-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Sauerstrom Ale
Lightning Brewery
- From:
- Lightning Brewery
- California, United States
- Style:
- Berliner Weisse
- ABV:
- 4.2%
- Score:
- 75
- Avg:
- 3.06 | pDev: 24.51%
- Reviews:
- 12
- Ratings:
- 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 porknwhiskey:
Reviewed by porknwhiskey from South Carolina
3.18/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.18/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Purchased from The Beer Exchange in Charleston. I was excited for another Berliner Weiss to try and brought home a 22oz bottle.
Poured in a tulip glass it has a hazy golden color. The head is nice white lite foam.
The nose has some banana, yeast, and a slight sourness.
Taste is not nearly as sour as other Berliner Weiss I've tried. There is some sourness but not what I was expecting. Some wheat sweetness that makes it feel kind of like a straight up German weissbier with a hint of some sour and tartness, but I don't think it lives up to the Berliner Weiss style. There are some tropical fruit flavors that show up.
Not much of a finish.
Feb 06, 2012Poured in a tulip glass it has a hazy golden color. The head is nice white lite foam.
The nose has some banana, yeast, and a slight sourness.
Taste is not nearly as sour as other Berliner Weiss I've tried. There is some sourness but not what I was expecting. Some wheat sweetness that makes it feel kind of like a straight up German weissbier with a hint of some sour and tartness, but I don't think it lives up to the Berliner Weiss style. There are some tropical fruit flavors that show up.
Not much of a finish.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Halcyondays from California
2.96/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
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, 2012A: 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.
Reviewed by ngeunit1 from Massachusetts
4.32/5 rDev +41.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
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, 2012S - 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.
Reviewed by BeerMD from Nebraska
3.34/5 rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
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, 2012Appearance: 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.
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland
3.6/5 rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
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, 2012A 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.
Reviewed by jsanford from Georgia
3.08/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
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, 2012Pours 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.
Sauerstrom Ale from Lightning Brewery
Beer rating:
75 out of
100 with
30 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!