Berliner Weiss
Great Divide Brewing Co.

 

 

On draft, pours a super bright pale yellow, with good carbonation and lots of bubbles.

The nose is lemon zest, sour, a little lacto, lots of citrus, orange. The flavor is tart, lemon, very acidic, more lacto and milky that helps balance it out more. It is pretty even and balanced and just a bit refreshing.

Overall, this beer is just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

Had this one on tap at the Rackhouse Pub in Denver. Poured a medium straw gold color, with a bit of rocky white head on top. A bit funky on the nose, with a pleasant yeasty/lemony aroma. A little bit tart on the palate, but not nearly what I would expect. A fairly decent effort from Great Divide.

On-tap at the Great Divide Tap Room. Served in a snifter.

A: Super cloudy straw, with a small but dense eggshell cap. Head retention is just OK, and bits of lace are left behind.

S: Very sour. Very lemony. Plus a super funky body sweat (that's not a typo) aroma. Certainly different, if nothing else.

T: Once I got past the nose, I found myself liking the taste. It's light overall (the bartender said the ABV is only 3.2%), but has a nice level of complexity. Sourdough bread flavors start things off. A sour lemon tartness comes along to provide balance. A slight mineral water flavor is there the whole way through. Finishes remarkably clean.

D: The light body is slightly grainy and could stand a hair more carbonation.

D: I've only had one other Berliner Weiss, and this one doesn't quite stack up. I'm giving big bonus points for GD taking a stab at this obscure style, however. Definitely a beer I'd have to be in the right mood to revisit.

On-tap at the Great Divide tap room. This was pouring super foamy and the bartender could not produce a full snifter so she gave me a half of one for free due to the foam, score! Super cloudy yellow with the aforementioned foamy head. The smell was a little funky and suggested something sour ahead, sadly this was not to be. The flavor was wheaty and not much else. I guess you could say their was a minute bit of tartness but honestly I expected a little more in the sour department.

Pours a murky yet glowing straw color with a thin beige head. Nose has citrus fruits, wheat malts and crisp Lactobacillus presence. Taste is a also fruity with again grassy wheat and a tart funkyness from the yeast. Crisp body is well carbonated. Nice example of the style.