Public House Pale Ale
Old Capitol Brew Works and Public House

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Old Capitol Brew Works and Public House
 
Iowa, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.75 | pDev: 5.07%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
6
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 04, 2007
Added:
Feb 15, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.6/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Equal parts orange and amber with glowing highlights that were due to the warm, subdued lighting in the restaurant. The bone white cap started out at the standard brewpub one finger height. Initially, each upending of the glass resulted in a thin, blurry ring on the opposite side of the glass. By the time the pint was half gone, almost no head or lace remained.

Although it could have been more aromatic, the nose was pleasant. I could appreciate white grapefruit and orange in equal measure, with nothing in the way of malt. Two words that occured to me were 'simple' and 'clean'.

Upon drinking... there was enough malt for respectability, noted mainly by mouthfeel rather than flavor. Grapefruit and orange zest still led the way; no surprise since PHPA uses 100% Centennial hops. A little more vividness would have been nice, but I can't complain too loudly since I did like it.

The finish was bittersweet with a moderate amount of mouthcoating stickiness. The beer's mouthfeel was par for the APA course, with a bit too much carbonation initially. At least it was fine and fizzy on the tongue instead of big-bubbled, like soda water. I didn't notice any problems in the bottom half because I was well into my BBQ Chicken Pizza by then.

Public House Pale Ale is a pretty good stab at a single-hopped pale ale. Although it has no blinding bright spots, it makes up for it by having no real faults. I won't make any special trips to Iowa City for another pint, but I'll probably order it again on any return visits to Old Capitol Brew Works.
Jan 29, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of Chaz
Reviewed by Chaz from Minnesota

3.97/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a tumbler. Medium pour produces a hazey, golden orange with a rocky, pale tan head of good duration and very good lacing. Bright citrusy hops (orange) on the nose, tangy, and with an equal component of biscuity malt. First sip is sharp, tangy, and citric, a nice bite. Very appealing lingering hop bitterness with toasty biscuity malts in the background, and a hint of tanginess. Mouthfeel is creamy and medium-bodied. Seeing as how this APA poured cloudy, it is actually quite yeasty, and the citric hop notes (orange and lemon rind) blend very well here. Very drinkable and session-worthy. I don't use this phrase often, but "it tastes like a glorified homebrewed APA in the best sense of the word." Story goes like this: it's an old brewpub under a new name and with a new brewmaster, formerly of a Rock Bottom, and now this guy is canning . . . sound familiar Surly fans? This is from the first batch of cans, still in stores. The bad news on these cans is that they didn't pass muster at the state Liquor Control level (homemade self-adhesive labels don't cut it.) The good news is that they have about 150 thousand cans left to fill, and have new labels in the works that will do the trick (or so the story goes). The better news is that I've got myself another can for my colection (groan) and best of all: here's another great American craft beer in a can. BRING ON THE CANS!
Jun 04, 2007
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
This had a decent, bright-white head but with low retention. The nose was lightly hoppy and the color was a slightly cloudy medium-gold. I experienced a medium mouthfeel with a good hop presence in the mouth. The finish was decently dry with a lingering hop bitterness. It created decent lacing throughout the glass.
Dec 03, 2006
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Nice head on this off-orange beer. A little lighter than most APAs, but still pretty nice.

Odor is very light. Rough hops mixed with subtle hints of citrus. Nice, but too light to be really enjoyable.

Moderately hoppy all around. Light hops up front--light in bitterness, that is; they're still very dry. It gets more bitter in the back and ends with a solid backbone of malt.

The body's pretty thin but the beer goes down smooth.
Jun 25, 2005
Photo of neonbrown82
Reviewed by neonbrown82 from Nebraska

4.03/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This beer was served in a plastic keg cup with little to no head. I do not feel guilty giving this beer bad remarks on the appearance, because any brewpub that doesn't have enough respect for their house beers to serve them in proper GLASSware doesn't deserve good remarks anyway. From the dim light, looking down into the top of the cup, the beer appeared to be an somewhat darkish amber color with a small ring of white foam. The smell was good and balanced between malts and hops. According to the menu, they use centennial hops, which is one of my favorite strains. The beer was very refreshing, as a pale should be. It almost seemed somewhat watery because it was very quenchable and had a very light body. The drinkability was excellent, but it lost at least .5 just for the pure fact that you have to drink it while inside this joint (growlers would be great, though not permitted for direct sale from the brewery in Iowa).
Mar 19, 2005
Photo of bditty187
Reviewed by bditty187 from Nebraska

3.77/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Largely clear, amber-gold in hue, it wasn’t served with much of a head, just some wispy, white bubbles that looked soapy in nature. No head retention. No subsequent lacing. I noticed though, my girlfriend had a couple of these that was served with a head and the head on these faded really quickly and there wasn’t much lace. The nose says APA; the malt base is clean with a trace of caramel, typical of the style. The hops do offer some fairly notable but straightforward citrus/pine combination of aromas. There are fruity notes from the yeast (peaches and oranges). The nose is pleasant, kind of simple but likable. It was served a tickle to cold to allow the nose to bloom. Of course that problem improved with time. The palate is tasty and well balanced. There is a pleasant citrusy bite with some caramel sweetness and some biscuit flavors (otherwise the malt is clean). The soft fruity notes, peaches and tangerines, really soften and round out the palate. The bitterness is solid, it is far from bold but it is assertive enough to pair with a fat burger. Juicy finish. Modest aftertaste. The palate is likable, it is better than average, it is far from special… it is pleasant. Medium in body, low but natural carbonation, the mouthfeel is good but uneventful. This beer is plenty drinkable, I could empty a few of these in a row (my girlfriend did!). I realize it is nothing special but, yeah, I liked it. It is a friendly quaff. It is worth a try at the brewpub.
Feb 15, 2005
Public House Pale Ale from Old Capitol Brew Works and Public House
Beer rating: 3.75 out of 5 with 6 ratings