1809 Berliner Style Weisse

Bottle, part of a blind tasting session. Light orange haze with an suggestions of lemon juice in the color. Nose is of yeast and citrus aromatics. First sip is considerably more citrus and tart than your standard wit... which fits the description of the style altho this is my first of its kind. Was very pleased and impressed with its balance.

Bottle.

Berliner Weisse is good shit. I never think I’m in the mood for one (unless I’m amazingly hot and thirsty) but whenever I end up having one I really enjoy it (so long as I finish it before it gets too close to room temperature.)

Anyway, I was quite happy to get a bottle of this one after all the good things I’d heard, and after an hour of heavy lifting out in the yard I was even happier to crack this one. Pours light straw yellow with a beautifully fluffy white head. Lemon and lactic nose, plenty of fresh-cut hay, some mild spicing. More going on here than in most of the other Berliner Weissen (is that the plural?) that I’ve had. Flavor follows, lactic and lemon, extremely dry but not heavily acidic, simply thirst-quenching. Yeast character, rising bread and a bit of spice, again that fresh-mown hay.

This one comes together really nicely. I’d confess that if I was in the mood for one these I would be even happier with a really good saison, but this is really nice nonetheless and it’s also the best Berliner Weisse I’ve had to date.

Aroma of sour lemons, hazy lemon colour, short lived white head. Taste is a milder sour lemon, than the nose. Light bodied, sour/tart, dry and yet quite refreshing. Very nice.

Pours golden yellow with a white head, very nice aroma of sour cherries, peach skins and raw yeasted bread dough. Taste has an immediate quenching tartness, very attenuated body gives it a watery mouthfeel. Delicious and refreshing, an aristocrat’s lawnmower beer. Love it.

Great funky horse blanket & hay barnyard scent, with a little doughy yeast. Beautiful looking beer with one of the best white thick heads I’ve seen in some time. Color is golden straw & the beer is largely clear (with the exception of the final pour which is quite cloudy). The beer has tons of bubbles which is very attractive. I’m not sure I could ask much more out of the taste, it is very sour, very dry, and slightly fruity with great hints of cherry & apple. Palate is sharp with a great big mouthfeel (like a standard Weisse). A very good beer.

500 ml bottle, purchased last November, in tumbler. Pale cloudy orange with quickly dissipating loud fizzy white head. Tart grassy aroma. Tart, pink lemonadey, chalky flavor. Dry finish with lingering cloying sweet citrus. Medium body, high carbo. I think there’s a reason why some beers are beer styles have mostly disappeared. Kinda yucky, but without the character and complexity of a good geueze. Extra points for historical value...retried on tap at Ebenezar Kezar. Same result.

Cloudy, almost greyish-beige colour, like pear nectar. This is after a big head had frothed up and whittle slowly down in what had to be the most impressive audible show I’ve ever experienced in a beer. The aroma shows just a miniscule amount of that lactic, lemony character of the style and a lot more of footy yeastiness. Flavour is suitably tart, however the footiness doesn’t do it any favours, but the kiss of malt in the middle does. The malts then fade away to a puckering, limey finish.

Two things: 1) It looks like ass but I give a bonus point for the audio. 2) Sourness is right but not much else is.

Bottle at Magic dave6’s disco dance tasting. Yellow, thin white head. Nose is hazy malty, hoppy and lemony. Mouth is predominantly lemony, clean malt, fruity, lively, quenching. Palate is long and lemony, fizzy. Really refreshing, very good.