-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Bretta Rosé
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.


- From:
- Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- Berliner Weisse
Ranked #3 - ABV:
- 5.3%
- Score:
- 97
Ranked #502 - Avg:
- 4.4 | pDev: 7.5%
- Reviews:
- 140
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jun 15, 2023
- Added:
- Apr 30, 2014
- Wants:
- 225
- Gots:
- 195
Thirty miles north of Barrelworks lies the fertile Santa Maria Valley. Its warm days and cool marine layer-fed evenings allow for a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables to be grown in its rich soil. One of Santa Maria’s crown jewels is locally grown raspberries. We jumped at the opportunity to ferment fresh local raspberries with one of our Barrelworks creations. Behold Bretta Rosé! A low-alcohol Berliner Weisse style ale, acidified and matured in French oak puncheons for 6 months, is the foundation for this gem. Add 1000 lbs. of fresh raspberries, allow a secondary wild fermentation for 4 more months and voila (!), we have a crisp effervescent concoction, bursting with raspberry perfume and flavor, a rosé color, bracing acidity, and a clean and refreshing finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by gatornation from Arizona
4/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a corked and caged 375 ML bottle. Pours a clear raspberry apple juice color . Smell is raspberry, with apples pears and berries. Taste has tart raspberry’s first with some sour apples and wheat Mouth feel tart with raspberries and not super sour .
Jun 15, 2023Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania
4.31/5 rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a cork'n'cage bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip. Bach #4.
L: Nearly clear golden rose pour... cloudy at the end with some sediment. A finger of fizzy white head leaves a modest ring of lacing.
S: Tart raspberry and jam. Fruit/berry... a bit of funk and lemon.
T.F: Tart without being overly sour. Modest acidity... big time raspberry jam. Fruit/berry with light lemon citrus and some funk/lacto. Oak and tannins. Medium bodied... effervescent carbonation. More raspberry at the finish.
O: An outstanding oaked Berliner-Weisse. The raspberry is phenomenal, and this one was a real treat.
Jun 16, 2020L: Nearly clear golden rose pour... cloudy at the end with some sediment. A finger of fizzy white head leaves a modest ring of lacing.
S: Tart raspberry and jam. Fruit/berry... a bit of funk and lemon.
T.F: Tart without being overly sour. Modest acidity... big time raspberry jam. Fruit/berry with light lemon citrus and some funk/lacto. Oak and tannins. Medium bodied... effervescent carbonation. More raspberry at the finish.
O: An outstanding oaked Berliner-Weisse. The raspberry is phenomenal, and this one was a real treat.
Reviewed by just1cho from California
4.38/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.38/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
*Bretta Rosé batch: 005 poured into a Teku glass from a 375mL bottle*
*Bottled on: 11/20/17*
*Drank on: 05/27/20*
This beer poured an attractive Rosé pink/orangish amber. It had a white colored finger thick head which had very little retention to it. When the head subsided, which took no time at all, it left a white lacing around my cup. I'm not sure if it was the age that caused the lack of head or some other reason, but I wish that there was a larger presence of a head as I'm comparing this to other Berliners that I've had.
On the nose, I was presented with a lot of fruity esters upfront ranging from apples to pears, kinda giving me an apple cider kind of vibe to it. I also found there to be a good presence of tartness coming from aromas of raspberries. The presence of sour acetic acid from notes of cranberries only appeared for me in the back-end. I found that the tartness coupled with the sourness made the aroma on this beer an overall balanced experience.
The taste on the other hand was very acetic forward as expected. With sour notes of cranberries and raspberries upfront, I also definitely picked up on some bellow oak characters along with these sour flavors. In the middle was where I found some tartness from the raspberry. So in a sense, the roles of the sourness and tartness that played in the aroma and taste were reversed. The beer finished with a malted wheat taste coupled with a bit of sourness and tartness that I got from the beginning and middle.
The feel of this was medium bodied and had a high carbonation to it. This made it feel like I was drinking cider--which coupled with the low ABV and absolutely no alcohol taste--made this super drink-able and enjoyable for sour lovers everywhere.
I would definitely drink this beer again. I feel like the price tag is worth it for the quality you're getting for this Berliner. I just wish that there was a larger presence of a head along with a more balanced taste of the oak, wheat, tartness, and sourness rather than the overwhelmingly large sour taste that I got in the front.
May 30, 2020*Bottled on: 11/20/17*
*Drank on: 05/27/20*
This beer poured an attractive Rosé pink/orangish amber. It had a white colored finger thick head which had very little retention to it. When the head subsided, which took no time at all, it left a white lacing around my cup. I'm not sure if it was the age that caused the lack of head or some other reason, but I wish that there was a larger presence of a head as I'm comparing this to other Berliners that I've had.
On the nose, I was presented with a lot of fruity esters upfront ranging from apples to pears, kinda giving me an apple cider kind of vibe to it. I also found there to be a good presence of tartness coming from aromas of raspberries. The presence of sour acetic acid from notes of cranberries only appeared for me in the back-end. I found that the tartness coupled with the sourness made the aroma on this beer an overall balanced experience.
The taste on the other hand was very acetic forward as expected. With sour notes of cranberries and raspberries upfront, I also definitely picked up on some bellow oak characters along with these sour flavors. In the middle was where I found some tartness from the raspberry. So in a sense, the roles of the sourness and tartness that played in the aroma and taste were reversed. The beer finished with a malted wheat taste coupled with a bit of sourness and tartness that I got from the beginning and middle.
The feel of this was medium bodied and had a high carbonation to it. This made it feel like I was drinking cider--which coupled with the low ABV and absolutely no alcohol taste--made this super drink-able and enjoyable for sour lovers everywhere.
I would definitely drink this beer again. I feel like the price tag is worth it for the quality you're getting for this Berliner. I just wish that there was a larger presence of a head along with a more balanced taste of the oak, wheat, tartness, and sourness rather than the overwhelmingly large sour taste that I got in the front.
Reviewed by Scotchboy from Idaho
4.25/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Corked & caged bottle (batch 3) poured into a teku;
A: Beautiful clear faintly-reddish light copper body; white head dissipates quickly.
S: Raspberry is prominent, impressions of lemony tartness and lacto sourness, hints of a sweetness from the oak I’m guessing with a flash of vanilla.
T: Lemony raspberry sourness isn’t quite bracing in its sourness but it is upfront and prominent here as well; rolls over the tongue quickly and leads to a fairly quick finish that isn’t drying or bitter. Again, a vanilla-like sweetness pokes through but is entirely an afterthought. The lacto character and the raspberry notes underneath carry the palate.
MF: Light and creamy with prominent tartness.
O: This is a really nice BA raspberry sour. Light body, drinkable, tart and sour, fruity. A good, low abv sour.
May 03, 2020A: Beautiful clear faintly-reddish light copper body; white head dissipates quickly.
S: Raspberry is prominent, impressions of lemony tartness and lacto sourness, hints of a sweetness from the oak I’m guessing with a flash of vanilla.
T: Lemony raspberry sourness isn’t quite bracing in its sourness but it is upfront and prominent here as well; rolls over the tongue quickly and leads to a fairly quick finish that isn’t drying or bitter. Again, a vanilla-like sweetness pokes through but is entirely an afterthought. The lacto character and the raspberry notes underneath carry the palate.
MF: Light and creamy with prominent tartness.
O: This is a really nice BA raspberry sour. Light body, drinkable, tart and sour, fruity. A good, low abv sour.
Reviewed by StoutElk_92 from Massachusetts
4.6/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.6/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
375ml bottled: 02/13/17
Pours mostly clear copper amber orange with sediment and a quickly dissipating head. Smells like fresh pure raspberries, toffee, caramelized malt, oak, with floral earthy grassy hops. Tastes like sour raspberry, caramelized malt, oak barrel, toasty hay, spice, acetic vinegar, with floral earthy grassy hops. Feels medium bodied, slick and smooth with moderate carbonation. Overall a nice wild ale fermented with raspberries.
Apr 14, 2020Pours mostly clear copper amber orange with sediment and a quickly dissipating head. Smells like fresh pure raspberries, toffee, caramelized malt, oak, with floral earthy grassy hops. Tastes like sour raspberry, caramelized malt, oak barrel, toasty hay, spice, acetic vinegar, with floral earthy grassy hops. Feels medium bodied, slick and smooth with moderate carbonation. Overall a nice wild ale fermented with raspberries.
Rated by pathman from Ohio
4.5/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
10/3/19 bottle @ Pub 365 Las Vegas
Dec 02, 2019Reviewed by Rristow from Ohio
3.7/5 rDev -15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.7/5 rDev -15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Tasted from bottle. Pours a hazy red with bright white head. Aroma is raspberry and a little sour funk but not much. Taste is big time sour tart. Flavors of raspberry, strawberry, brett funky. Nice flavor but a little too much tartness for me.
Jun 23, 2019
Bretta Rosé from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
97 out of
100 with
988 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!