Capital Pilsner - Capital Brewery

malcontent

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bright, golden body with a thick, foamy head (about two fingers). Looks like it belongs in a magazine ad. Pretty.

Grassy, lemony scents with faint yeast aromas.

Assertive hops with a tangy aftertaste. Somewhat more bitter than I look for in a pilsner and, in fact, the aftertaste begins to border on astringent.

Mouthfeel is good; cabonation is right with a bit of chewiness. I DO like this beer but when I want a pilsner (which is not very often) I look for something different. A mixed bag.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2007 15:31:40 | More by malcontent

expatsteve

Wisconsin

4.28/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Nice golden color with straw notes as it catches the light. Not much visibility, even a little cloudy in places. Broken suds cover, with low/medium viscosity.

Aroma: Light on the nose with yeasts, black pepper and a little cornbread. Nice mealy aroma.

Taste: Sweet refreshing front palate - corn, faint melon and orange, with black pepper and aluminum bursts; mild pine notes and straw in the finish. Wonderful complexity for the style, with great balance.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, sweet, and malty from start to finish. Lighter carbonation and a lighter body render a great pilsner finish. Definitely refreshing.

Drinkability: A great pilsner. I really enjoyed this, and will definitely be adding this to the summer rotation. A wonderful representation of the style with the typical deft but balanced Capital assertiveness. Way to go, Kirby.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2006 05:05:15 | More by expatsteve

zjungleist

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very slighly brown straw color and slightly hazy, with a nice head a good lacing. Smells of grassy hops and sweet malts. Taste is also sweet with a grassy hop flavor, plus a clean, yeasty, and sweet aftertaste, with a bit of bitter hops and grain flavors. Mouthfeel is slighly slick and fairly carbonated. A fine pilsner in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2006 03:49:59 | More by zjungleist

dirtylou

Washington

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz single, Woodman's-West Side

appearance: pours a pale golden color, pretty clean and clear, fluffy and soapy white head forms and lasts, nice and bubbly

smell: fresh hops on the nose, somewhat floral, defined spice aroma, malt backbone

taste: herbal and spicy, lightly floral hops, bready malts, a somewhat crisp lemon flavor. Decent pils

mouthfeel: clean and crisp, very dry finish

drinkability: certainly a session

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2005 02:21:44 | More by dirtylou

shbobdb

Indiana

4.9/5  rDev +37.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Dated 11-17-2005
HOLY CRAP! This is the best pilsner I've ever had, and I've had quite a few. It pours a nice penny colour and WOW, spicy without spice! The hop usage here is exceptional! Couple that with the malt and WOW-EEEE! This is a BEER, goddamnit!

All must bow down to number one.

Appearance: 5
Smell: 5
Taste: 5
Mouthfeel: 5
Drinkability: 5

---

Dated 7-9-2008
I first reviewed this beer when I was new to BA. I had just moved to Indiana from Wisconsin and was looking for a site that would help me find good beers. But I still had a soft-spot for Wisconsin beers. Well, you know what? I still do, and I gotta say my opinion of this beer hasn't changed much. While I appreciate a Jever or a Prima Pils for their knock-you-over-the-head-with-hops approach, there is a great deal to be said for just a nice pils.

It has a good, solid earthy nose, the taste is sweet pilsner malt without the sulfurous twang that sometimes rears its ugly head and a nice dry finish. A very nice mix between earthy German hops and nice German malts.

A touch of sulfur on the nose (but not found in the flavor, happily enough) is the only fault I can find. Man, this is a good beer. Just a straight-forward balanced pils. I love it.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2005 23:52:46 | More by shbobdb

beveragecaptain

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle. This beer pours out a slightly darker than expected golden brown color. Big bubble carbonation. There is a large head right after the pour that quickly fades. Grain aroma with a small amount of hops, and a little fruit. Malty flavor with some grass. This beer has a nice bitterness. Moderate hop flavor. Mouthfeel is medium. This is a pretty good pils, but I like their Brennan's Golden Pils a little better.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2005 23:28:33 | More by beveragecaptain

Oxymoron

Colorado

3.45/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Isnt that special? Pours a mostly cloudy, straw yellow golden color with some darker golden hues throughout. A rocky head with some bigger bubbles and not much lacing through the tasting. But good retention.

The nose is super grainy. Very distinct German pilsner notes with some malty backings. Some minor husky note but not over the top. The hops are not really there. Would like some hops although with pils, not much. Very clean yeast although some is noticeable.

The taste is more balanced with malty sweetness and German pils notes. Some good grainy backing with limited husky notes. Good backing. Some minor tannic notes but not over the top. The hops were limited with a minor bitterness that could use some balance. Some distinct floral hop notes on the back end. Some yeasty notes as well that is a bit of a distraction, but mostly clean.

The body is moderate but does have a dry finish. Carbonation is low, could use a bit more. Overall great malt profile but would like a bit more hops to balance and some minor yeast issues.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2005 01:24:31 | More by Oxymoron

TastyTaste

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12. oz bottle, no freshness date. Hazed dark gold body, head is very small f rom the get-go. Smell has a lot of graininess to it, plus some clean grassiness. Taste is dominated by a flavor that starts of very sharp and grassy, and finishes with some hops that are quite bitter. Good transition, a nice drinkable beer that is not overpowering in grasiness, that doesn't have a trace of skunk. Nice CO2, also.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2005 00:17:23 | More by TastyTaste

mynie

Indiana

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark, hazy yellow like the lagers of yore. Nice head.

Harsh odors of old grain. If there's anything synthetic here, it's not coming through the nose. Very crisp, zippy pilsner aroma.

Very crisp, zippy pilsner taste, too. Sweet malt with a wide variety of simple veggies. Like standing in a field, almost. You know that really fresh, natural scent. It's like that. Nice, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2005 07:29:51 | More by mynie

longarm

Maryland

3.58/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is a plain, dark yellow with tints of orange. It is also moderately carbonated with fine bubbles moving through the glass, but head retention is poor.

A fine aroma of pilsner malt permeates the nose accompanied by noble hops. A basic aroma relatively, but not bad.

Flavor is initially astringent with a two-stage finish. First it's crisp, but the astringency appears again at the end leaving things a little rough around the edges of the tongue.

Mouthfeel is decent and demonstrates a fair amount of body for a pilsner.

Overall the malt bill reminds me of Capital's 1900 lager. Hops is a little more pronounced, which may contribute to the somewhat overly bitter profile. This beer isn't bad, but I would rather have a 1900 instead of this, since it seems a little more balanced. However, I can see why some reviewers might prefer this, especially if they like things a little more bitter.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2005 22:59:08 | More by longarm

hero27

Iowa

2.6/5  rDev -27%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Medium golden color.. Frothy head dies pretty quickly and leaves spotty lacing at best.

Smell: Grainy, typical pilsner aroma. Nothing very distinct at all.

Taste: I'm not a big fan of Pilsners, but if they are well-made, they don't taste bland like this one did. Initially, the taste is not too bad, but it dies off very quickly leaving me a bit dissapointed. Very similar in smell & taste to Leine's original.. a little darker, a little thicker, a little better overall.. but nothing too impressive.

Mouthfeel: Decent mouthfeel. There really is no redeeming or unique quality in this beer. It tastes like a typical lager, with very little effort put into the quality of the brew.

Drinkability: Drinkability is probably it's only redeeming characteristic. If you didn't mind the taste, you could easily drink quite a few of these Pilsners. Whether you'd want to or not, well..that's for you to decide.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2004 21:23:36 | More by hero27

sweethome

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours golden, true to German style - so much darker than American pils. 1 finger head of large bubbles. Produces a nice lace as consumed. Slight, sweet nose. Noble hops evident. Very clean, bready malt flavors. A bit grainy as it warms up. Hops cleanse somewhat, but leaves a long sweet finish. Bittering comes back late.

I prefer more hop bittering and flavor, but this is executed to style. A beer to introduce macro drinkers to real beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2004 01:31:58 | More by sweethome

alexgash

Connecticut

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a special dark golden with a dense, glass-crawling white head. Smells of lightly sweet corn bread malt. Hops are there, but a bit on the metallic side. Butter cookies and cooked veggies up front. Modest hop bitterness follows. Biscuit malt finish. Light bodied feel. Nothing too "special", but good overall. Capital has yet to disappoint in the lager department.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2004 04:12:07 | More by alexgash

daledeee

Iowa

3.35/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice yellow color with medium head and lace that stays. Nose is a little spicy. Taste is quite hoppy with just a little malt. I will try this again but it almost has a soapy taste.

It's just hard for me to give high marks to lagers. Too many are the same. This one is unique but I am not sure in a good way.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2004 01:03:26 | More by daledeee

jwilli7122

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear medium gold color with a very fizzy white head that immediately settles to a small size.
Smell is grain, dark fruit, bread, a pinch of spicy hops.
Taste is light caramel and bready malts with a decent dose of spicy hop bitterness. Medium mouthfeel...pretty standard. Should be served cold. As it warms, tastes more grainy and sweet.
Not a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2004 03:39:57 | More by jwilli7122

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.18/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Barely fuzzy bright amber. The head is bone white, fluffy, soft and maintains a one finger disk for quite a while. Scattered scraps are the extent of the glass coverage. The nose is subdued. Pale malt and an indistinct hoppiness are about it.

Special Pilsner fails to float my boat. There's nothing bad about it, but it isn't the least bit interesting or complex either. The flavor intensity knob seems to be turned down too low. My taste buds are begging for more to work with.

What I do appreciate is grain-like and mildly bitter. The beer tastes dull and gives up the ghost before the flavors have a chance to impress. The mouthfeel is light-medium, which isn't that far out of line for the style.

Special Pilsner is my second Capital Brewery beer. Granted, that isn't much to go on, but I'm not impressed with these guys so far. This offering is strictly average. On the other hand, it doesn't have any glaring negatives. Calling it 'Not Very Special Pilsner' would be closer to the truth, but I'm pretty sure that sales would take a hit.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2004 22:26:37 | More by BuckeyeNation

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: A lighter shade of gold straw color than the 1900 lager, but this one has great head retention from the white sized evenly laced layer of foam. Aroma: Nice zesty Saaz soothe the beer lovers soul in all of us, very well balanced and clean. Taste: Excellent spot of bitterness with some bready biscuit malts, very nice drinkability. Mouthfeel: A bit spritzy with full flavor nice overall feel to this light bodied lager. Drinkability: Excellent well hopped pils what more can I say.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2004 02:41:30 | More by WVbeergeek

stoutman

Michigan

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pleasant if not a particularly hoppy pilsener. Hop profile is more german (hallertau) then czech (not saazy at all). Pleasant malt richness, but not quite hoppy enough to fit a quality pilsener definition. Malty sweet taste with a nice carbonation on this one, the slight hint of hops show through with the after taste being mostly that of malt and light hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2003 02:50:16 | More by stoutman

PhantomVodoo

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazed to cloudy brownish golden that looks like a very light caramel color. Off-white head.
Aroma dominated by grainy malt. Some earthy hops and corn as well.

Taste also prominent in grainy malts. Earthy hops provide a slight crispness, but are understated IMHO.

Good mouthfeel and drinkability although a little too grainy and sweet.
Overall a decent to solid pilsner.
Thanks to Blatzman for the bottle!

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2003 05:20:50 | More by PhantomVodoo

chilidog

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I found this to be not your typical pils. The appearance at first glance had me look at the bottle name twice. It pours a slightly haze amber/orange. No gold to be found here. An average head that fades to a thin film. Lace was good, some ringing. The aroma is grainy & grass-like. The taste was somewhat sweet, malty, faint hop finish. The brew is smooth to drink while the mouth is left slightly dry.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2003 14:00:37 | More by chilidog

hotstuff

Indiana

2.6/5  rDev -27%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I found this beer to be lackluster in that it lacked character, aroma and flavor. It poured a small sized white head that contained fine sized bubbles that completely dissipated. The body was carbonated and clear with a golden hue. The nose was lightly malty and fruity with a light bitter flavor. The mouthfeel was smooth, thin and watery texture and light bodied. The lacing was very, very sparse. This beer is nothing to get excited about in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2003 23:21:40 | More by hotstuff

DrunkMcDermott

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

My impression of Capital's beers has been that they hew a little too closely to specifics of a beer style. This makes for good, drinkable beers, and their packaging suggests they are aiming for big grocery shelves; but they aren't really going for anything bold.

That said, though, this is a beer with a little toasty taste after an initial sugary hit. Mild hop flavor. Actually a good American example of this style.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2003 13:33:29 | More by DrunkMcDermott

Tballz420

Minnesota

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Theres a good sized white bubbly head atop a crisp golden colored brew. Lots of little bubbles rising up. The smell is a nice grainy scent. As for the taste, its dominated by a crisp, grainy taste, pretty smooth overall. Not much of a hop presence. This is not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2003 20:12:08 | More by Tballz420

MJR

Missouri

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a perfectly clear, medium gold with lots of bubbles rising to the surface. It's off-white head starts out small and stays that way, leaving a bit of lace down the side of the glass.

Smell: The aroma is malty and bready, with a touch of herbal hops. A bit on the faint side, but very clean.

Taste: Sharp and clean, with a firm hop bitterness and herbal, citric flavor. The malts are more subdued in this brew, but still come across as bready and faintly sweet. Finishes quickly with a moderate bitterness, along with a sweet bready maltiness.

Mouthfeel: Highly carbonated, with a crisp dryness. This brew could use a bit more body, but it's still pretty good.

Drinkability: Pretty good for what it is. This is a bit more tame than most German pilsners, as it posesses less bitterness and hop flavor. If they would beef it up a notch or two, this would be a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2003 18:11:10 | More by MJR

ZAP

Minnesota

3.3/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I don't know if I'd use the term special when labeling this, but it's a decent drinkable Pils...not as good as New Glarus edel Pils or Schells Pilsner but along those lines.....

Pours a medium gold with a little 1/4 inch white fluffy head.....nose is grainy and malty...it's really soft...maybe some fresh floral notes too but you have to really strain...

Flavor is malty (for a pilsner)....grainy....sweet....finishes on a dry note....not sure what hops they used but I don't taste much saaz...

This is probably not too far off from what some American made macros tasted liked in the 60's and early 70's before they totally dumbed them down......nothing incredible, but a step up from the Macros of today....

I much prefer their Bavarian Lager as a session beer....I wouldn't buy this one if given a choice but really it's not a bad beer...just nothing really grabs me with it....

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2003 04:53:18 | More by ZAP