Capital Brewery is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

in Middleton, Wisconsin. Founded on March 14, 1984, by Ed Janus in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, it is now situated in a former egg processing plant. The company first began production in 1986 and now produces over 20,000

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

annually. It produces 24 distinct beers, of which nine are annuals, five are seasonal, and ten are limited edition. Most are made using the strict

Reinheitsgebot The (; ) is a series of regulations limiting the ingredients in beer in Germany and the states of the former Holy Roman Empire. The best known version of the law was adopted in Bavaria in 1516 (by William IV), but similar regulations predate the ...

guidelines. The company's brews have won awards at a number of competitions, including the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Cente ...

, and The Great Taste of the Midwest. The brewery was awarded the distinction of Madison's Favorite Local/Regional Beer from 1998 to 2004 in ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a weekly newspaper published Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. ...

''/''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...

'' Reader's Choice Awards. The company has received over 240 major awards in both domestic and international competitions in over 15 categories, and the flagship Wisconsin Amber beer has been available in cans since 1997. Capital Brewery was named "America's #1 Rated Brewery" by the Beverage Testing Institute's World Beer Championships in 1998. The brewery was also rated #7 in the world at this time. Capital was named the Grand National Champion in the 2013 US Open Beer Championship, winning six medals. Capital Brewery’s beers are currently distributed in four Midwestern States:

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Capital Brewery has an indoor Bierstube and a large outdoor Bier garten (a.k.a. 'Middleton's Backyard') that plays host to events throughout the year. One of the more notable events is Bockfest, held on the last Saturday of February. Bockfest ushers in the annual release of Capital Blonde Doppelbock, Capital's award-winning brew. Blonde Doppelbock was awarded platinum six times in the past ten years at the World Beer Championships. The Capital Brewery Bike Club was formed in 2009 and currently has over 400 members. The bicycle rides are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings from April through October (weather permitting) and start from the Bier garten.

Beers produced

Annual

*Supper Club *Special Pilsner *Wisconsin Amber *Capital Dark *Mutiny IPA (Capital Brewery's First India Pale Ale) *Island Wheat

Seasonal

*Maibock - Available March - May *Lake House - Available June - July *Oktoberfest - Available August - October *Autumnal Fire September - December *Winter Skal - Available November - Feb.

Limited release (some are included in the 'Capital Square Series')

*Blonde Dopplebock (Winter/Spring) *Fishin' in the Dark (Summer) *Dark Dopplebock (Fall/Winter) *Jobu (Brown Ale aged in rum barrels - Winter) *Capital Coffee Dark (Coffee/vanilla infused Munich Dark)

Beers in hibernation

*Bavarian Lager *Brown Ale - Went into hibernation in Spring 2009 (except for an occasional appearance as Jobu) *Capital 1900 - Hibernating since 2006. *Hop Cream *Weizen *U.S. Pale Ale *Dark Voyage (dark IPA) *Ghost Ship (white IPA) *Grateful IPA (red IPA) *Jacked Maibock (Spring) *Capsized *Appleanche (Fall) *Pumpkinataur (Fall) *Eternal Flame (Fall/Winter) *Schwarz in a Box (Fall/Winter)

References

External links

*
Capital Brewery Bicycle Club website
{{coord, 43.094868, -89.516261, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-WI, display=title Beer brewing companies based in Wisconsin 1984 establishments in Wisconsin Food and drink companies established in 1984 American companies established in 1984