Describe your perfect Berliner Weisse

Tart (Bear Republic Tartar, Craftsman Angelino Weisse.)
Balanced sourness / wheat flavor (Bell's Oarsman)

Everything that Bruery Hottenroth isn't.

 

The long gone slightly sour and complex Schultheiss Berliner Weisse with a dash of woodruff was just gorgeous. Bloody Prussians need to get their priorities right and revive this.

 

Great topic, I too am interested to find what people enjoy particularly in fine berliners, am starting really to dig the style. Haven't tried very many, but so far I enjoy one that's sour but not too sharply, but is full of bright funk that rings the sip like a bell. Tasty and interesting, a true session beer.

 

^^^This is the one (def. with the woodruff). I'm going to tell my Prussian in-laws to get their collective act together and do something about this right away.

 

No need to describe it; it already exists. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23495/36378/?ba=Phelps

 

“Bloody Prussians need to get their priorities right and revive this.” Aren’t they preoccupied bailing out the Greeks and other Euro countries?

I’m sorry, back to beer.

My favorite Berliner Weisse is light in color, pleasantly tart, no funk and no fruit added. I prefer my Berliner Weisse beers ‘straight up’ with no syrup.

I really enjoy Nodding Head Berliner Weisse. For me this beer is ‘just right’.

Cheers!

 

Dogfish Head Festina Peche-- Great on a hot day!

 

I know it sounds ridiculous but how can such a proud people let such a great beer go with such seeming indifference?
Also bare in mind there's a fair amount of Sachsen blood flowing through my veins so I tend to be a bit sensitive whenever the 'P' (or 'B') word is heard (or read).

 

The perfect Berlier Weisse is the one you have in Berlin

 

ok, ill bite

My idea of the perfect berliner is one that has a mild grainy sweetness somewhat like cereal grains. however, it has a contrasting tartness of lemon (tart, not sour/acidic.) as long as it is clean and refreshing without any distinguishable alcohol inclusion, it is a winner. bonus points for being excessively crisp like a lager with a hint of green apple or mild pear fruitiness. yogurt-like lacto flavor is also a plus but not necessary. brett is also welcomed as long as it is not overdone and doesnt dry it out too much and get "dusty or cracker-like."

i dont particularly care for syrup additions but if they are included, it shoukd be a contributor to the flavor not a sugary domination

the best commercial description i can think of would be if you blended southamptons regular berliner with Schultheiss

 

Very pale, scorchingly sour, highly effervescent, with a touch of the cellar. Basically, the Berliner Weisse from the Schultheiss brewery on Schönhauser Allee in East Berlin. Been gone more than 20 years now.

 

Tart, dry and refreshing.

 

good luck finding a Berliner weisse in Berlin, outside of Berliner Kindl (the plain one, which isnt bad).
My favorite in Germany so far is Wollnitzer, Freigeist also makes a very solid Berliner weisse, neither of which are in Berlin.
And the delicious Berliner weisse w/ Brett by Bayerischer Bahnhof in Leipzig is only made for export, at least to my knowledge.

cheers

 

Truth nodding heads ibe is amazing. And its right around the corner.

 

Zimbo: "Schultheiss..."

Yeah, that's it. I thought I had a Bierdeckel (sp?)(beer coaster) for it, but no... I have Berliner Pilsner coasters.

All righty, this is gonna sound kinda weird, but I was in Berlin 3rd-4th (17th on) week of August 2003, when Europe had that scorcher. I was looking for an address (actually, a long-lost cousin) (come to find out, he'd relocated to Frankfurt) ON Berlinerstraße about two blocks east of the Berlinerstraße U-bahnhof right around dusk (that was the weird coincidence part). I was getting hungry and thirsty, so I stopped in at this little restaurant on the north side of the street (I THINK I see it on the Bing sat-map). I had a Helles (whatever was on tap) and probably (unmemorable; I remember really good meals) Roteskraut, Wurst, Kartofelnsalat; the usual. I finished up, and was speaking to the waiter in my halting German when I was invited over to the table next to me (I was at a 4-top; they were at a much larger table)... right neighborly of them; I guess it was because I was an Auslander. Between my fractured Deutsch and their far better English, we somehow managed to communicate. Shortly after I sat down, a beer appeared in front of me. I enquired as to its identity, and they told me it was a Berliner Weisse. As I recall (memory fades) there were two small syrup pourers, one with Raspberry syrup, and one with Woodruff syrup. The beer was NOT "vom Fass" (on tap) but in bottles. It was explained to me that it was traditional to pour a shot of syrup into the glass, then fill it with the beer. I had the "Rote" first, as I have a perennial sweet-tooth. That was pretty much the flavor; raspberry. I tried the Woodruff next, which I didn't care for as much; it wasn't all that aromatic (German Maiwiein used to be made with Woodruff; evidently it's been banned since 1981. I read that it contains coumarin, which criminal a**wipes in Mexico use to make fake Vanilla extract. I probably had the real deal in the late 70s because that was my start in wine-drinking - German wines, including May Wine. Likely faux woodruff in the syrup) and it was a bit cloying. I didn't have a straight-up Weisse in Germany, only a US version, which reminded me of a Kolsch.

I tend to ramble. Probably early Alzheimer's. >snort<

 

Nice. Guess you have probably tasted more of this style that is made by few brewers than most others on this site, and probably love it more than any. Nice description, my mouth waters reading it, although it sounds like trying your perfect one, mixed Schultheiss/ regular SH, would be pretty hard to accomplish.

Wish I would have bought a case of Bahnhof B. Lambicus Edition when I had the chance.

 

You mean this one? http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4909/65752
Its at my favorite store...I buy it pretty often. I like it more than the 1809. Berliners are the perfect study break beers, you forget about the books while your drinking it and when you're done you're not even slightly buzzed so you can get back to business.

 

Honestly, despite my idea of what they might be like blended together, i dont think i could bring myself to actually do it. I like them both for slightly different reasons im just imagining how amazing it would be to have some of the Schultheiss character added to the southampton.

So is the Bahnhof "special edition" a rotating brew? It has been awhile since i had one. The last 2 bottles I had were buggers getting into the glass due to excessive foaming. This is making me thirsty, ill need to put one in the fridge tonight.