Berliner Weisse
Ethereal Brewing

 

 

 

 

As the sour ale families continue to grow in popularity, the more predictable of the group finds familiar home with Ethereal Brewing. Their German-styled Berlinerweiss is a dry and wheaty affair that showcases a distinctively sour side.

Bright straw and seeming to glow in its diffused haze, its dainty and wisping foam entice the nose with lime, lemon, tangy white wine, light wheat bread and a musty burlap character. Its taste is less earthy and with a sweet and sour play on the mouth, much like "warheads" candy.

As the ale drifts across the palate, its sweetness and breadiness remain light but constant. As its lactic sourness fights through the malt, it begins to pang away at the tastebuds, intensifying in sourness as it goes along. Its late taste projects a lime taste with peps of crabapple, vinous white wine, under-ripened berry and arid balsa.

The light-bodied beer shows a slim bread texture that lightens considerably as the finish assumes. With less to balance the sourness, the acidic taste puts on a full-on sour explosion that is both refreshing and challenged. Additions from a variety of fruit syrups may be added upon request to lessen the brunt of acidity, even the seldom-seen woodruff which adds a minty, eucalyptus, and rootish quality to the beer.