Berliner Messe: Unblended
The Referend Bier Blendery

 

 

750mL Bottle poured into a wine glass; Bottled Jan 8, 2017.

**My bottle differs from the picture. Unblended No. 1 has a gold foil logo and was aged in a single red wine puncheon. Confirmed with the Referend bottle library on their website**

Pours a clear, bright orange with brief bubbly cap that comes and goes in a blink. Some stray bubbles push their way to the top. Funky nose. Some green apples, barnyard, leather, grass, and wheat. The flavors are bright and dance all over your palate. Barnyard funk buoyed by light citrus and green apples. A touch of damp wheat. Light to medium bodied, a little syrupy. Easily one of, if not, the best Berliner I have ever had. This beer delivers in all aspects.

 

750ml bottle, dated January 8, 2017, poured into a 12oz wine glass.

The beer pours a golden color, darker than the regular Berliner, more amber in color, hazy and with a finger of white head that is very fizzy and has decent retention with no lace. The aroma is nice, super developed funk, really earthy with some green apple, barnyard qualities, citrus peel, wildflower and soft wheat. The flavors are great, tons of funk and white wine barrel that offers some great minerality, lightly vinous, super tart and bright, green apple, citrus, oak, wildflower and lingering wheat. The mouthfeel is good, medium body, a bit syrupy but also very carbonated and lively, with a tart and dry finish.

Verdict: An excellent Berliner Weissbier, more complex and nuanced than the base Berliner Messe. Comparing the two side by side reveals a more delicate and developed funk profile that makes for a great beer. Very gueuze like, similar to the Berliner Messe but this one is more in the vein of Drie, rewarding beer.