Capital Special Pilsner
A German-style brewed with malts and hops imported from Europe. The slight sweetness of pilsner malt is perfectly balanced by the clean, dry bitterness of noble hops. One of our original Garten Brau beers, Capital Pilsner has truly stood the test of time.
3
195 reviews
Middleton, United States
Community reviews
Aroma of hay, light/moderate noble hops and very light pear. Appearance is lightly carbonated gold with nearly no head. Flavor of hay up front, light sweetness, and a light/moderate noble hop presence, leading to a dry finish. Palate is bubbly and fairly still. Solid.
Clear light gold,some froth.
Aroma is grainy,lightly sweet,maybe a bit a dyacytal.
Taste is smooth,buttery slick,light sweet,citrus,crisp mild citrus finish.Some mineraliness. Pretty standard,good.Mild earthy grassiness.
As pilsners go, this ain’t bad at all. Pours clear golden with small white head. Bitter Euro-centric hops on the nose, some lemongrass, and just plain old grass. A bit of earthy funk on the tongue, bready, filling texture. Actually one of the better Capital beers I’ve had.
Dirty golden amber with a quick to dissipate head and light dots of lace. A nice balance between malt and hops, neither very strong, but adequate for a conventional pilsner. There are other, better Capital offerings, but this is fine as an unoffensive flagship brew.
As far as straight up pilsners go, this is pretty good. Simple, refreshing, and nice.
12oz bottle poured into a shaker. A "born on" date of the 316th day of 2008...a tad bit old maybe? Pours a lightly cloudy dehydrated-piss gold with about a finger of bright white head. Aroma of green apple, a little corn and some cereal grains. Taste is light bitter and light sour. Apple, corn, grain and a little skunk. Light bodied with a thin texture. Very soft carbonation and a decently long finish. Overall, not bad, especially for a beer that’s past its prime by about 3 years. I’d like to try it fresh some time.
Grassy, somewhat grainy aroma, with hints of barn. Typical pils. Crystal clear, very light gold. Lovely white frothy head. Taste is a bit sharp, with a medium bitterness. Nice light grainy pils flavors back the hop bitterness well. Crisp mouthfeel, fizzy, with a slightly astringent finish.
I really enjoy this beer. It’s a great summer drinker. Easy going down and nothing offense. Good hop bitterness in a crisp Pilsner flavor.
bottle, thanks to bu11zeye, golden color with no head, bitter with some flint and fruit, dry finish
(12oz bottle) Pours a clear pale yellow body with a small white head. Aroma of grain, light butter, and citrus. Flavor of grain, butter, cereal, and grass with a moderately bitter finish.
Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Clear look, lacy white head, golden straw color. The corny, butterscotch smell with grains. The taste is sweet, malty, grainy, floral, and corn.
Pale yellow with a small white head. Aroma is of grain and soap. Taste is of grain water and light butter.
Very pale hazy with lace. Grassy peachy aroma. Cracker grassy with a litle too much fruity sweetness. Decent grassy noble finish. Pretty good.
Standard gold in appearance while the aroma is very bready. The flavor is crisp and bready with a hoppy finish. Overall it was good but a bit muddled somehow in the flavor profile.
12 oz bottle from the pig. Pours a translucent yellow-gold color with a small white head that soon fades to a film. The aroma is mild with sweet grains and a trace of spicy saaz. The flavor, like the aroma, is mostly bland sweet grains, backed up by a touch of spicy hops. The palate is light and crisp with lively carbonation. The finish is short and dry. Overall: There is not a lot to distinguish this from the Macros, its OK.
12oz bottle from Steve’s Liquor and More in Madison, WI. Pours a crystal clear, pale straw-yellow colored body with a finger-width, frothy, white head that dissipates quickly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is pretty nice. Sweeter, crisp pils malts with some bread balanced nicely by a decent amount of grassy hops that have a touch of spice to them and a solid lemony floral. Flavor is similar. Crisp, sweeter cereal grains and pils malts with a very nice, somewhat flowery and spicy lemon-grass hopping. Finishes dry and crisp with a light-moderate bitterness. Very pleasant, fairly lengthy aftertaste of spicy lemon-grass and sweeter pils malts. Overall, a really nice pilsener. Easy drinking, crisp, clean, and refreshing with a very enjoyable flavor. One of the better pils that I’ve had in a long time. Well done.
Reviewed from notes.
Poured into a pilsner glass. Appearance is straw yellow. Very transparent with a white head with good lasting power. Nose is a bit grainy with some floral characteristics and a bit of an herbal, earthy quality. Taste is light noble hops with grain. Feel is light and crisp and this drinks quite well overall.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 11-03-2010
Now simply called Capital Pilsener, it isn’t bad, it brings some astringency and a bit of vegetal hops, but overall solid and true to style.
Notes from 12/30/2010
Ar: Lots of honey on the nose, it dominates but it is very nice. A bit of grassy hop aroma as well.
Ap: Pours a orange-straw with a 1/2" white head that dissipates quickly. A bit of lace.
T: Lots of sweet honey malt, a bit of bread dough. Mild hop bitterness on the finish.
P: Very high carbonation, thin-med body.
O: Not a style I usually care for, but this is very nicely done.
Bottle from Friar Tuck. Pours golden with a white head. Aroma of European hops, lemon, and hay. Light bodied with steady carbonation. Flavor of pilsner malt, biscuit, and honey countered by a spicy and herbal bitterness that carries through the dry and grassy finish. Not a bad Pilsener.
Pours a clear, pale gold, with a creamy, white head. Aroma is grass, toast, floral notes, cereal and some sweet malt. Flavor is grass, lots of cereal, fresh cut hay, floral notes, some very light vegetal notes lightly toasted white bread and faint citrus. Palate is light bodied, with a moderate, yet sharp carbonation, creamy entry and dry finish. Tasty little pilsener, though the vegetal note in the flavor bring it down a bit for me.
Deep cloudy yellow with a white head. Grassy aroma. Bready malt, sweety, with a dry herbal finish and sour note. Very fizzy.
Pale gold pour with a frothy white head. Aroma of hay, citrus, and apple. Medium mouthfeel with some bright carbonation. Smooth, sweet entry with flavors of apple and malt fades quickly to a sharp finish. Slightly bitter at the end. Not a bad beer.
Pours a pale yellow color with a nice head that is well retained and leaves some lace. The aroma is plenty of fresh hay with some nice sweet floral maltiness and a bit of good if mild noble hop note. The flavor is plenty of herbal hoppiness, very clean with a overall dry character. Very crisp and easy to drink, but plenty bitter. The maltiness comes through with a mild toastiness and a bright but dry bready character. The palate is nice, this drinks very easily and it should but there is enough sharpness in there to give it a very pleasant mouthfeel. I’m glad I got this relatively fresh. I hope someday soon Capital beer comes back to Iowa. I miss it.
Bottle - One of my favorite Capital beers, though I find I usually either love or hate their stuff. This one pours light amber with a huge foamy white head. It smells light and crisp, with floral hops, honey, apple, and white grape notes. It’s sweet, but not overly so. The taste is slightly sweet malt with apple and grape, and a crisp finish. Not a huge hop presence, but a slight bitterness on the finish. A bit too sharp with the carbonation, but it’s got a nice body and feel to it. Pleasant, and a beer I could see picking up a six-pack of.
Poured clear and pale gold with a super short white head. The aroma was grassy with light citrus. The flavor was grassy and metallic, very little spice noticed. Thin, almost harsh mouthfeel. Not great.
Clear golden color/ white head. Pale, pils malty aromas with mild spicy hop. Light body. Nice honey biscuit, pils malty flavors with a crisp spicy hop finish.
Clear golden with very thin head. Grain, faint hop aroma. Sweet malt, lemon, light grain flavours. Smooth, balanced, carbonated, with mild bitter finish.
I liked this beer.......not loved....lliked. I wanted to say it was the greatest thing since Blatz, but that would be a vicious lie. I would hoist this one again, if I was offered one free. I doubt if I would pay for it again, though.
If Blatz, Schlitz and this were on tap I’d order a Blatz for myself, chase it with a Schlitz and then say, "This is the BOMB!" all while ignoring the so-called fancy-pants "Pilsener".
Don’t question it. Believe it.
Bottle from Beer Geek. Pours gold with a decent fluffy white head. Noble hop aroma. Medium plus body with medium carbonation. Flavor is pale malt and grassy hop, then the malt goes a touch bready. Clean, refreshing. Very drinkable.
clear gold, medium white head, a bit of lace. nose of sweet malt and grain with some floral notes. rather thin bodied, dry finish. leaning a bit too much toward the sweet for me, so i did not really enjoy this one. single bottle from binny’s orland park.