A small independent regional brewery in Middleton, WI, the Capital Brewery produces some of the finest beer in the German tradition made today. Kirby Nelson is the head brewmaster and he brews some of the best beers in America.
I first came across Capital beers in the late 80's on a trip to Madison. I was so taken back by the taste quality of the Capital Bavarian Lager that I had to take some back home to Iowa with me. That beer didn't last long and I was tempted to drive back to Wisconsin from Central Iowa just to get some.
After I moved to Davenport, I was on a quest to try and find Capital Beers. I would drive to East Dubuque to Van's Liquor Store just to pick up beer. And their selection was spotty, at best.
Gendler's, which used to have a store in Rock Island before moving to Moline, used to be able to get Capital beer in for me, but then the distributor quit carrying it as I was about the only customer for Capital beers they had in the Quad Cities.
Along about 6 years ago, Capital became available in Iowa. It was like heaven had opened the door. But now that I travel regularly to Wisconsin for business, I have a garage full of different types of Capital Beers.
My favorite of all the Capital beers is the Special Pilsner - it may be my most favorite beer of ANY beer. It's full-bodied, it has a smooth taste, a nice little bite to it and it tastes great with red meat. I love the stuff. It tastes great with steak or pork chops and is wonderful if you have some spicy foods, as well. I don't know if there is any other beer out there comparable.
Another good one they make is the Capital 1900. In 2000, small breweries across the state of Wisconsin had a contest to make the best beer possible based upon a 1900 recipe that eventually became the basis for the Old Style beer recipe. Capital won the contest, hands down, and they decided to make the beer available to the public. I'm glad they did.
Capital also has four seasonal beers, the Maibock, Fest, Oktoberfest and Winter Skal. I really like the Winter Skal, it's kind of a hoppy amber beer that has a smooth taste to it.
They also have four limited release beers, including three doppelbocks. And they just introduced a new wheat beer - Island Wheat - but I'm not too keen on wheat beers.
A trip to the Capital Brewery in Middleton is a good time, especially on the weekends in the summer. They have a large beer garden and usually have entertainment through the early evenings on Friday and Saturday nights. And in the winter time, they have a cozy indoor "bier stube" that's open on evenings until 9 p.m. from Wednesday thru Friday, and on Saturday afternoon. They also have a nice gift shop there, too, that sells clothing, Capital beers, drinkware and other neat items.
There are a lot of regional independents out there, but not many finer than the Capital Brewery. 
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