How do Berliner Weisse's cellar?

Shared a 2013 Festina Peche last week. Still very tasty. Not the best example of the style but still good. Hottenroth is great at up to three years as well, haven't gone past that but I'm sitting on one final 2012 to see what happens.

 

Thanks I think I'll give it a shot! Can't wait for NG Berliner Weiss. Understand that's to be the next thumbprint

 

im fairly certain every batch of 1809 has brett. however, i know the 2009 you speak of that has a sticker affixed specifically mentioning the brett inclusion. i strongly believe these were "cellared" and released to showcase the cellaring potential that they also mention on their standard label

 

Agreed. The 2009 limited release was labeled with Brett, and was more funky/less sour than the regular bottle. We had both not long ago in our store, and I preferred the regular over the 2009. Just not enough tartness for me.

 

Just found some 1809 in Ohio, excited to try my first bottle, shit I might open one right now. @stakem I think you should plan to open a 30 year old berliner next weekend when I come to town, what better time than then?

 

What are their addresses?

 

Stumbling on this old thread as I search for answers. Simply: is it standard/traditional to swirl the bottle/pour the dregs, as one would a normal weisse bier, or should one leave them in the bottle? Had a bottle of Firestone Walker's Bretta Weisse today that was absolutely stupendous sans the dregs, but I threw them in for the last 1/4 of the glass (for science!) or so and didn't much appreciate their presence. The obvious answer is "Do what you like!" but didn't know if any aficionados had a take on the matter.

 

great old thread.........I love the few Berliner's I have tried. @stakem Any readily available ones in PA that you would recommend?

 

I dont know how readily available it is but I just recently had a can of Westbrook Nomader Weisse which is advertised under the evil twin brand. That was pretty darn good. A friend snagged it for me in philly and I thought I saw it locally before.

Ive been on a beer buying hiatus for awhile now until I get my cellar in a more manageable state. So honestly, im not the best person to answer that question since I have not been in a bottle shop or other beer store for quite some time to know whats out there at the moment.

In other news and more pertinent to this thread, I have a few more data points to share for aged berliners.

Bruery Hottenroth with several years of age seemingly gets frozen in time and tastes as good as fresh in side by side tasting.
New Glarus thumbprint berliner with age completely falls apart and is a shell of its former self. The bottle I drank recently was more like a cider than berliner.
Schultheiss Berliner vintage late 90's continues to be one of the most amazing berliner experiences in my life. It is almost more of a session lambic than berliner weisse. I cant imagine there are many of these gems left in the world and damn is that a shame.
New England Weisse Trash Culture (batch 1 - 2 years old) has become a mineral/metallic mess in a can.

 

I had a BW from night shift that was 8months old. It was fine.
had a hottenroth fresh and aged and liked neither.
All in the tongue of the bedrinker.

 

This is a really interesting thread. @stakem you have some interesting knowledge of berlinner weisse. I personal have never drank an aged BW, but it has got my attention now. I have always found it extremely hard to sit on a berlinner weise at any time of the year. Especially if it is brewed by DeGarde, Nightshift, August Schell, or Crab Tree.

 

Last fall, when I discovered the American Sky Brewery I bought a bottle of their Operation Berlin Berliner Weisse. They recommended that it be aged a couple of months. I asked if it could be aged till summer. They said yes.

With the closing of the brewery, and sale, I decided to save it for a special occasion. That occasion happened a week and a half ago. The beer had aged over a year at that point, and it tasted amazing. Each brew is different, but some can be aged, for sure.

 

Absolutely not an expert, but most 'sour' beers do not reward dregs inclusion

 

That's my thought as well, but I started (over)thinking it when it came to Berliners because of the normally yeasty/dregs included nature of regular hefeweizens. Just didn't know if Berliners were special cases or something.

As for me, it's rare that adding the dregs ever helps a beer much.