 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
MidwestMicroBrews -- contact@midwestmicrobrews.com |
| MidwestMicroBrews' Midwest Beer Reviews! |
Capital Brewery - Middleton, Wisconsin
Supper Club American Lager
How's it possible I've never been to a supper club? I spent the first 23 years of my life in
Michigan and have lived in Wisconsin for more than a decade, but I've yet to partake in
this most quintessential Midwestern experience. Maybe it’s because I’ve never lived in
a real “rural” area. Maybe it’s because, as a vegetarian for most of my life, I couldn't
find much to eat on the standard menu of these places. Maybe I’m just a self-hating
Midwesterner.
That said, the legend of the Midwestern supper club is hard to escape. Sure, supper
clubs exist around the country, but nowhere are they as omnipresent as they are here
in the upper Midwest . Take a ride on a highway between any two urban centers and
you’re destined to see at least one along the way. Ask any native over 50, though, and
they’ll tell you this: they just aren’t the same anymore.
Supper clubs rose to prominence during the 1950s and '60s. Typically, they were on
the edge of rural towns. Not just a bar, not just a restaurant, and not just an
entertainment venue, the supper club was all three under one roof.
They were the destination point where farmers and other laborers would spend the whole evening, beginning with the cocktail hour.
Dinner would follow--steaks, chicken, pork, and in Wisconsin on Friday night, a fish fry. After that, maybe a dance or two to the
nightclub-style entertainment. Patrons weren't expected to dress to the nines, but there was an air of elegance to the festivities.
Back then, supper clubs didn’t have the array of beer styles we have now. They had Schlitz, Blatz, Miller, Budweiser, and Pabst. That is
to say, American lagers. True, there were differences between these beers, but in essence, they were all the same--and for the majority of
supper club diners that was just fine. When it came to beer, this was a time of simpler tastes, of lower expectations, and yes, of fewer
pretenses.
It is that time, that aura, that flavor, that Kirby Nelson, head brewer at Capital Brewery, wanted to capture with his Supper Club
American Lager.
The label has a classic 1950s look to it. Pictured is a 50s-style car pulling into a supper club. It's " a Wisconsin state-of-mind" as a banner
reads. There are also the taglines "Timelessly Refreshing" and "Not Bad," the latter being a nod to classic Midwestern self-deprecation.
Not Bad? Not Bad At All!
It pours a translucent light golden blonde with a finger of cotton-ball white head which dissipates quickly. Light aromas of ripe corn, fresh-
cut grass, light malts, and buttered bread hit the nose. There's nothing overpowering here, but it's not the generic blandness of a Bud or
Miller either. It's like Kirby took those smells from the macro-brewers, cleaned them, and turned them up.
Effervescence hits the tongue, opening the senses. Tastes of sweet breads, grass, lemon, and gentle hops arise. The mouthfeel is as
expected for the style, light- to medium-bodied. It finishes clean and dry, just like it should.
If you visit Rate Beer or Beer Advocate, you'll find plenty of bad reviews of this beer. To those reviewers, let me say this: you're missing
the point. Capital's Supper Club isn't meant to appeal to the craft-beer fans who always want their beers to be bigger--more malt! more
hops! and make it an Imperial while you're at it!
No, Supper Club is Nelson’s homage to beer past and times past. It was a time when our fathers or grandfathers worked with their hands
and their backs. When the time came for them to enjoy a beer, they drank something similar to this. Unfortunately for them, what they
were drinking wasn’t this good.
Supper Club is what those beers could have been, but weren't. It took fifty years and the craftsmanship of Kirby Nelson to create this
beauty: the great American Pale Lager.
As a now-reformed member of the aforementioned craft-beer geekdom, I never thought I would put the word “great” in the same sentence
as American Pale Lager, but Supper Club has enlightened me. I say thank you, Kirby. I wish my grandfather was alive. I’d like to share
a few of these with him.
Supper Club American Lager
How's it possible I've never been to a supper club? I spent the first 23 years of my life in
Michigan and have lived in Wisconsin for more than a decade, but I've yet to partake in
this most quintessential Midwestern experience. Maybe it’s because I’ve never lived in
a real “rural” area. Maybe it’s because, as a vegetarian for most of my life, I couldn't
find much to eat on the standard menu of these places. Maybe I’m just a self-hating
Midwesterner.
That said, the legend of the Midwestern supper club is hard to escape. Sure, supper
clubs exist around the country, but nowhere are they as omnipresent as they are here
in the upper Midwest . Take a ride on a highway between any two urban centers and
you’re destined to see at least one along the way. Ask any native over 50, though, and
they’ll tell you this: they just aren’t the same anymore.
Supper clubs rose to prominence during the 1950s and '60s. Typically, they were on
the edge of rural towns. Not just a bar, not just a restaurant, and not just an
entertainment venue, the supper club was all three under one roof.
They were the destination point where farmers and other laborers would spend the whole evening, beginning with the cocktail hour.
Dinner would follow--steaks, chicken, pork, and in Wisconsin on Friday night, a fish fry. After that, maybe a dance or two to the
nightclub-style entertainment. Patrons weren't expected to dress to the nines, but there was an air of elegance to the festivities.
Back then, supper clubs didn’t have the array of beer styles we have now. They had Schlitz, Blatz, Miller, Budweiser, and Pabst. That is
to say, American lagers. True, there were differences between these beers, but in essence, they were all the same--and for the majority of
supper club diners that was just fine. When it came to beer, this was a time of simpler tastes, of lower expectations, and yes, of fewer
pretenses.
It is that time, that aura, that flavor, that Kirby Nelson, head brewer at Capital Brewery, wanted to capture with his Supper Club
American Lager.
The label has a classic 1950s look to it. Pictured is a 50s-style car pulling into a supper club. It's " a Wisconsin state-of-mind" as a banner
reads. There are also the taglines "Timelessly Refreshing" and "Not Bad," the latter being a nod to classic Midwestern self-deprecation.
Not Bad? Not Bad At All!
It pours a translucent light golden blonde with a finger of cotton-ball white head which dissipates quickly. Light aromas of ripe corn, fresh-
cut grass, light malts, and buttered bread hit the nose. There's nothing overpowering here, but it's not the generic blandness of a Bud or
Miller either. It's like Kirby took those smells from the macro-brewers, cleaned them, and turned them up.
Effervescence hits the tongue, opening the senses. Tastes of sweet breads, grass, lemon, and gentle hops arise. The mouthfeel is as
expected for the style, light- to medium-bodied. It finishes clean and dry, just like it should.
If you visit Rate Beer or Beer Advocate, you'll find plenty of bad reviews of this beer. To those reviewers, let me say this: you're missing
the point. Capital's Supper Club isn't meant to appeal to the craft-beer fans who always want their beers to be bigger--more malt! more
hops! and make it an Imperial while you're at it!
No, Supper Club is Nelson’s homage to beer past and times past. It was a time when our fathers or grandfathers worked with their hands
and their backs. When the time came for them to enjoy a beer, they drank something similar to this. Unfortunately for them, what they
were drinking wasn’t this good.
Supper Club is what those beers could have been, but weren't. It took fifty years and the craftsmanship of Kirby Nelson to create this
beauty: the great American Pale Lager.
As a now-reformed member of the aforementioned craft-beer geekdom, I never thought I would put the word “great” in the same sentence
as American Pale Lager, but Supper Club has enlightened me. I say thank you, Kirby. I wish my grandfather was alive. I’d like to share
a few of these with him.
Read more MidwestMicroBrews Reviews... Arbor Brewing Company - Ann Arbor, Michigan Capital Brewery - Middleton, Wisconsin Central Waters Brewing Company - Amherst, Wisconsin Copper Canyon Brewery - Southfield, Michigan Detroit Beer Company - Detroit, Michigan Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Paso Robales, California Goose Island Brewing Company - Chicago, Illinois Grumpy Troll Brewpub - Mount Horeb, Wisconsin Herkimer Pub & Brewery - Minneapolis, Minnesota Onion Pub & Brewery - Lake Barrington, Illinois Round Barn Brewery - Baroda, Michigan Shmaltz Brewing Company - Brooklyn, New York Short's Brewing Company - Bellaire, Michigan Sprecher Brewing Company - Glendale, Wisconsin Stevens Point Brewery - Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stone Cellar Brewpub - Appleton, Wisconsin Summit Brewing Company - St. Paul, Minnesota Sun King Brewing Company - Indianapolis, Indiana Titletown Brewing Company - Green Bay, Wisconsin Upland Brewing Company - Bloomington, Indiana |