William Brennan's Special Amber - Capital Brewery

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.73/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada imperial pint. 3229 printed on the neck, no other info.

A - My pour could very well be to blame for the low off-white pile of foam. Decent retention for the small stature and an arch of lace on the glass from tilting it to smell the beer. The color is a brilliantly clear and well-carbonated (thanks, nucleation point) orange-ish amber.

S - This special amber pours a nice toasted amber malt nose with a well-balanced sweetness. Touches of caramel and light toffee are evened out by a subtle hop nose. Good balance in aroma but a bit elusive.

T - Crisp and smooth, Special Amber shows off a nice balance of amber malts with toasted notes as well as caramel sweetness and dry, floral hops that smoothly fall behind the malt flavor.

M - Medium-bodied and smooth, Special Amber has a crisp finish full of carbonation and a dry, lingering finish. Low hop bitterness is found here.

D - Good for what it is but it lacks pizzaz. It's still an above average amber. The nose could use some more attention but the drinkability is good.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2010 04:18:03 | More by BeerFMAndy

birchstick

Missouri

3.6/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - amber color with a small head from an aggressive pour. Nothing too exciting to look at.

S - malt, malt, and malt. There isn't too much going on in the nose

T - as the nose suggested, this is very malty, however this is a bit of grassy hops on the finish to balance. There is also a very faint hint of sweet banana and spiciness to this that is reminiscent of a hefewiezen. This is a solid-tasting lager.

M - thin but smooth

D - This is a pretty sessionable lager. Nothing to bold in flavor, yet there is enough going on to make me keep drinking it without much thought of picking something else up.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2009 04:27:52 | More by birchstick

Slyjoker87

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Light orange / yellow with a clear white head. Lacing is fair, and the head is moderate.

S - Maltiness is apparent throughout, but there is also a vague, sweet caramel scent that is there if you look hard enough.

T - Sharply crisp, with malt and sweetness (caramel) on the top. It's flavor dies down, though, after the initial taste - and leaves little behind as an afterthought.

M - Fairly full body, but a bit dry. Easy to swallow.

O - This one doesn't jump out as a clear winner. It seems to be a tad too generic and leaves little to contemplate. It's easy enough to drink, but not something I find myself wanting to come back to anytime soon.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 22:27:14 | More by Slyjoker87

UncleFlip

Alabama

3.53/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Picked this one up at Brenan's ont her west side O' Madison. Yes, it was my yearly beer run to Wisconsin.... :)

OK, I'll give it amber, but not dark. It's actually kind of honey colour, with some *slight* peach tones. Head is off-white, and about a half-finger. It falls at a decent rate, but not TOO fast.

Smell is all malt with a slight orange overtone. There's just a bit of hop in there somewhere.

Flavour is rather sweet, but just a touch woody at the same time. There's a bit of adjunct-y quality here, almost corn.

Liquid is medium viscosity, with a tight carbonation that seems pretty consistent throughout.

For a fairly average beer, it's actually quite drinkable. Goes down easy, but certainly isn't the most interesting beer around.

Be well
-UF

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2006 05:31:43 | More by UncleFlip

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.53/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark Amber isn't dark amber, but is actually coppery orange with amber trim. The head is a fetching shade of golden ecru and is tacky enough to leave a good bit of itself on the glass. I'm impressed so far.

The nose is toasted malty, with an earthiness that reminds me of a light Oktoberfest. It's also fruity in a nonspecific way. There's nothing here that reaches out and grabs me, nothing that makes me want to take a drink. I've been surprised before; maybe I will be again.

Nope, no surprises on the palate. I'll bet the malt bill contains some percentage of Munich malt. I've never been a huge fan, which is why most Oktoberfests don't thrill me. That toasted grain earthiness isn't rampant here, but it is pervasive enough for me to be less than ecstatic about Billy Brennan's Dark Amber. I would have liked his Light Amber much better, I'm sure.

It's hard to say whether the beer is more sweet than it is bitter or vice versa. I'll have to go with vice versa, especially on the semi-crisp finish. As long as I'm in a guessing mood, I'll say the hop bill consists of... oh, I don't know... Tettnang and Mt. Hood. Even though I wouldn't have picked these ingredients, I can still recognize the well-brewed nature of this beer.

For a relatively low-ABV lager, the mouthfeel is just about where it should be. Sure it's light, but show me a similarly styled beer that isn't. A gentle, yet still effective, feel to the carbonation is another point in its favor.

William Brennan's Dark Amber is probably of the same general quality as William Brennan's Golden Pils, a beer that I liked much better. I've tried not to let my style preference influence this review too much and I think I've succeeded. If you find yourself in Brennan's Country Farm Market buying some of that great Wisconsin cheese, what could it hurt to pick up a single?

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2007 12:02:26 | More by BuckeyeNation

ALESwhatCURESya

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Burnt orange body with thin white head that quickly turned to a film. Nice clarity.

S-Decent maltiness comes through. A sweet caramel smell with a clean lager yeast aroma. Very clean smelling.

T-Crisp, sharp and clean malt flavor with a sweet finish. A hint of sugar makes an appearance and balances well with the subtle hops.

M-A bit chalky and dry throughout. The body is nice and full with a sense of heaviness.

D-A basic beer from a great lager brewery. Easy to drink, just not so much my style.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2008 20:36:43 | More by ALESwhatCURESya

Lolli1315

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- A light golden amber color, probably a little too light. Less than a finger of white head, but it sticks around for quite a while. Moderate lacing, not a bad looking beer.

S- Malt is the backbone of this beer as sweetness apparent from the beginning with a concentration on a sweet caramel beginning along with some herbal qualities. Towards the middle of the beer a bready and biscuit flavor comes through as the herbal tones start asserting themselves more aggressively. Slight hop presence towards the end.

T- The malt makes a brief but rather bland start to the beer with subdued caramel flavor. The bread characteristics and bisquit come through a little more, but still there isn't much going on. An herbal/medicinal flavor also slightly apparent but gets caught in the swift kick by the hops at the end as the beer dead ends into a slight bitterness.

M- Medium body with enough carbonation to tickle the tongue. Leaves the mouth slightly dry as well.

D- Seems like the taste of the beer are subdued or watered down and some of the screws need a little tightening. Not a bad beer, but you could get pretty bored with this beer quickly.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2010 23:58:46 | More by Lolli1315

beveragecaptain

New Jersey

3.13/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle. Mostly clear amber color. Not much head. The aroma is sweet and grainy. Candy sweet flavor with some caramel. Just a bit of hop flavor. This is a very one dimensional beer. Light to medium mouthfeel. Overall pretty boring. You'll have better luck with the pils, the other beer that Capital Brewery makes for Brennan's Markets. This one is just blah.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2005 00:29:25 | More by beveragecaptain

cokes

Wisconsin

3.1/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another one brewed by Capital for Brennan's.

Deep red-infused golden. Small, off-white head vanishes quickly. "Dark Amber" is a lie.
Vacant nose, with phantoms of sweet caramel and grainy bread.
Clean tasting, which I am using euphemistically for "bland". Besides the caramel and bready notes (with are pretty faint in their own right), there really isn't much here. A tweak of vanilla towards the back of the throat and a minor leafy hop closure. There's nothing wrong here. There just isn't a whole lot going on.
Light bodied and refreshing. Rapidly and joyfully consumed, just not worth analyzing.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2003 23:00:05 | More by cokes

kingothewoods

Iowa

2.63/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

dark yellow color with carbonated head that quickly dissipates. Smells of sweetness but nothing else. Really not impressed with the taste of the beer. Sweet but not offensive. Would be a good beer after a hot, laborious day in the sun. At least Point Brewery is trying.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2009 03:17:44 | More by kingothewoods