Berliner Weisse: Cranberry-Quince
North Coast Brewing Co.

Much better than I thought it would be. Cool, light, fruity, refreshing

Another one for the "mynie no longer understands contemporary tastes in beer" column, because this is delightful to a degree that I cannot fathom why it's not rated at least a 4.0.

The bottle is lovely and the pour is delicate, light pinkish orange, cleanly filtered with an inviting wisp of a head.

The aroma is likewise delicate, but exquisitely balanced. Fresh cranberries against Berliner yeast that's sharp but not too sharp, a tremendous mingling of fruit and microbial tartness.

Flavor is, again, delicate, but quenching. Notes of fresh juice are pronounced in the beginning and finish, with the middle featuring a delightful peng of bacterial sourness.

Poured from a bottle. Reddish orange in color with a good sized head. Smells of earth and fruit. Flavors include fruit, and both a hint of sweetness and tartness. Refreshing and good flavor.

*Poured into a Teku glass from a 12oz bottle*

Poured a orangish-pink color and had a nice two finger thick white colored head. Had a good diversity of rocky and micro bubbles with a nice retention to it.

I was worried that from the clear bottle that this beer was skunked--thankfully, I got none of that. Despite this, the aroma was pretty straightforward and unsurprising. Primarily got... cranberry and quince, with a slight malty sweetness and breadiness. Kinda boring, but I got what I paid for.

As expected, the taste followed the nose, striking a nice balance between the tartness of the cranberry and sourness from the quince. Although I didn't get much malt from the taste, the two flavor profiles from the cranberry and quince developed into a slightly overripe apple character giving me the impression that I was drinking apple juice mixed with cranberry juice. The alcohol was not noticeable at all, and was hidden very well.

I felt like this beer was pretty light bodied as expected, which made this super easy to drink and maybe even chug for some people. I was worried that this would just be like drinking straight up juice, I was surprised to find that it had a decent amount of carbonation in it.

Overall, this was a very drinkable and straight-forward beer. It was inoffensive, but admittedly kind of boring and generic. I wouldn't mind drinking this again, but I probably wouldn't try to seek it out.

 

Cranberry is apparent but not overly tart.

 

 

 

 

12 fl oz clear glass BOTTLE ran me $1.99 USD on-sale at a Total Wine & More in Austin, TX.

"Berliner weisse."

The cranberry comes through, and it's obviously sweetened. Tart, acidic, and approachably sour in classic Berliner weisse fashion. I can't say I know what quince tastes like, but I do get a note close to pear that's fruity.

2-row and maybe even some Munich malt lends this its simple backbone. No overt hop flavours emerge.

A balanced and refreshing stab at a Berliner weisse that nevertheless fails to measure up to other American brewed fruited variants (Anderson Valley's in particular). Well worth trying once, but its price will keep me away from it in terms of regular buys.

High B- (3.49) / WORTHY

 

Beer with a pinkish Hue but when held to the light is Amber. Slightly cloudy. Off-white head that's a bit foamy and dense. Sweet cranberry base to the aroma. With a mixed fruit presentation. Slightly tart and very pleasant. Cranberry taste but more mixed fruit. Tart that is not too much. Has a thirst quenching quality. Finish is pretty short. Ample bubbles bring in a soda like quality but it's short lived.
Nice and light. Refreshing.

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle Poured out a clear, pinkish color with a small, white head of foam. It smelled of cranberry and (I guess) quince. It was tart and sweet with a good dose of cranberry and a touch of tartness.