Fitgers Champagne of the North

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Berliner Weisse
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Draft at the brewpub. My second Berliner weisse. It is much more sour than the Kindl I had previously. The light aroma has just a little butter, very little in fact, and it also smells sour but not like a lambic. It is however, very sour, even more sour than many lambics I have tasted. There is also lots of yeast throughout. A cloudy, dark orange beer. I thought Berliners were lighter. Very little wheat beer. Very nice overall.

Murky/cloudy copper colour with a decent sized fizzy head. Bit of sourness on the nose. The taste is really great; sour, tart, dry, wheaty. Lively mouth feel. I really liked it.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting - Amber, thin white creamy head. Nose held nice notes of sour lemon, apple skin, and hints of wheat toast. Tangy sour citrus flavors sit on short crisp waves of refreshing apple and honey. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, dry, tart finish. Extremely well done for this style. Would be easy to polish a growler off on a hot summer day...

Growler RBSG 07. Murky orange pour with a white head. Aroma of appl skin, light cherry, toasted malt, vinous and sour notes. Flavors of dry white wine, sour, and apple skin. Light body, sour throughout with a super dry finish. Nice way to start the evening.

(growler, thanks STLWill!) Pours hazy gold with a white head. This is far darker than most Berliner Weisses. Aroma is not really sour, but instead there are scents of grapes and some yeastiness, along with lightly toasted malt. The taste is definitely sour, and tastes just like a sweet-tart candy. The finish is just very dry and sour, and carries on well after drinking. This is really good, and it is significantly underrated.

Approximately 1.5 oz. sample at the Grand Tasting of the RateBeer Summer Gathering 2007 in the Twin Cities, MN on July 23, 2007. This was the thirteenth of 26 beers that I sampled and rated during the tasting. From a growler that badgerben (I think) picked up at the brewpub. Sour aroma features apple, crabapple, and honey. Pours a hazy light brown/brass with an almost green tint. Super sour flavor. Like the liquid version of a really sour sucking candy. This is the most sour beer that I’ve ever had. Very sweet finish. Sour aftertaste. Light body. Frothy in the palate. Intense and very cool beer. I was warned not to try this beer, but I’m glad that I ignored the warnings.

My first Berliner Weisse comes from a brewpub in Northern Minnesota. Who would have thought?! Murky copper color with a thick head. Small aroma of wheat. The taste is both what I expected and more so. The sourness is there, but not to bombastic proportions like a lot of Lambics. Nice tartness rounds it out. Lots of wheat, candi sugar, caramel and honey. This is quite a treat.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Clear golden body with a small white head. Sweet apple aroma. Puckering sour flavor with an apple background.