Poll: Berliner Weisse. With or without syrup?

SGT Salamander is the only berliner weisse that I had infused with/syrup added to, and it was outstanding. It was very solid w/o the syrup as well. The syrup was made by Tired Hands. it wasnt anything like Torani.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/108471/

 

Hottenroth's not very sour at all, I believe it was made to be drunk straight up, adding a syrup would make it too sweet.

 

Right? So hard to believe that we here and those in Germany have differing tastes and sensibilities about what we eat and drink, ya'd think we would love that syrup here too, no?

I mean, other than being separated by an ocean and a thousand miles of land, and those few differences caused by our different continents, cultures, geographies, genealogies, histories, languages, tastes in everything, forms of government, and population homogeneity, we are pretty much the same here and in Germany, no?

 

I prefer them without syrup ... but if it is offered, I will sometimes have some without and some with a small amount of syrup

 

Not for Berliners. We do have a few craft simple syrups though.

 

No clue you could add syrup to a Berliner Weiss... You learn something new everyday, they say.

 

I have not tried that specific berliner weisse, but doubt it really needs any syrup, but I would be willing to try anything once. If you have enough of the beer for everyone to sample with and without sryrup(s) that could be fun.

 

I've had Hottenroth on countless occasions (I'm in the Bruery's Hoarders Society, I like the majority of their beers, a lot) Anyhow, fantastic Berliner, straight up, on it's own. However, the other day, after pouring a glass for both my wife and I, it just wasn't hitting the spot, at that particular moment. I suddenly recalled, we had at the very back of our pantry, a small bottle of Torani Raspberry Syrup (that we used once year before)
I decided to add less then half a shot, just to try it out. Quite frankly, it was magical. Now I won't do this all the time, it does add sweetness, and cuts the tartness, sharply. Also, as I've already indicated, I enjoy Hottenroth as it is quite often, but this worked, and worked very well. To each their own of course.

 

Below are snippets about Berliner Weisse from the Oxford Companion to Beer (author: Fritz Briem):

“Its main characteristic is a mild sourness and tartness with a light and fruity character…”

“In the last few years, however, Berliner Weisse has enjoyed a revival among artisanal brewers. Small experimental brews have been conducted in Germany and the resulting beer found to be very fine and complex, with no need for any syrups”.

Cheers

 

I'll let @patto1ro handle the reply to this one....

 

I think that if a berliner weisse is properly crafted that it can stand on its own and does not need syrup. I only used a juniper syrup once in a berliner weisse which was only slightly above mediocre in the first place and it made it overly sweet and unbalanced. Just one mans opinion though.

 

Maybe you could recommend that your ‘big brother’ send his comments directly to Dr. Fritz Briem of Doemens Institute.

 

I am pretty sure he already has. But if not, I will recommend that he do so...as well as to the editor/publisher of the Oxford Companion to Beer.

 

New Poll: does this poll have the most lopsided results ever?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

 

Not syrup, but New Glarus Belgian Red poured into New Glarus Berliner Weiss is DAMN tasty.

 

Personally, my fantasy is to have one of those Coca Cola Freestyle dispensers, where you have the choice of over 130 different high-fructose corn-syrup varieties, automatically blended into a Berliner weisse.

I don't know why no one has implemented this before. It seems like the greatest idea since candy-corn-on-the-cob.

 

K, but skip the HFCS and make it pure cane invert with real fruits, and we've got a deal.

 

When I find my woodruff syrup i'll let you know for sure...

 

Honestly, with Schells releasing a Berliner Weiss series, I haven't been able to add syrup to any of them. Their take on the style has been a breath of fresh air so I'm perfectly content to sip this http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/105773/ (and it's friends) without any additives