Maibock
Capitol City Brewing Company

 

On tap @ the Arlington location on 5/21/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a crystal clear gold, with a 1/2 finger of creamy bright-white head. This retains with a thinner layer that skims the surface, keeping a solid flareup that leaves a creamy cascade of spotty froth behind. The aroma is even in the nose with a mix of hops and malt, with a sweet base of caramel and bread mingling in effortlessly with notes dankness and spice. The only drawback here is that it seemed to take a while to get the nose going enough to pick this stuff up.

The taste is fairly forward with the hops, with a crisp bite that spreads spice, fruit, and earth out across the tongue. The malts are sticky sweet with buttered bread and caramel but are forced more to the background as the hops are overruning this a bit too much. The finish is more on the intense side, with a deep lingering presence of spice, dryness, and earthy grit. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a fairly sharp touch to the carbonation that is prickling the mouth a little too much. The alcohol is held in check here and this remains smooth for the most part despite the sharpness that is present.

There was nothing actively bad here but just a bunch of little things that held this back for me. This was worth a look at the time, as I was in the rare mood for trying Maibocks this weekend but I probably wouldn't give this another go.

Beer is clear and yellowish, slightly darker than a lager. Served in a shaker pint at the brew pub in Shirlington. Forms a thin white head that falls away and doesn't leave any lacing on the glass. Looks pretty good.

Aroma is weak and slightly sweet.

Beer is medium bodied and had a nice mouthfeel to it. Finishes wet and has no aftertaste. Drinkability is high. There is a slight graininess to the whole thing though. The sweetness up front is minimal. Its just OK. Slightly above average.

A pleasant sweet-forward beer that suits the style but lacks malty nuances that make classic Germans' zing.

Begins with a bright straw, lightly orange color with a steady, stark white head that rises quickly but fades in rapid fashion as well. Little lacing or legging on the glass.

Sweet aromas stradle the fence of malty and sugary. Without much hop balance, this promises to be a very sweet beer.

As expected, the sweetness prevails in the flavor with crystal-type malts everywhere. Lightly breaded but lackin the depth of maltiness from German decoction mashing. Light fruitiness of peaches and pears may come from a combination of yeast and malt character. Without any support from hops, the flavors here are a bit one-dimensional on the sweet, sugary side.

Moderately creamy to the palate with soft and full carbonation. No astringency and maybe a light graininess deep in the finish. Good textures.

A classic American stab at a classic style. Without the rich melanoidin flavors from difficult German mashing and superior grain usage and sturdy hop balance, this beer comes across just sugary sweet in the end.

I was able to try this seasonal release at the Cap City in Arlington during American Craft Beer Week. Thanks to brewmaster Mike McCarthy for the complimentary pint.

Appears a light golden amber color, with lots of bubbles, a light head, and some faint lace on the glass as the beer recedes. The aroma was a bit weak in my opinion. Some malty sweetness, with thin fruit scents. Noticeable banana notes. The taste is a pleasantly sweet malt flavor. Light apple and pear fruitiness with a good hoppy bitter finish. Not as much spice as some other maibocks I've had this season, but a good flavor on the whole. The mouthfeel is smooth, but this beer had a lot of carbonation. It settles out nicely, however, and is a very drinkable brew when it warms up a bit. It's a good springtime beer that goes down smooth with a nice linger hop kick. Deceptively strong at 7% ABV.