Light amber colour. Light bready aroma with a hint of sulphur. A gentle but crisp hoppiness, shot of alcohol and clean-if-light, well-extracted bready malt triumvirate. Well-structured, clean, simple...a fine version of the modern-day Oktoberfest style. Would that they make them this well in Munich.

Slightly hazy golden colour. Grassy, slightly earthy hop aroma with backing bread notes. Sweet front, lightly bitter finish. Straightforward grass and bread combo.

Dull light amber colour. Bready aroma with a hint of peppery alcohol. Flavour is much the same...it’s a fairly simple beer really. Now, maibock is supposed to be a two note beer, which is one of the reasons I don’t much care for it. There are two things I think maibocks should do - one is balance off the two elements. This beer does that. The spiciness and dryness of the alcohol is a great foil for what would otherwise be a fairly syrupy beer. The other thing I want is beautifully extracted malts. That’s a bit trickier. Lord knows I can’t do it myself. But Andechs, Ayinger...those Bavarian guys can. That’s why they are the masters.

Burnished amber colour. No head. Caramel, slight toast in the aroma. Clean, toasty flavour with slight woody note and background caramel. Straightforward stuff.

Muddy chestnut brown colour. Aroma is big - plummy, molassey, medjool depths. Flavour is soft and sweet, less assertive than the aroma. It is a little bit earthy, toffeeish, with more dark fruits. Long, sweet finish mixes these themes.

Burnished amber colour. Slightly sweaty, caramelly aroma. Light and lively character, with the slight nuttiness from the wild rice. Mild overall, but subtley characterful and individualistic.

Thanks to Suttree for bringing this out for another one of our mini tastings! The head on this is good for a Doppelbock, average size, creamy off white. Dark red hued body that had a nice fruity aroma. Some cherries and a touch of alcohol. Just enough malty sweetness, medium body and a creamy mouthfeel. Good solid brew.

2005 bottle from Robertsreality, who sent me practically every Capital beer! Orange golden body, bit of a chill haze, though not as hazy as the other capitals I’ve had. Off-white head is immediately dissipating to nothing. Aroma has lots of lightly sour yeast, bits of hard vienna malt and old bread. I wasnt as sold on this one as the others. A little bit meaty, quite sour/sweet, with too much breadiness, and light buttercream. Medium to medium-light body. Not a bad balance and a somewhat watery, though pleasing, drinkable mouthfeel. Moderate to low carbonation. I usually love all yeast flavors, perhaps it’s some acidic mash flavors that I don’t like? Not sure. Will have to try again.

2005 bottle from Robertsreality, thanks! Pours an lightly filtered, yellow/rosy-orange hue, with an initial bubbly white head that is fleeting and does not lace. Aroma of soft, sweet grass, bits of herbs, light vanilla and honey. Hints of toasted grain as well. Flavor begins with plenty of pils malt, soft, honeyish and quite flavorful. Some notes of lightly crisp lager yeast, a bit of lemons and oranges and a smooth, honeyish finish. Not complex, nor is it terribly hoppy for a pils, but the malting is well-done, I thought, and though it does get quite watery, I find no off-flavors. The corn flavor by-products of the pils malt are present, as some note, but it is not anything out of style, IMO. Light body, very drinkable. Low carbonation for the style. I bet this stuff would be killer fresh on draught.

2004 bottle from Robertsreality, thanks man! Pour is a deep amber-orange, with light cherry red hues. Transluscent, low filtration. It’s very refreshing to see light filtration on a lager. Off-white head is small and rapidly receding to a cluster of large bubbles. Aroma of yeast, bits of burnt grains, lots of toasted grain, a hint of acidity and perhaps some light strawberry-like fruitiness. Flavor begins with a meaty, sourish yeast, somewhat crisp on the end, with lightly bitter/nutty hops, very low in apparency. The main show, is the malt, which is well-done and shows plenty of husky, toasty, biscuity vienna malt. Only moderately sweet, it is made that much more of a session beer, with some light honey and marmalade tones as it warms. Toasted grains finish, with light yeast and bread. Lightly watery body, low, lazy carbonation. I could definitely drink a number of these.