Why is there no commercial example given in the style guide?
It’s extinct except for homebrewers. There are some newer examples out there, made since the guidelines were last updated. Coors has one called Batch 45 or something, but I didn’t find the hop character very noticeable.
I’ve thought about doing one and still might, but it probably won’t be for a couple more years.
You’re so trendy! ;D
Because it’s classic! 
This was one of the beers on my tasting exam. It was a torpedo! Never saw it coming! Baaahhh!! You only see it brewed commercially as brewpub exclusives and such.
I have a great name that begs for the beer. 
It’s not exactly extinct. Some breweries and brewpubs have made it over the years, but I’m not sure anyone with wide distribution has one.
The last one I remember was Capital 1900 out of Capital in Madison. IMO it needed more corn and hops and was a little too plain for the style.
Yeah, the Batch 19 is a pre-prohibition style CAP by Coors. I believe they also produce one that is only distributed in Colorado under the Colorado Native brand.
For some background you can read this.
http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue3.5/renner.html
Straub is making one, 1872 Pilsner, no idea how good. One of the local places, Wolverine, makes a CAP in the summer.
The guidelines reflect what is being entered in large amounts in homebrew competitions. CAP was so it got a category in the 2008 guidelines, so did Double IPAs. There are beers that are not in the guidelines, see cat. 23. If I brewed a Tmave Pivo it would have to go in cat. 23, as those are styles in the Czech Republic, but are mostly unknown here and not entered in quantity in competitions.
Full Sail’s Session is a pretty good example, IMHO.
It is a good beer, but I don’t think it’s hoppy enough for a true CAP.
I shared my homebrewed CAP with Jeff Renner last weekend since he’s in FL for a couple weeks. This version of his recipe is slightly too bitter and to me has just a bit too much Cluster hop flavor. I am lagering the other half of the batch and decided to dry hop it with Mittelfruh. He suggested I use first wort hopping the next time.
This is one of the many reasons I’m looking forward to the guideline update. “Medium to high hop aroma/flavor/bitterness” leaves a lot to be interpreted if you don’t have a classic example. I brew a CAP with 6 oz of Saaz - usual comments are ‘not hoppy enough’, whatever that means. I might just enter a Prima Pils type German Pils as a CAP and see if that’s hoppy enough! HA!
I have a CAP in my to brew list. Just looking at the simple ingredients makes me want to brew it and see what I get. Back in the day we drank mostly lagers/pilsners. This should be a good “starting point” to see if I want to tweak up a pilsner recipe to have as a house regular.
Jim, do you use beersmith? I have the Renner “Your Father’s Mustache”, and Jamil’s “Classic American Pilsner” basic recipes ready. You will need to tweak them as I just put them in as they were written. Renner’s is probably more true to style with 6 row, but Jamil’s looks fine with a blend of 2 row.
Anyway let me know and I’ll send you the recipes…
The one I had in the second round last year was said to be not bitter enough. It was designed for 38 IBUs, and was about 1.050. FWH was used, so I might bump up the cluster addition next time.
Amanda, I’d be in the same quandary if I hadn’t tasted Jeff Renner’s and a couple other versions influenced by him. Maybe try Cluster and see if you get better comments.
I hear what you all are saying, but I am skeptical about style guidelines applied to a historic style that no one has ever tasted.
I have a hard time believing that our grandparents and great grandparents went from being super hothead to swill drinkers during the 15 year course of Prohibition.
I recall reading an article once on historic IPAd, that instead of being hop bombs, they were probably of moderate bitterness, as the hops were not so bitter. I would suspect that to be true of CAPs.
May very well be, Chumley. What I recall of Jeff R’s version is an assertive but not “slap you in the face” bitterness.
I don’t think they drank anything approaching the hop levels of todays beers. Nobody was making hops bombs because hops were expensive (they still are). But the lessening of flavor started long before prohibition too. Refrigeration probably freed brewers to use less hops because they depended on preservative qualities a little less. CAP probably had bitterness similar to a german pilsner because it was german immigrant brewers who came here and tried to brew the beers they knew with local ingredients.
IPA is nothing like it was either. It doesn’t sit in casks in the bottom of a ship for six months before being drunk.
Jeff’s CAP instantly reminded me of the beers my dad would drink when I was a kid and sneaked sips a long time ago.
I think something along the line of an assertive German Pils is the right way to look at it, but with the American ingredients.