Blonde Doppelbock - Capital Brewery

clvand0

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours an orange/yellow color with almost no head that doesn't leave any lacing on the glass. The aroma is grainy and has some toasted malts. The flavor is malty and has an interesting toasted maltiness. It's ok, but the flavor just doesn't do it for me. The mouthfeel is moderate and the drinkability is ok.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2005 12:23:48 | More by clvand0

marc77

California

4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Amber hue, with a slight chill haze. Steadfast, uniformily thick white head. Belgian lace remains. Waft of wort like maltose and spent, freshly mashed grain hits the nose at first, then is ensued by mildly herbal hops and toasty Munich malt. Toffeeish melanoidins surface as the beer warms, but remain subdued. Rounded, mellow, honey laced sweetness bathes the palate initially and is complemented by nutty, lightly buttery notes of brittle and caramel. Hints of caramelized figs emerge mid palate along with a suggestion of sugary red licorice. Decocted? Hop bitterness is paltry, and functionally prevents cloying sweetness. Trace herbal Hallertauer hop flavor adds a "green" note to the deeply sweet malt profile. Full bodied, with a smooth, viscous mouthfeel. Finishes with lingering buttery poundcake like sweetness. A tasty brew that's akin to hellesbock / doppel hybrid. A touch shy in malt complexity, but nevertheless superior to many US microbrewed bocks.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2003 19:55:27 | More by marc77

budgood1

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

pours out a crystal clear copperish-orange colour...no head...no lace. slightly thickish maltininess in the nose...peppery alcohol and spicy hops. lightly flavoured with all the typical maltiness...choco and caramel, with an underlying yeast fruitiness. lots of alcohol spiciness....especially as it warms a bit. medium bodied and the mouthfeel is slightly prickly. finishes malty and spicy. this is a tasty blonde doppel. i wish i had full access to the line of capital brews.

thanks again to zap for digging into his stash of beloved bocks!

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2004 23:10:02 | More by budgood1

wedge

North Carolina

3.85/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

2009

Clear and bright orange-amber with a thin, creamy head that quickly shrinks to a bubbly ring. Sweet fruity aroma...caramel, spice, apple, and honey. Bready malt covered with a slick, fruity sweetness. Not overly sweet. On the brighter side of things, not only in appearance, but in flavor too. Sweet bread, honey, and plum. Medium-full, creamy body...a little sticky. Pretty good stuff, nice and smooth.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 02:47:44 | More by wedge

yemenmocha

Arizona

4.5/5  rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a luxurious golden color with generous white head that retains rather well. Nose is quite appetizing with soft malt aromas, yet is overall clean. On the palate this beer is again clean, crisp, good malt presence with not too much alcohol warmth.

Complexity isn't the goal here, and many other reviewers gave misguided reviews of this beer in my opinion. This straightforward malty, clean bock is very rewarding and hard to find anything in the U.S. that comes close in this style.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2009 07:04:47 | More by yemenmocha

Monkeyknife

Missouri

4.22/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle a crystal clear copper color with a white meringue head at least two fingers thick. This beer sports terrific lacing.

Aroma is like a sweet floral perfume with sweet malts, pear, honey, and a touch of cinnamon.

Like the aroma, the taste is also sweet and perfumed with sweet caramel malts, apple, pear, pepper, and cinnamon kiss the palate. Finish of white table cracker and apple.

Lighter bodied, smooth and clean, with a sharp carbonation.

This is by far the best of the Capital brews I've tried. Very sessionable and very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2009 02:42:45 | More by Monkeyknife

jwinship83

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- a light amber color with little to no head and lots of bubbling action.

S- mildly sweet and bready malts.

T- sweet honey like and a strong malt presence. very complex with a slight hoppy finish. very crisp and clean. very nice

M- feels heavy in the mouth with lots of carbonation which adds to the enjoyment.

D- this one is very easy to drink. a great summer beer that begs to be taken to a BBQ. pick this one up if you havnt already tried it.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2008 02:59:43 | More by jwinship83

brdc

Wisconsin

4.47/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Small capped bottle.
Light golden brew with a nice white head, good retention and lacing.
Nice aroma is made of sweet maltiness, with some nutty and honeyish notes.
Medium to full bodied, it is surprisingly rich in taste (or perhaps I was just expecting something lighter based on the clear appearance); it has the same malty, sweetish and honeyish notes, along with some nuts and even some fruitiness.
Very nice, another good beer from Capital.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2008 05:09:27 | More by brdc

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Truly exceptional and very fresh. High in alcohol, loaded with banana, coconut, rum, and granny smith. Fierce, biting, and crisp. Loads of fun. Amazing buzz. Nose burning. Seriously, my nasal passages were completely scorched after a half liter of this stuff. Very unique. I should be turned on by the fire but instead I feel drawn to it. Did I mention that it’s a pretty, clear orange color with wild, crazy bubbles but no head. Mmm, Capital really gets bocks right.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2006 22:45:51 | More by DaPeculierDane

number1bum

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got a bottle of this from my gay buddy BeerTruth. Thanks sissy.

Pours a rich tangerine/golden color with a frothy two fingers of off-white head. Keeps a thin but full lace and leaves some nice webbing on the sides of the glass.

Smell is very sweet and malty, with aromas of fresh baked bread, candied fruit, golden raisins and lots of caramel. It's a little bit one dimensional but not bad.

Taste is also quite sweet with lots of caramel and golden raisin flavor. It doesn't have the dark caramelized flavor that most doppelbocks do; it's a lighter, more sugary caramel with fruit flavors, like the raisins, to go along with it. There's a bready quality to it, as well. Really nothing in the way of hops; it's a malt bomb for the most part.

Mouthfeel is a creamy medium, quite smooth and nicely carbonated. Doesn't finish cloying given the sweetness. It's pretty clean.

This is tasty enough but it's very one dimensional; could use a bit of hopping to balance it out. It's basically a malt bomb, and a tasty one at that, but it's not overly interesting. I'd still be glad to have a pint or two on occasion, however.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2009 00:40:49 | More by number1bum

BeerBelcher

Ohio

3/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

I took "blonde" to mean light, which is a misconception I know, but I was still surprised how substantial this beer was. Lots of caramel, lots of malt, viscous. Not bad, but for all the compounds that were clearly suspended in the liquid (evident from the mouthfeel and thickness), it didn't taste like all that much. Sort of a mismatch to me. Still, not a bad beer, and I thought it OK.

Color is a dirty-blonde amber color. This beer is pretty thick and had very little head. I don't know the nutritional info on this beer, but pouring gave me the impression that it is a calorie bomb. Aroma is caramel but rather faint. Flavor takes a back-seat to mouthfeel, which is thick and full and combined with the flavor reminiscent of malt syrup. Still, it was good in that the maltiness intensity was clearly communicated, yet the beer didn't taste grainy or overly cerealy.

Not bad, and more than I was expecting. However, I was a bit disappointed in the intensity of flavor delivered, particularly given a very heavy mouthfeel. I'd weakly recommend.

I bought this as a single from 3 Cellars in Franklin, WI.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2008 13:26:59 | More by BeerBelcher

CRJMellor

Arkansas

3.98/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a crystal clear copper laced amber color with minimal head and no lace visible.
Aroma is sweet caramel, citrus notes, some vanilla and hint of cream soda. Very yeasty wafts.
Flavors of lightly seared caramel, brown sugar, deep dark fruits, some grain and yeast are predominant. Hop notes seem more citrusy and floral and ae far in the background.
Mouthfeel is smooth that progresses to a spicy alcoholic pop.
Great lager, really nice to drink a lighter Doppel.
Drinkability is very high and at relatively high ABV this would definitely cause me to leave the car keys in the pcoket and call a cab.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2004 01:20:46 | More by CRJMellor

AltBock

Ohio

2.94/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

12 oz. bottle with a simple, but classic label of the Capital Dome surrounded by a blue record. Coming out of the record are thin gold lines. In the lower left hand corner is the ABV%. No back label because all the mandatory Government information along with another picture of the Capital Dome can be found on the neck label. No best before date, but there is an inked bottle code on the neck.

When poured into a Paulaner Salvator Pilsner glass, this "Blonde" Doppelbock was a clear amber orange with a streak or two of lemon yellow. The head of foam was a complete disappointment. The initial head of foam was 3/4 of an inch in height and egg shell white in color. Even though it was a decent size, it was one of those fizzy heads of foam. This fizzy white head of foam fizzled away in a matter of only one second. It didn't even bother to leave a steak or spot of lace. I only saw a small handful of rings along the edge. That's all she wrote folks!

This Doppelbock had a semi sweet aroma. The most dominate aroma was the sweet malt. There wasn't much of anything behind the sweet malt. All my nose was able to find was a pinch of orange peel and a subtle whiff of hops. Even when I swirled this beer around and around, nothing new came out. More sweet malt emerged, but that was it. Again, that's all she wrote folks!

After the disappointing appearance and smell, I was hoping that this beer would come through where it matters most, the taste. I hate to say this, but it didn't. It was just as disappointing as the smell and taste. The taste was all about the sweet malt and the alcohol. I'm still not sure why a 7.8 ABV% Doppelbock had so much alcohol in it. In between the sweet malt and the alcohol was the taste of orange and bitter hops. It was too hard to tell what kind of hops they were. Not much going on in this beer unless you really like the taste of alcohol.

Medium bodied Doppelbock with an OK level of carbonation and a quick aftertaste of sweet malt and more alcohol. Even though I could taste the alcohol at every twist and turn, I couldn't feel the alcohol go to work.

I tried so hard to find something nice to say about this beer, but it's so hard when I find a beer that has very little to offer. I was hoping that not all of these tasted like this so I bought another bottle from another store. I got the same thing from the second bottle. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 02:40:09 | More by AltBock

PorterLambic

Florida

4.22/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, golden amber bordering on orange. Good head develops but drops fairly quickly. No lace and just a faint island remain after 5 minutes.
Smell is malty, of course, with a dark fruit/candied orange note that is very unexpected and very nice. Whiskey note fainter with just a touch of Oak and vanilla.
Taste is all of that. The malt and candied orange notes present first and strongest with whiskey and the vanilla and oak following.
Balance is good throughout. Nicely warming at 7.8%. Full-bodied and lightly effervescent. Somewhat clingy, almost cloying after the swallow though with a coating on the tongue and palate. Aftertaste is very nice and mellows well. Glad I bought the 4-pack and not just a single.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 00:35:52 | More by PorterLambic

jsh420

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

pours crystal clear golden orange with a 1 finger head that quickly fades with no lacing down the glass would have given this a 5 but it says its a blonde...i will give - it is the blondest doppelbock i have ever seen. smell is all bready malts and fruits. taste is very bready malts with fruity apple and pear flavors. mouthfeel is very creamy and on the heavier side for this style which i love. overall capital has found a new customer i will be looking for more capital brews. side note i would like to see more reasonable prices 12.99 a sixer is steep

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2009 04:01:31 | More by jsh420

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: golden bubbly orange/amber body, trace head, very little lacing

S: whiff of malt, slight spice and fruit scent, mild honey, wish it was tad stronger

T: big firm malt, slight sweet fruit taste

M: medium body, smooth, semi-sticky finish

D: CAPITAL IS ALL ABOUT BOCKS!! This is delicious, they just know how to make delicious bock brews.
Pick up this seasonal gem. Give it a try. It's funny, but only in the past few years have I grown to enjoy bocks.
The 7.8% ABV is well hidden and I could down the whole 4 pack, but probably not a good move.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 23:25:38 | More by BeerLover99

Westsidethreat

California

3.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Smell:
Far less maltier than I would have suspected. Slightly grainy actually.


Appearance:
Clean, filtered. Almost looks domestic in color (can you tell I don't drink a lot of blondes)? Formed a huge off white head which is slowly settling down to a respectable level.


Taste:
Not doppelbock like at all. I'm used to huge, bold flavors. Although malty, it is very much subdued. Slight bitter finish. It actually tastes much more like honey. Whats intriguing about that is honey beers never taste this much like honey...and I have a thing for honey.


Mouthfeel:
Very silky, very nice. Much thicker than I would have anticipated after the aroma and color comments.


Drinkability:
Well I was completely taken by surpise by this beer, it was nothing like I thought it would be. I would have preferred the head to remain pillowing thru the begining to end of the beer, but only a few brewers can pull that off. Not complex, but doppels rarely are. This was a good beer, I enjoyed drinking and reviewing it. And I still taste honey in my mouth.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2006 19:04:07 | More by Westsidethreat

bsp77

Minnesota

4.05/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Serving glass: Poured from bottle into Snifter.

Appearance: More fire orange than blonde. Very little head despite aggressive pour.

Smell: Sweet fruit, light noble hops, slight alcohol.

Taste: Very mild taste for a Doppelbock, but quite pleasing. Some fruit. Pepper and spice notes from the noble hops, but no bitterness.

Feel: Thick and smooth. Not as chewy as some Doppelbocks, but chewy nonetheless. Low carbonation.

Drinkability: Easier drinking Doppelbock than most. Great Spring seasonal.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2009 03:14:40 | More by bsp77

tai4ji2x

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle w twist-off cap. "2009" indicated on the neck label. tasted in late may/early june 2009.

dark honey amber color, w orange tint. gem clear. 1-finger off-white head is fizzy and soon dissipates to just wisps, then nothing. no lace whatsoever.

aroma: malty caramel, apple, whiffs of euro/noble hops. touch of vanilla? faint whiff of alcohol.

taste: caramel maltiness again, but less than what the aroma led me to expect. touch of apple. slightly hoppier than aroma, with euro/noble character and mild to moderate bitterness. a phenol and fusel note, along with general alcohol booziness, comes in towards the finish, slightly thinning out the malt character. nothing horrible, but not desired either.

medium body, some smoothness, but the fusel/alcohol note becomes solvent-like here. mild to moderate carbonation.

when i had this in a small 2 or 3oz sample size at a festival, it seemed so much better. but sitting down with a full serving, it was not as ideal. not a bad beer, but not really all that good either, particularly as a result of the fusels and alcohol that come in and mar the whole thing...

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 16:13:47 | More by tai4ji2x

shand

Florida

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint.

This one pours a fairly clear orange-red color with two fingers of head that goes down fairly quickly, but a bit of head lasts for quite some time. Aroma is grainy, malty, citrusy, and a bit alcoholic. The taste here is quite interesting, the main thing I get on the tongue is booze, but it's not overbearing. It's actually tempered well with some green apple, grains, lemons, and caramel malts. But, yeah, it's a boozy brew. The mouthfeel is fairly full and decently carbonated, and the drinkability is pretty good, considering the booziness. This brew almost reminds me of a barleywine since the alcohol is just so forward. Either way, it's a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2011 05:02:00 | More by shand

Duff27

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

February 2010 bottle

A- Pours an amber/light red into a pilsner glass. Half inch white head. Effervescence looks great. Good lacing and head retention.

S- Smells of a boozy pilsner, what?

T- Very malty. Thick robust bread character. Slight green appley booze. Tasty!

M- Creamy/somewhat syrupy, medium to heavy mouthfeel.

D/O- Quite refreshing even for a higher ABV beer. A four pack of this in the summer would be great for wasting away an afternoon outside. Capital knows doppelbocks, period.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 01:48:13 | More by Duff27

Tilley4

Tennessee

3/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Definitely lighter than others of the style... Very sweet and fruity malt aromas... Overly sweet.. Lots of apple and raisins... Loads of sweet caramel malts with the apple and raisin present here as well... Strange aftertaste present as well... This one isn't working for me... Very average doppelbock...

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2011 05:23:56 | More by Tilley4

bruachan

Rhode Island

3.78/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

not much head to report. decent one to start but now just a film. yup, it's blonde...or at least as blonde as a doppelbock could be

smells like lovely pils malts! certainly sweet and perhaps even a little syrupy. floral hop aromas and maybe even a little minty. smells nice but not really like a doppelbock. but i suppose that is the reason for the "blonde" qualifier

some nice noble hop flavor. simple malt bill but tasty nonetheless. very little roastiness or chocolate or breadiness or that kind of thing that one might expect in a DB

seems alot like their maibock. a little more complex

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2010 01:57:50 | More by bruachan

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Looks golden apricot-colored, semi opaque, nice head that falls apart quickly, no lacing, low carbonation in my bottle, but nice thick heavy body that supports the dense flavors quite nicely.
The nose is quite boozey in character, vaguely whisky-like at times, perhaps almost too boozey. Rampant odors of dark fruit esters almost smother the sweet malt odor, which would be just fine if this were a Belgian Ale, but it is not. This brew could stand to have the alcohol trimmed down a bit in order to better show off the malt characters.
Taste is where the malt is at. Sweet delicious malts, an interesting spectrum of grainy goodness, the flavor profile of an excellent doppelbock somewhat hampered by being overly hot with ABV around the edges. The mouthfeel is smooth and pleasant, however.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 21:42:13 | More by WastingFreetime

bamadog

Kentucky

4.43/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Thanks to pwoods for bring this back for kels, but thanks to kels for sharing :) This is a great beer and I would love to get my hands on more in order to drink several in one sitting, as it's just about perfect for that type of setting.

Appearance: The color of honey on the pour; very clear and solid carbonation throughout; head is about one finger and fades quickly to a firm skim on the top and eventually to the ring around the edge of the surface; there is slight lacing present on the swirl and holds well enough.

Smell: Comes across much like I would expect from a lager - mild hops, but there is a sweeter and maltier smell comingthrough as well; very slight hint of alcohol in the nose.

Taste: Wow. Perfect. Much like a very good lager with it's mild hop presence, but the additional malts are what really make this a great beer. It's wonderfully sweet yet just about perfectly balanced and not overly done. Very "tasty." I wish I had more to say, but it doesn't come across as a very complicated beer, but damn is it good.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp and refereshing; a little tingly from the carbonation and the palate dries quickly.

Drinkability: Especially high - an amazingly great tasting beer with a very moderate ABV and nice clean finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2009 21:21:39 | More by bamadog