Sauerstrom Ale
Lightning Brewery

Sauerstrom AleSauerstrom Ale
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From:
Lightning Brewery
 
California, United States
Style:
Berliner Weisse
ABV:
4.2%
Score:
75
Avg:
3.06 | pDev: 24.51%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
30
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 03, 2014
Added:
Aug 29, 2011
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by cjgiant:
Photo of cjgiant
Rated by cjgiant from District of Columbia

2.75/5  rDev -10.1%

Jan 12, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.1 by wethorseblanket from California

Dec 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by lillitnn92 from Virginia

Nov 20, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by kscaldef from Oregon

Jul 22, 2014
 
Rated: 2.25 by tectactoe from Michigan

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by mrebeka from Michigan

Oct 12, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by GraduatedCashew from California

Aug 28, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Jul 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

Jun 19, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by bsuedekum from Missouri

Jun 03, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by Netdigger2 from South Carolina

Mar 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by aasher from Indiana

Jan 25, 2013
Photo of Halcyondays
Reviewed by Halcyondays from California

2.96/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
22 oz. bottle,

A: Pours an extremely cloudy goldenrod. Big fizzy white head, good amount of lace, tons of sediment. Bordering on a comical amount of unfilteredness.

S: Lemon zest, wheat malt, some yeast.

T: Tart lemon with a lot of wheat and bready flavours. Some chalky yeast taste as well. Never as acidic as a classic Berliner, but there is a bit to differentiate it from the APWAs of the world.

M: Light-bodied, crisp, mild acidity.

O: Tasting this blind, it would be hard to peg this as a Berliner, since the acidity simply isn't there. A solid wheat ale, but don't go in expecting Kindl.
Nov 19, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 21, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by thewimperoo from Illinois

Sep 16, 2012
Photo of ngeunit1
Reviewed by ngeunit1 from Massachusetts

4.32/5  rDev +41.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Pours a very cloudy golden-yellow color with a thin finger of frothy white head. The head fades down fairly quickly leaving behind some lace.

S - Aroma is a mix of wheat, lemon zest, sourness and tartness, and some funky barnyard smells.

T - Starts off with a mix of wheat, sourness, tartness, and lemon zest. Through the middle, some funky barnyard flavors come through with some bubblegum yeast esters. The finish is a mix of lemon zest, wheat, sour and tart flavors, and some light funk.

M - Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a tart and dry finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice berliner weiss. Good mix of sour and tart flavors with a nice finish.
Sep 09, 2012
Photo of BeerMD
Reviewed by BeerMD from Nebraska

3.34/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Recommended after purchasing 1809 as an additional Berliner Weisse to try. Brought home a bomber to enjoy

Appearance: Pours a golden orange w/ a huge head (probably a bit overcarbonated). Good head retention and lacing. Initial pour is clear w/ substantial bubbles emanating from the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Surprisingly a touch of heat with minimal tartness lingering. Citrus w/ oranges predominating.

Taste: Sweet! and minimally tart/sour. Not expected at all from the style, but very palatable nonetheless.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and velvety; lingers. Not as carbonated as one would expect from visual inspection.

Overall: Good brew, but would not be my first choice when hankering for a Berliner. Curious of the variability between bottles given the wide-ranging reviews. Will drink again.
Aug 21, 2012
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.6/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from the bottle into a wheat ale glass. Lots of cloudy yeast in the bottom of this bottle.

A real hazy, but also orb glowing neon like yellow and green body, with lemon hues towards the bottom of the glass is presented. Head is soapy and does manage some retention and thick bubbled collar while settling.

Nose is quite tart and refreshing. A real nice sense of dry grain, faint sweet malts on this hiding too. Some faint spicy phenols seem to come out also. Very nice smelling.

Palate hits with a very weak mouthfeel and body, even for a Berliner. Refreshing watery lemon quality, big estery banana finish on the swallow though. Lemon and banana roll all over the palate quite nicely, but I am looking for a malt density that doesn't seem to build, and there's not much sourness to this either in the mouth.

Overall it's not too bad, things could be worse, but not the best Berliner Weissbier I've had.
Aug 15, 2012
Photo of jsanford
Reviewed by jsanford from Georgia

3.08/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
22oz bottle

Pours a hazy gold with a prickly white head. Aromas of crisp wheat, lemon zest, and lactic acid. Mild, and much more akin to a Wit then a Berliner. Taste is similarly disappointing, wheat, banana, and clove with just a touch of the sought-after lemon and lactic yogurt flavors I want. Not tart, not sour, not flavorful. Mouthfeel is light and crisp, with a thin body and low carbonation. Definitely underwhelming, but I've heard other bottles are better. May need to re-visit.
May 09, 2012
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A big thanks to eagles22 for sharing this bomber with me. Poured into a tulip, the brew appears a hazed color of yellow. More than 2 fingers worth of white froth sits atop and displays pretty good retention for the style with upward rising bubbles of carbonation continuously supporting. Towards the bottom of the bottle, pours start to get a little dicey with big chucks of white spackle and chucks that almost look like cracked rice.

The aroma is sweet and grainy like wheat or cereal with a depth of something else lightly fruity. More smells reveal a bit of yogurt character, stinky cheese, lacto and a touch of lemon. There is a very mild earthy character to this as it warms up which takes the focus back into a strong scent of yogurt.

The taste is sweet and grainy just like the aroma led on with a very mild amount of fruit character like pear, apple and lemon. The grain has some wheat tartness about it with the tartness getting a little exaggerated with the lemony flavoring. The backend of the flavor has some funky aspects almost like feet and cheese.

This is a light bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. I enjoyed the sweeter and more fresh and grainy aspects of this brew but it could have used just a bit more tartness. I think the folks at lightning brewery are on the right track with this and they should continue to experiment with the style. As-is this wasn't my favorite berliner offering but I had no problems finishing a glass and looking for more.
Apr 22, 2012
Sauerstrom Ale from Lightning Brewery
Beer rating: 75 out of 100 with 30 ratings