt flavor. Roasty Pez too. Fair and balanced flavor is the winning part of this, but I’m not a brown ale fan.