Ber-Lander Weiss
Snake River Brewing Company & Brewpub

 

a very well done berliner here, i did not know these guys dabbled in this sort of thing, but its an excellent beer for the summer time, lighter on the sourness than a lot of others in the game, and much cleaner in the fermentation profile, which makes it mighty refreshing and easy going, they did a nice job with it. pale yellow colored and hazy, super lively from the tap with a tall white head, and a lot of visible carbonation. the aroma is fresh squeezed tart lemon juice and white wheat, earthy and summery like a grain based lemonade, so little hop or yeast character beyond the mellow acidity, its very minimalist and straightforward, and i think this style really needs that right now after having been taken over by things like fruit, vanilla, and milk sugar. the flavor is equally direct, some clean puckery citrus from the lacto and a very dry and fast finish. fresh and basic earthy grain here, some pils malt in the mix, a bit doughy there, but i like to be able to appreciate the grain like this. excellent carbonation and a somewhat fuller body with all the haziness, i dont mind at all because the whole thing still is so crisp and light, no weird sweaty character at all, which a lot of these have, and overall something thats real highly drinkable for the style, it not being too sour is the key to that. nicely done, they should can this one!

This is quite hazy, with a straw, murky hue. The aroma is tart, with substantial funky cheese notes, lots of yeasty character (smells a bit like fresh yeast spooge from the fermenter), notes of lemon and a definite lactic edge.

The taste is nice and tart, with a lemon-like acidity to it that is mostly lactic in character. Lots of murky yeast flavors provide a backdrop for the up front tartness; these combine with the wheat character to provide flavors of an over-yeasted raw dough. This is pretty full bodied for a Berliner Weiss, it is actually almost chewy, which is certainly a change of pace for the style. It is not nearly as well integrated or drinkable as the better examples of the style, but it is still enjoyable and most definitely worth trying. If I had to guess, I would say a touch more conditioning would go a long way towards making this a great example of the style.