A Week of Wisconsin Beer: Capital Brewery, Pearl Street, Sand Creek

Earlier this month, my father brought 12 Wisconsin craft brews down from God’s Country (that’s Wisconsin for all you non-Midwesterners) for my birthday.  I sampled several over the last week and thought I’d share my thoughts on 3 of them.   

Sand Creek’s Woody’s Wheat is a virtual clone of Unibroque’s “La Fin Du Monde”, although I’m not sure which came first….  At any rate, Woody’s Wheat is smooth, easy flowing beer (at only 11 IBU’s) and has a strong clove presence.  While the ABV, 5%, is not as stout as La Fin Du Monde’s 9%, Woody’s ale is entirely pleasing for a sipping on a warm spring evening.  The presence of coriander and cracked wheat are strong.  Cloudy in the bottle with a bit of yeast added in, Woody’s settles into a deep golden yellow color.  If you’re into wheat beers, and enjoy La Fin Du Monde or New Belgium’s Mothership Wit, you’ll enjoy Woody’s.  Spicy, grainy, yeasty, delicious.

Capital Brewery’s Maibock was a delightfully pure lager I enjoyed on a warm spring evening.  Modeled after the traditional German craft, Capital’s Maibock opened with a stiff smell of bread.  I expected to see something light come out of the bottle, but the color was a deep amber.  Excellently malty, bready, like all of Capital’s beers, the Maibock showed how the brewers at Capital know their malts.   The Maibock had the perfect accent of hops, was sweet and had flashes of citrus.

Capital Brewery Maibock

If you see the words “Bock” and “Wisconsin” on a beer, you have a high probability of enjoying the beer in your glass.  Green and hoppy, Capital’s Maiboc was almost as good as the ice bock I tried at the brewery a year and a half ago.  Fully malty with the right accent of hops, this dark golden ale is perfect for a late spring evening.

Pearl Street Brewery’s Pale Ale was satisfying, though not outstanding.  6% ABV out of Lacrosse, WI, this particular Pale ale was marked by a notable presence of hops.  An American Pale ale, the most remarkable visual aspect of the ale was the frothy head, like the shores of Lake Michigan after a blustery, wavy day.  While PSB’s Pale ale showed flashes of APA hop style, the overall effect was watery and lacked brilliance.  APA’s really need to have shining hops, else they fall flat on their face because, well, you buy an APA for the hops.  Pearl Street’s Pale Ale has a fair hop showing, but overall, I wasn’t too impressed.  What hops there were gave bitterness, but not much else in the way of flower or citrus.  They were pleasant, but not sharp or noteworthy.

Cheers to our neighbors to the North!