Capital to brew an IPA

I saw that after I posted. I was so annoyed with his post I quoted it without reading the rest of the thread haha.

 

Lakefront IPA on draft is otherworldly and affordable. It's balanced, not trendy.

 

US Pale Ale isn't a move away from malty German beers? I find it to be hoppy and it certainly isn't German. You write, "Yes you mentioned some that aren't German, but they still are malty with very little hop profile." That's moving the goal posts. You specifically said German beers in your OP and that's what I addressed. Now you tell me that you didn't mean what you wrote.

"Ask anyone in Madison what Capital Beer brews and 9/10 responses will be Dopplebocks!" Considering that Supper Club and Amber are their two biggest selling beers (or were as of a year or so ago), I'd wager that less than 9/10 people would respond with doppelbock to the question!

You wrote "if they were smart they would brew a hopped up Citra IPA" and tell me that's not patronizing. To me, saying "if X were smart" means that X is not smart, i.e. - dumb. To top things off, you say that Capital is dumb because they won't use your personal hop of choice. That certainly comes across as being solipsistic.

"People are buying IPA's and that is why every brewery has one." This statement really sums up why your original post and this reply rubbed me the wrong way. "Every" brewery has an IPA yet you complain. Why not be thankful and say, "Gee, it's great to be a hophead these days because you can't swing a dead cat in a Madison liquor store or tavern and without hitting an nice hoppy IPA. It's also nice that Capital brews other styles as this adds to the diversity of the craft beer scene."? I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut that there are more IPAs being brewed in the Madison city limits than there are dunkles (a favorite of mine) being brewed in the entire state. Your tastes are, generally speaking and by your own words ("every brewery has one [an IPA]" and "there are many good IPAs all over the shelves"), being catered to by "every" brewery yet you complain!

 

IMO, Capital Dark Dopplebock and Autumnal Fire can compete with ANY dopples in the world (though AF is more of a turbocharged Oktoberfest to me).

I am happy Capital is brewing an IPA and I hope it is a smash hit, and I would like to see them get more diverse world class beers (like New Glarus). AS long as they keep making world class Doppies.

 

I'll put our Sproose Joose up against any II Ipa out there. Hell I'll put our pale out there too. we are small and hard to get but don't be saying Wisconsin doesn't have ANY hoppy beers until you've tried them all.

 

I drive thru Pembine all the time, where the hell are you located?
*I know you don't have a taproom

 

As far as pale ales go yours is def world class, i guess you could call that one an ipa as well. Sproose Joose is gonna be hit or miss with people no matter how good it is.

 

We are out in the middle of the woods. in fact the brewery is in one of those places where you have to drive to the mailboxes.

I don't think the Sproose is more hit and miss than any other big II IPA.
Yes the Pale ale is really an IPA but we are too far into this whole thing to change the name. I guess that fits in with our "going big" practice where a brown is 8% abv. I don't know what happens sometimes I just get carried away.

We aren't in Madison and don't plan on going there. We have about 20 keg accounts in Milwaukee and plan on being a little more aggressive with 22 ounce bottles in Milwaukee this year. We will be at the Great Taste this year too.

 

Curiously enough, I quoted that very interview on the first page of this thread in a reply to steveh. I called it bandwagon jumping and I think Destree's quote supports it.

I tend to avoid pale ales but look forward to reading what you and other IPA fans think of Mutiny.

 

With the popularity of IPAs, I think it's worth noting that Tyranena's biggest seller is now Rocky's Revenge which overtook Bitter Woman recently. I also think you should note that, while, yes, you have to produce what the market demands, the market demands more than IPAs. Spotted Cow is not an IPA yet the market demands it and it is the beer that built New Glarus. Capital's Supper Club and Amber are not IPAs yet they sell well. Both Supper Club and Island Wheat have been major contributors to Capital's growth the past few years and neither are IPAs. There's more to the "market" than the subset of craft drinkers who like IPAs. When I go to small, rural taverns, it's not IPAs on tap, it's macro crap, Spotted Cow, and perhaps Capital Amber. Do you think that House of Brews suffers because of the lack of IPA in their portfolio?

I agree with you - the new Capital design is terrible. I don't like the tan.

I am the last person who should be trying to predict what will be popular in the craft scene. Personally, I'd rather Capital make a Kölsch-style beer. It would actually be lagered like it's supposed to be instead of someone using Kölsch yeast and thinking they're done. I'd also like to see them bottle the radler. Last summer I could drink a 6-pack of Stiegl's grapefruit radler just mowing the lawn. Leine's puts out fruit punch beer and sells ungodly amounts of it. Perhaps Capital could take advantage of the desire for sweetness. (And the other domestic shandies/radlers I've had are horrible.) Another avenue that I'd love to see is going the Coney Island route. I really enjoy their lager tweaks.

But if Capital really must make a hoppy beer, make an IPL!

 

Have you tried Double Agent or Sword Swallower? I liked the latter but have not had the former.

Let me also add that I'd love it if Capital started using rye. Great Divide's Hoss is, IMO, an exceptional beer.

EDIT: I found out that Ale Asylum's Blood Red Ale, though not very hoppy, does have Citra. (I presume from your OP that you like that variety in particular.)

 

Great. Hard to find but we are different.

 

I'm just happy for the variety. Love their beer garden during the summer but their lagers get samey after awhile. Even if it's ok it can suffice as a palate cleanser.