Iron Hill Berliner Weisse

Brewed by Iron Hill Media
Style: Berliner Weisse
Media, Pennsylvania USA

Multiple samples, GABF 2007. Body is hazy light yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (caramel), moderately to heavily yeasty (sweat, mold), with notes of apple and diacetyl. Flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Light body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Truly bad...a veritable yeast bomb of a rather foul kind.

GABF 2007. Neat. Hazy straw gold color with a quickly dissipating fizzy white head. Aroma of wheat sheaves and cereal grains that have started to get a bit mildewy. Mild lactic funk, a bit sweaty, but not overly offensive. A cream of wheat maltiness dominates, though. Medium-light bodied, mild carbonation with a soft texture. Not heavy by any means, but certainly denser and less effervescent than I’d expect for a beer in this featherweight class. Lightly sour, mostly coming from a gentle lactic acidity. Not nearly as sour as I’d expect, but definitely funky. More cream of wheat. Simple, but not really light or tart enough to be a real winner.

GABF ’07. Poured with woodruff syrup. Pours clear, dark yellow, changes to green with syrup, small, fizzy, white head, lasting with spare lacing. Aroma is average malt (grain, meal), average hops (flowers, grass), average yeast (dough) with notes of sugar. Light bodied, thin texture, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Average duration, heavy sweetness, light acidity and bitterness.

Very nice initial aroma and taste (a classic take on the style being crisp and refreshing), but has very vegetable overtones which completely ruins the back half of the beer.

Growler, from Media location. Pours a very hazy pale straw yellow body with a one finger bright white fizzy head that recedes to a thin covering. The nose is somewhat akin to rancid wheat with a little apple cider vinegar mixed in. A little bread dough, and some sweaty socks. The flavor is nowhere near as tart bracing and crisp as the real deal, more of a slightly infected American Wheat than anything. No sharpness or bracing acidity at all, finishing with some green apple and garbage juice. Mouthfeel is lighter bodied but not especially refreshing, as I was hoping for. Moderate fizzy carbonation is similar to authentic. A pretty big let down, especially after having two new Berliner Weisses (1809 and Bayerischer Bahnhof) coming to the US recently, not to mention Festina Peche. Still glad to have tried another interpretation of the style though.

I’d rather have a Zima. Our waitress told us that it reminds her of stomach bile, and that my description of "white wine spritzer" was way too generous. Tried in a sampler among other flavorless Iron Hill offerings. Avoid at all costs!

Draft, @ IH Media. My first glass was served with woodruff, and i had a second glass with no syrup. Review is for the beer without syrup. Hazy golden color with a thin white head. Faint woody, lactic aroma. Flavor is also lactic and a bit earthy, with some citrus. Flavor is a bit tart, but remains refreshing. The woodruffed version was a bit too sweet, and i did not find is as refreshing or as enjoyable. They also offer the beer with raspberry syrup, which my girlfriend enjoyed.

Cloudy straw color. Tart taste; citrus (mostly lemon) and apricot, plus some wheat. A bit chalky and tangy texture. Average for the style.