Mainer Weisse
Night Shift Brewing

Tony210 from New Jersey

4.19/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a cloudy raspberry red color with minimal fizzy head. Aroma is muted blueberry with faint cinnamon. Flavor is blueberry, raspberry, cinnamon is faint and works well in the background. Light bodied and crisp, has a touch of sour funk that blends in nicely. Overall a fun beer, not my favorite but pretty drinkable.

4/8/19
16 oz can dated 11/20/18 - thanks Adam!
4.25 rating

Apr 09, 2019

digboy from New Hampshire

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy cranberry juice color with a half finger fizzy head. Nose is mild funk with wet blueberry juice and maybe some raspberry. The cinnamon is lost on me in the aroma. Taste is similar. The fruit flavor is a bit muddled - hard to tell exactly what is in it - I suppose blueberry. However the cinnamon comes out better here and it is well balanced - actually really well done IMO. I was skeptical at first but am a believer now :) The fruit flavor is actually appealing, just a little muddled to the point I am unsure what it should be if I hadn't read the label. Feel is a little soft and lightly carbonated. Very little bitterness.

This is a good entry. The cinnamon is tempered well. The fruit takes a back seat for profile but it is pleasant. The funk is light, which I prefer.

Feb 13, 2019

metter98 from New York

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is hazy reddish purple in color. It poured with a collar of white bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderately strong aromas of blueberries are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is a little sour with lots of flavors of blueberries along with faint bits of cinnamon spices.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer isn't nearly as sour compared to other beers in the style but really exemplifies.

Serving type: can

Feb 03, 2019

Ronl12 from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

16 oz can into pint glass. Dated 10/25/18.
look is blue-ish red cranberry. Nose is sour fruit and blueberry. Taste is same as nose with little cinnamon on top. Feel is light and fizzy. Overall, good for what it is is. Just not my cup of beer.

Jan 24, 2019

SebastianOwl from Massachusetts

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Canned on 9/20/18; drank on 10/28/18; I tried this several years ago when NS was bottling and corking their beers but remember it being cloying with cinnamon and not my thing; this recent canned version is nothing like my memory, fairly light and refreshing with a nice touch of cinnamon

Oct 29, 2018

Gatch from Massachusetts

3.62/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Part of a flight of the four Weisse's on-tap at the brewery.

Thought it would be more red or bluish red, but it's a light pink! You get the blueberry and a hint of cinnamon but it's all subtle and tastes of extract. Not even that refreshing. Meh.

Feb 13, 2017

Severymusic from Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

New Year's Eve on-site flight of 4 of Night Shift weisses, 2.5oz each.

Nice blue/purple hue coming from the added blueberries. I thought this had a nice level of tart/sourness to it. Didn't really get a ton of blueberry or cinnamon smell though. However I get what they were going for on this one and or mostly delivers on all fronts.


I try to review every beer I drink. I like to think it forces me to objectively improve my sense of taste over time, helps me understand styles and flavors I like, and most importantly the BeerAdvocate weighted ranking system depends on reviews.

Jan 02, 2017

MVBINTANG from Massachusetts

3.23/5  rDev -20%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Beautiful matte magenta look with minimal head and appropriate carbonation.
Not a huge nose but pleasant and fresh
Lack the dimension of some of the other Weisse put out by Night Shift, a little on the "juicy juice" side

Dec 25, 2016

gonzo000 from Massachusetts

4.14/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This is my second sour from Night Shift (Cape cod being the other) and I have to say these Weisses put the Sour in sour. The beer pours a beautiful purple from the blueberries. Little to no head. Color is so different - I expected the taste to be a fruit basket but the beer was balanced. The smell was slight blueberry. The taste was mellow berry, followed by a a kick in the head of sour, followed by cinnamon finished off with the most wonderful cracker taste, salted cracker. Feel is very smooth, which might get lost in the pinch your cheeks sour, but it is easy going down (granted the beer has a lower ABV). Seek it out and try it if you like a sour adventure!

May 16, 2016

mwobal from Massachusetts

4.68/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

This is probably my favorite version of a Berliner Weiss. The blueberries and cinnamon both really come out. Despite the sour, this is a very drinkable beer.

Feb 27, 2016

Johnct from New York

3.48/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Purchased a 750ml bottle from Yankee Spirits in Sturbridge MA. Didn't have a price tag but it was around 12ish dollars.

Look: Bright pinky red. Not a beer. Bubbles fizz super fast and die down super fast. Like soda bubbles.

Smell: Smells like a Rosé. That's all I get. Pink Boxed Wine.

Taste: Sour cherry berry tartness. Just berries and sourness all the way through. I can't necessarily pick out blueberries. The aftertaste is bizarre for the first several sips. Like Fritos, dusty cardboard, and bark. I assume that's the cinnamon talking, though it tastes nothing like cinnamon. The taste mellows out as it goes. Now there's subtle hints of vanilla sweetness to it.

Mouthfeel: For one that looked and smelled like a cheap bubbly wine, it has a lot more mellower of a mouthfeel. Drinks just like cranberry juice. Smooth feel but a little sting from the tartness.

Overall: Eh. I bought it because I got it mixed up with the Ever Weisse (which I've always wanted to try) and didn't have any data left at the time to do a quick lookup. Not as pleased as I wanted to be.

Jan 20, 2016

tigg924 from Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours clear, grape-purple in color, with minimal head. Taste is light vanilla, and blueberry pie. Lots of mouth puckering blueberry sour mix in here. Nice, tart, and flavorful. I prefer the Ever Weisse, but this one is a treat.

Dec 13, 2015

Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured out as a nice purple color with a white head on top. The smell of the beer has some subtle blueberry on the nose with a touch of cinnamon. The taste of the beer is my favorite part, there is a nice tart blueberry flavor going on with a soft cinnamon finish. The feel of the beer is light bodied. Overall it's one of the better Night Shift beers in my opinion.

Nov 07, 2015

BeerSamurai34 from Texas

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very nice berliner. This one hits all the notes you want in this style of beer. Nice sourness, but not overpowering with a clean finish. Very easy to drink, but would be even better with some fruit added.

Oct 28, 2015

popery from California

3.55/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer light amber orangey color. Fairly cloudy. Small to medium white head, dissipates pretty quickly. The aroma is an interesting mix. Tart bluberries, lemons, some woodsy cinnamon. Some yogurty flavor and a pretty good vinegar kick. Mild funk. Taste is medium to strongly sour. Big lemon juice note. Some blueberry flavor. Cinnamon is pretty mild. It’s just a bit too acidic for my taste. Pretty big vinegar note. The feel is light but a bit bracing. Lots of pucker.

Aug 01, 2015

BostonDuke from Massachusetts

4.87/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Nice tarty sour with tons of blueberry freshness. The bluish purple color screams tart from the second you lay eyes on this beer. For those tart lovers, don't miss this one.

Jul 24, 2015

BrentLepping from Kentucky

4.17/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Really solid Berliner Weiss with tons of blueberry flavor. Fantastic color, too. My only knock is that there was hardly any detection of cinnamon. I suppose that's a flavor profile better suited for stouts. Still a very good offering here from Nightshift.

Jun 29, 2015

GreesyFizeek from New York

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by curran yesterday afternoon.

This one pours a dark reddish-blue, great color, with a small head, and not much in way of lacing.

This one smells pure tart blueberry juice. There must be so much blueberry in here. It smells less tart than I would've expected for a Night shift sour. I get a little bit of cinnamon, but it's pretty faint.

This just drinks like pure tart blueberry juice. The taste brings a bit more tartness than the aroma, but it's still less tart or sour than I would've expected from Night Shift. There's a ton of juicy blueberry in this one, with some nice earthy cinnamon spicing. The cinnamon is luckily mild here, it might have gotten weird if it was too strong.

This is light bodied, with a very juicy mouthfeel, and a lower level of carbonation.

This was pretty delicious all in all, but I would've enjoyed a little more tartness.

Apr 20, 2015

Jwale73 from Rhode Island

3.17/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.75

Pours the color and clarity of cranberry juice with a loose head that dissipates into a tight band around the shoulders. The nose pretty much smells like potpourri. The taste on this beer is weird - I feel like I'm drinking one of those spiced candle tart warmers. Mouthfeel is light in body with an even carbonation and a slight astringency. Overall, I love the style because of its subtleties; however, this beer lacked those aspects. Hopefully it was just an off-batch.

Jan 23, 2015

SpeedwayJim from New York

3.99/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

750ml capped bottle into Tired Hands stemware. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a 1 finger foamy dark pink colored head with low retention. Beer is a stunning, dark clear purple. Lacing is very spotty with no stick and thin legs. Average but the color is amazing.

Nose is sweet and tart blue and blackberry. Seedy with blueberry syrup overtones. A nice spiciness tickles the nose. Very aromatic and enticing.

Opens tart and seedy blueberry sweetness. A bit of plastic and cardboard in the beginning is a little awkward. Tart fruit pulp and skin in the middle with a spicy sweet finish. Puckeringly dry fruit-forward aftertaste. Solid but the cinnamon is completely missing.

Light bodied with ample carbonation. Prickly and aggressive in the mouth and goes down sparkling, crisp and dry. Finishes filmy with a dry, tart aftertaste. Excellent.

I love the Night Shift berliner series and this beer is a great representative of it. Fruit forward, good balance and very drinkable. Definitely worth trying.

Jan 21, 2015

VelvetExtract from Massachusetts

4.06/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle. Like Ever Weisse by them, this beer is absolutely gorgeous. Pours a reddish purple. Body is clear. Almost the color of Pinot Noir. Blueberry juice color for sure. Soft, airy head that fizzles away quickly. The color is a pretty pinkish purple. The aroma brings forth some incoming tartness. Acidic scent. Tart fruit. Some wheat that reminds me of a blueberry pie or other blueberry pastry. Soft cinnamon, almost unnoticeable at first, when very cold. The bottle tells me to drink it at 45 degrees so I patiently wait for it to warm up and the aroma becomes more intense, slightly less sour and displays more cinnamon and wheat. The flavor is a big zap of tart berries. Not just a blueberry flavor; it's a unripe berry medley. It's very sour! Acidity is very high, leaving my lips tasting sour as well. The cinnamon is soft at first but grows with warmth. Finishes with a pastry wheatiness that complements the berries. Not sure what batch this is but the label says 5.6% and was bottles on 12/22/14. Body is light and it's fairly dry. High carbonation. Lingering tartness. I thought this one was a great success. Their Weisse series has been great and more than makes up for a few duds along the road.

Jan 17, 2015

LehighAce06 from Pennsylvania

3.62/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Drank a batch 7, bottled 11/18/2013 on 1/9/2015. Had lost all of its blue/purple color and was a golden color instead (thus the low Appearance score) and was excessively lactic with out any discernible fruit flavor. Was still a nice, if extremely sour, Berliner Weisse, but was not 'special' as expected.

Jan 14, 2015

Flounder57 from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle was poured into a stemless wine glass.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger pink head that reduced quickly to nothing. Very typical for this style of beer. It is an amber color good clarity and vision of tiny bubbles coming up through the glass.

Smell: Sweet Maine blueberries, tart lacto, funky, sour dough bread, and wheat notes.

Taste: Maine blueberries add sweetness to the tart, sour, funky, and pucker notes and a little bit of chewy wheat and slight cinnamon in the rear.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, tart, light bodied, medium to high carbonation, and a little chewy.

Overall: Got to love how the sweet Maine blueberries balance out the tart and pucker notes. Definitely worth trying this one again. A little more cinnamon character would be good since it was hard to detect.

Jan 04, 2015

UCLABrewN84 from California

3.52/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Skuter for sharing this one at Retsinis' tasting.

Batch # 4. Bottled 10/15/13.

Pours a hazy light reddish-brown with a foamy tan head that fades to nothing. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour with grain, blueberry, cinnamon, and chlorine aromas. Taste is much the same with sour blueberry, cinnamon, and acidic flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty, but there is an odd chlorine smell that is a bit off putting at first.

Serving type: bottle.

Dec 15, 2014

cpetrone84 from Pennsylvania

2.2/5  rDev -45.5%

Pour is faintly hazed pure orange with no head. Nose has a ton of plastic, very off aromas, odd spice, def not cinnamon. No blueberry in the nose whatsoever, tons of acetic. Taste is root beer that burns, faint cinnamon, plastic, sweet sugars and citric acid, high carb, heavier body. Extremely sour and burning around the outside of the mouth.

Sep 27, 2014