Cleveliner
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

On tap at Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, OH.

This one pours a golden and slightly hazy yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like lemon Smarties candy, wheat, lactic acid, and citrusy sweetness.

This is a really solid take on a unfruited Berliner - that's not really something you see any more in this over fruited world we are now living in. It's clean, citrusy, lightly tart, with a nice candied lemon peel, Smarties, etc, sort of flavor.

This is light bodied, clean, and with a lot of flavor for the lower ABV here.

This was a very pleasant surprise. It's certainly tasty stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served on tap at the brewpub in a snifter. The beer is a touch too cloudy for the style, but otherwise the appearance is on-point. The color is a dark yellow with a touch of orange and it has a thin white head that leaves a ring around the edge of the glass. The nose is tart, and grainy; just what you're looking for. The taste is nicely sour with good citrus qualities. This is a very good berliner coming from GLBC. I wish I had better access to this.

Yet another on-tap only "pub exclusive" at the GLBC. This one is brand new too. Served to me in a snifter glass, this beer draws a very cloudy, hazy medium amber color with a white he'd 1/2 inch thick when first poured that settles to a thin to medium sized ring lining the inside if the glass and pretty good lacing. Aromas of tart raspberry and a bit of yeasty funk. Has a nice tart, somewhat sour, raspberry Taste upfront that gives way to some yeasty esters and some slight funk notes and is rounded out with very slight hint of salt and vinegar. Very nice! Has a crisp, slightly prickly, medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate to heavy carbonation. Easy to drink in an excellent way. I quite enjoyed this.

Eric

 

 

From growler to British pint...

A. Pours something between honey and straw gold. About a quarter finger of white head that rapidly diminishes to a few scant bubbles. Lacing is equally minimal.

S. Lots of wheat, grain, mild tartness, earth, and even some very mild hops.

T. Wheat, citrus, slight acidity, biscuit, tart lemon, hop bitterness, grassiness.

M. Very crisp, light, and refreshing. It arrives on the palate, makes itself known, and quickly exits, just as the style demands.

O. A solid Berliner. Extremely refreshing and very light. Not anywhere near as sour as the more recent examples of the style, which means this has been brewed to match closely to the more traditional Berliners. This reminds me quite a bit of a Wright Pils with just a little bit of tartness. A really nice beer.

 

16oz pour on draft at Great Lakes Brewing Co.'s Brewpub in Ohio City. Poured into a shaker pint today, 1/3/2014.

Comes in a beautiful, hazy straw yellow body with a one finger white and effervescent head that dissipates fairly slowly. Good retention. Not much lacing as the beer goes down.

Smells wheaty! This is the definition of what "wheaty" really is- without much interference from the yeast or lactobacillus. Not complex, but quite wheaty. Small hints of tartness is there but not a lot.

A bit more interesting on the palate than the nose- it's fairly wheaty with a nice lacto tartness that is more subtle than a lot of other berliners. Straightforward, not complex yet very tasty.

Medium bodied, well-carbonated and creamy. A pleasure to drink. No ABV is evident, aftertaste is wheat mixed in with a little bit of yogurt.

This is probably what is considered true to the style, knowing GLBC. Pub-only, but worth stopping in to try if you enjoy Berliner Weisses.