Capital Prairie Gold

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

Served on draught at the Wisconsin Micro-brewers Beerfest in Chilton, Wisconsin. Pours a clear golden pale brew with a thick and creamy off-white head that has some good retention and excellent lacing. Aroma of sweet golden grain malt, a touch of candi sugar, banana and plenty of vanilla. Taste is full bodied, thick and smooth with flavors of golden malt, cloves, cotton candy and banana esters. Finish is thick and almost syrupy with a light banana ester aftertaste that slowly disappears but leaves some alcohol character.

12 ounce bottle This has the appearance of Duvel without the meringue head. Clear, yellow with great carbonation. Fluffy white head that disappears over a few minutes leaving a nice lacing. Good yeasty aromas with the usual spices of Belgian Pales- clove and fruit. Good spiciness on the tongue. Crisp and refreshing for a beer approaching 10% ABV. I can see drinking this one through the summer. Close to being a pilsner with the crispness.

Dark golden, fairly thick looking liquid. Moderate, stable light ecru head. Quite sweet in aromas with Pale and lightly toasted malt, hints of bananas, spicy yeast and mix of floral and herbal hops. My interest is piqued, but there is no big hook, pleasant seems to fit. Light sweet malt start that spills into the middle. Middle to finish has mild spice of cloves and cinnamon, A light nearly pine-like bitterness and dry yeast profile. Hints of alcohol. Light banana pith in the linger. really dries things up. Thick in feel, but enough zip to help lighten things up. A few lager qualities once again... Kirby does like his lagers, and come to think of it so do I. Some light toasty malt return real late in the linger. Strong effort.

Grass, yeast, and spice in the aromas. Pours a clear medium amber, white head, ongoing sparkle, nice lace. Yeasty body with a wide range of spices: coriander, clove, cinnamon, gumball. Sweet but not cloying. Finishes with citrus, bitter, and a bit of a rubbery off-flavor. Juicy mouthfeel, slightly warming.

Crisp dirty blonde pour. Sweaty strawlike aroma. Freshly herbal; lemongrass, tarragon, and vanilla; weizen yeast qualities are predominant, especially as bubblegum and creamed banana notes begin to emerge. Unlike a weizen, though, it’s slow, and soft, without pungency and without the blind bite that a sharp hefeweizen can sometimes have. An ultrasoft sweetness of coconut flesh and something reminiscent of indian cinnamon yoghurt lingers in like a settling of feathers. Surprising.

Sharp and peppery yeast flavor; white pepper, lemon pepper, and cloves; sweetness of lemon curd, pastry crust, and still cinnamon yoghurt; bitterness of wildflowers. A somewhat basic and harsh wheat character, along with a crisp phenolic bite, locates the flavor firmly outside the lines of the best belgian blonde ales; even as this an elite position to expect a german-styled brewer to achieve, it really struggles admirably. There’s a soft, nutty briskness about the malt and hop interaction that gets close to the impressions left by the best, and it’s only in the filtration process and in the overbearing wheat flavors that it gets lost on that track.

Medium palate is crispy and calm, with a cool herbal bitterness, like green tea sweetened lightly with honey, drying out with a natural texture in the finish. Eminently drinkable, and much more couldn’t be expected from such a careful and execution-oriented brewery.

Clear golden color with a decent, pillowy head. Light, tangy citrus aroma with a hint of doughy sweet malt. Tastes of honey and citrus with a mildly tart, dry finish. Mild carbonation and light bodied. Very tasty and drinkable.

(bottle) Pours clear dark gold with a medium white head. Aroma is quite yeasty and earthy with some spices (coriander?) along with pear, vanilla, and baked apple with brown sugar. Taste is pretty sweet initially with a decent amount of fruit (notably pear and some apple) with candi sugar as well. This sweetness rounds out to a more earthy/yeasty, spicy and hoppy finish, that is actually quite dry. This exhibits a great contrast between the sweet and dry flavors. Mouthfeel is medium. Not bad at all.

Nose of yeast, pours a light golden color with a white head. Fruity and yeasty on the palate with hints of spice. Crisp finish, very refreshing.