Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Capitol City Brewing Company

Here's the sampler: Kölsch, Hefe, Amber, Pale and Porter.

The Kölsch is light and flavorful, maybe a little weak by NW standards, but quite quaffable with complementary pretzels. Delicate, but with a little zing.

The Hefe is an assertive wheat brew, and a very middle of the road interpretation. Not daring, but darn good for a wheat! Hints of fruit hiding in the hay. Not a banana wheat, but not bad.

Amber Waves is a "full bodied", California style (?) ale with strong hop character, and the most popular brew on tap here. It's easy to taste why. Amber, almost red, with hops that assert themselves just enough to get your attention, without being overly bold. Nice balance here, with caramel notes.

The Pale Rider Ale is advertised with a skull and two wings as the image, but this is a pretty tame brew, somewhere between a pale and an IPA. It's got hops, but by Oregon standards, it's not really an IPA. It is pretty tasty and even a little on the citrus side.

The final taster is the Prohibition Porter. Chocolate notes make this a good fit for dessert. Yum.

First stop in DC