(Summer) Fest - Capital Brewery

Vitals:

Name: Fest

Style: Marzen/Oktoberfest

IBU: ??

ABV: 5.6%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a nice, clear orange and looks to be highly carbonated. 2 fingers of head with fantastic retention and cap; the cap stayed at about a finger's worth, which is just incredible. The head was just very slightly off-white.

Smell: Smells very bready to me as far as malts go, like a grainy loaf of bread. You get some light hops smell (maybe grassy hops?) and some mild sweetness of the malts coming through. Simple but pleasant nose.

Taste: Very bread, with sweet malts up front. Lemon flavor as well as citrus and earthy hops hold the middle of the beer and a spiciness builds as the tastes roll to the back of your tongue. This sort of tastes like a much better and more complex European lager. There are also some grassy hops in there for sure.

Mouthfeel: I'd say this is on the light side of medium-bodied; very crisp on the palate and leaves you a little bit dried out. No big detractors.

Overall Grade: B

Comments: This is a pretty solid offering, which is just what Capital seems to do...they seem to make typical styles (a lot of German-influence in there) and they're all just OK. I don't think Capital really has a beer that I'd special request or ever have a craving for, but most of them are pretty drinkable. I will admit that I don't have much experience with this style, but this is worth a try if you're into Marzens/Oktoberfests. Probably a bit out of season by now but you might be able to pick up a little of the remaining from the summer brewing.

Cheers,

Hurls

Stone IPA - Stone Brewery

So, after a HUGE delay, I am back to posting (hopefully on a regular basis). I basically was trying to finish up getting work done in the summer, then I upgraded to Mac Lion OS, which is somehow incompatible with my camera, so I put it off and put it off and finally uploaded some pics.

So, the story behind this one is my best buddy, Pat Fichtner, told me about how I needed to try this incredible IPA from Stone Brewery. The only problem...Pat lives in California and, if you haven't looked at a map recently, California is sort of out of the way from Wisconsin. Luckily for me, I was heading to California for my buddy Reid's wedding so, true to form, Reid and I pick up some brew to enjoy while we chatted and caught up late into the night (errrr...make that morning). You can't get much better than that...catching up with one of your best friends over some quality micro-brews! Enjoy and cheers!

Vitals:

Name: Stone IPA

Style: American IPA

IBU: 77

ABV: 6.9%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Ralph's (grocery store near Los Angeles, CA)

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a brilliant translucent orange with about a finger of off-white (slightly orange, actually) foamy head. OK retention, sparse lacing, but a nice cap up top. Moderate carbonation from the look of it and lots of stuff hanging in suspension in the beer.

Smell: Grapefruit, orange, peach, and citrus hops mostly. You can sense the malt poking its way through, though, so you can expect a decent malt backing. You get piney hops as well - not going to lie...this smells fantastic!

Taste: The grapefruit comes through with a nice juiciness up front with the malt sweetness. There is more of a spice when the hops kick in, as opposed to what normally seems like a hop "bite." It's a nice feel but I can't place that taste completely. There is INTENSE bitterness with this beer. You get hit with citrus hops first, but it tastes pinier as you go through the taste experience. This hides the ABV incredibly well and leaves you with a mouth-coating, lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Juicy, yet crisp; not overly astringent and just the right amount of the hop oil quality to coat your mouth. This is somewhat light for an IPA; pretty drinkable but will put you on your butt if you have more than a few. 

Overall Grade: A

Comments: One of the very best IPAs that I've ever had; if you can find it, buy it hopheads! You won't regret this one.

Cheers,

Hurls