Weizen Doppelbock - Capital Brewery

steveh

Illinois

4.8/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Back for a reprise in the Capital Square series. The last time this was brewed, I was sure Kirby had duplicated the Aventinus recipe to a T. My first sample in many years...

8.0% ABV on the new label.

A -- Hazy amber/apricot with a very dense, light tan head.

S -- When I capped this beer I could smell bubblegum at arm's length! Bubblegum, peach, mild clove, fresh yeast character.

T -- Breadiness up front blend into tart citrus fruits and spicy esters, finishing with rich malt character and some peppery spiciness from alcohol. In a word, wow.

M -- Very soft mouthfeel with a medium to medium heavy body. Maybe slightly hot from alcohol, but not at all solvent-like.

D -- While very high in ABV, this beer just invites you back again and again to experience the flavors. A very outstanding brew that holds the definition of the style to the highest standard.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2010 20:09:41 | More by steveh

plfahey

Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a tulip glass.

Appearance-Pale copper color with some haze. Moderate white head with fine bubbles, moderate retention, and some lacing.

Aroma-Huge ester bouquet of banana and bubble gum with some light plum esters in the background. Clove phenolics also make an appearance, though aren't as prominent as the fruity esters in this example. A little bit of spritzy, spicy wheat is evident and some caramel shows up near the end, but the fruit/spice aromas trump everything else here. No hops apparent.

Flavor-Tastes like an amped up hefeweizen.Bubble gum and banan flavors are balanced by clove spiciness up front. Like the aroma, there are also some darker fruit notes here, perhaps plums or prunes, but these are quite secondary. Some spicy, grainy wheat shows in the finish, as does a smooth alcohol flavor. The alcohol content is quite evident, but pleasantly so, though as it warms, the alcohol becomes a little more pronounced, and a little less enjoyable.

Mouthfeel-Medium body. High carbonation, verging on effervescent. Moderate alcohol warming. Alcohol is almost a bit sticky around the edges, but is not harsh or hot.

This beer packs a ton of aroma and flavor, but the high carbonation washes it right off your tongue, and the alcohol dries out the finish, making it very easy to drink. Nonetheless, I wouldn't want to drink a ton of these in one sitting.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 04:21:37 | More by plfahey

richkrull

Wisconsin

4.45/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured a hazy orange-copper color with just a little bit of head on it. Nice aroma - sweet, citrus notes. Taste is very good. Heavy citrus with a bit of an aftertaste. Very light mouthfeel considering this is 8%. No alcohol taste at all. This beer is very drinkable despite the above average ABV. I'll definitely be looking for this again.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2011 23:31:47 | More by richkrull

beerinator

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Cloudy, brownish gold. Off white slightly retentive head.

Aroma: Sharp spice. Notes of ginger? Slight maltyness is present, but overpowered by the spiceyness.

Taste: Sweetly heavy mouthfeel. Alcohol makes itself known on the tongue. The sweet malt/wheat lingers throughout the aftertaste.

Notes: Nice spicy beer. The ginger and sweetness remind me of cookies and holidays.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2003 18:26:02 | More by beerinator

mikeys01

Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle, courtesy of Tavernjef, the Weizen Dopplebock pours out a solid hazy orange. Traces only of white foam cling to the edge of my glass. Aroma is heartily yeasty, with a stength of sweet malty wheatness, a bit of banana and citrus. This is a thicker beer than you think, it's a nice hearty dopplebock, with excellent mellowed out wheat flavor and just a little bit of orangey sourness to counter. Not a beer I'd want to drink a lot of in a sitting, but a good beer to relax and enjoy the character a little slower perhaps. This is my first sampling of beer from Capital City, and I am suitably impressed.

.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2003 22:52:44 | More by mikeys01

mariposafan

Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours with a nice two finger head over a copper body. Good retention on the head with some lacing persisting as the glass is emptied.

The smell is sweet, sweet, sweet - bananas/bubblegum/cloves. A fair amount of alcohol in the nose as well.

The taste isn't as sweet, but it's still reasonably sweet. Some nice maltiness for the background of the typical hefeweizen banana and cloves flavors. It's mostly obliterated, though, by the overwhelming alcohol. This is every bit as hot as the Samichlaus I had last month. The alcohol is drying which keeps the taste from getting close to cloying.

The mouthfeel is pretty nice. A medium body with fine, not quite prickly carbonation.

Overall the drinkability doesn't turn out to be too bad, but it would be great if the alcohol was less pronounced.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2010 00:42:16 | More by mariposafan

Fabric8r

Montana

1.5/5  rDev -61.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Sorry to the other reviewers, I must have got a bad bottle. I took three sips and poured the rest down the drain. I can easily duplicate the flavor by mixing ginger, a little honey, some grain alcohol, and a squeeze of grapefruit into a tall glass of orange juice.

Fruity, hazy, horrible. Was not a beer at all. The pour had plenty of head, which suprised me. I thought for sure there was an infection or something, the yellow head was too much. Strong alcohol taste. Just horrible. Sorry, maybe I can try it again locally someday. Thanks anyway to tavernjef for the bottle to try.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2003 19:16:46 | More by Fabric8r

nghab

Wisconsin

4.38/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Kirby's big beers tend to age well, and that was certainly true of this one. Not sure what year this was, but it's a minimum of three years old, probably more.

Aroma: Moderate banana nose, a slight clove/phenol note, malt evident, bready, some alcohol

Appearance: Brilliantly clear, amber colour, almost no head retention (probably to be expected with a big beer)

Flavour: Nice balance of big malt, weizen character, alcohol, and more malt. Did I happen to mention the malt and alcohol? ;-) Some notes of raisin and plum. Despite the age, no obvious signs of oxidation.

Mouthfeel: Very warming, medium-low carbonation, smooth despite the alcohol--not at all "hot"

Overall drinkability: A wonderful beer for the snows of early April (or, really, almost any time). Warming and "dangerously drinkable, nicely mellowed with age.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2009 03:07:42 | More by nghab