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Berliner Weisse – BJCP Style Guidelines

More background information to help you on your beer drinking adventures…
17A. Berliner Weisse

Aroma: A sharply sour, somewhat acidic character is dominant. Can have up to a moderately fruity character. The fruitiness may increase with age and a flowery character may develop. A mild Brettanomyces aroma may be present. No hop aroma, diacetyl, or DMS.

Appearance: Very pale straw in color. Clarity ranges from clear to somewhat hazy. Large, dense, white head with poor retention due to high acidity and low protein and hop content. Always effervescent.

Flavor: Clean lactic sourness dominates and can be quite strong, although not so acidic as a lambic. Some complementary bready or grainy wheat flavor is generally noticeable. Hop bitterness is very low. A mild Brettanomyces character may be detected, as may a restrained fruitiness (both are optional). No hop flavor. No diacetyl or DMS.

Mouthfeel: Light body. Very dry finish. Very high carbonation. No sensation of alcohol.

Overall Impression: A very pale, sour, refreshing, low-alcohol wheat ale.

Comments: In Germany, it is classified as a Schankbier denoting a small beer of starting gravity in the range 7-8°P. Often served with the addition of a shot of sugar syrups (‘mit schuss’) flavored with raspberry (‘himbeer’) or woodruff (‘waldmeister’) or even mixed with Pils to counter the substantial sourness. Has been described by some as the most purely refreshing beer in the world.

History: A regional specialty of Berlin; referred to by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 as “the Champagne of the North” due to its lively and elegant character. Only two traditional breweries still produce the product.

Commercial Examples: Schultheiss Berliner Weisse, Berliner Kindl Weisse, Nodding Head Berliner Weisse, Weihenstephan 1809 (unusual in its 5% ABV), Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse, Southampton Berliner Weisse, Bethlehem Berliner Weisse, Three Floyds Deesko

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Trumer Pils

Trumer Pils is, in my humble opinion, the one true pilsner. The main reason for this is that most pilsners tend to have a tinny aftertaste. And that just rubs my palate the wrong way. Trumer is a solid refreshment from first sip to last. And in this age of seasonals and special beers, it is nice to see that they do the one beer. No imperial pils, no Christmas pils. And they have good distribution, though I would be interested to compare/contrast their Austrian version to the Berkeley version. When the weather in my neck of the woods turns scorching, I pick up a six-pack of Trumer and cool off.

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The Bruery @ Blue Palms

dscn51992

I and my intrepid beer buddy/connoisseur traveled into Hollywood for the Blue Palms “The Bruery Night” They had 8 of their beers available for small tastes or large ones. Patrick Rue and his cohorts from The Bruery were there to mingle and talk to people about the beer. Tomm Carroll from the Celebrator was there as well. A great way to spend a Wednesday evening. I did not try all of their beers. I just tasted the ones that I had not had before.

white zin
Reddish/pinkish. Not the usual beer color for sure. A
combination of the cuvee jeune and lots of grapes. Very light
and soda pop-py. You could drink a lot of this. Refreshing

humulus blonde
favorite beer of the night. Solid hop presence mixed with a
Belgian golden ale. Another gorgeous looking beer. Gold and hazy.

humulus amber
probably my second favorite of the night. I am not a big amber
fan but this one had great hop taste but was very smooth.

melange # 3
you could certainly tell this had been aged in bourbon barrels.
You could smell it from a mile away. Not a lot of beer flavor.
A slow sipping beer for sure. Great beside the fire on a long, cold
winter night.

cuvee jeune
I got quite the barnyard aroma and taste off of this. A little
sour and quite funky. To me this is another beer to sip.

dscn5198

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The Bottle Room

dscn51761

All I can say is Excellent!! The Bottle Room in Whittier is great. I had the Rosemary Chicken pizza along with Telegraph White Ale and the Maredsous 10. Then followed it up with my 1st ever beer float!! Very good with caramel and nuts and Downtown brown ale. Highly recommended!

dscn5179

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Extended Beer tasting review

1. Port Brewing – Hot Rocks Lager
Nice and malty. I like the fact that it was a collaboration with Tonya Cornett at Bend Brewing and that they were trying a new brewing technique. Had a nice full flavor without losing that lager style completely. Would be really good with a hamburger or ribs.

2. New Belgium – Mighty Arrow Pale Ale
A slight but noticeable citrus tang. Beautiful color and carbonation. Like a cross between a pale and an IPA that captures the essence of both. This would be an excellent gateway beer for people who aren’t into big hoppy beers. Chicken or pork in a citrus glaze or rosemary would taste excellent with this.

3. Telegraph – Reserve Wheat
First taste is very sour then it settles down some. Made with lemon verbena which accounts for the pucker but not very refreshing and not as easy to drink as the Mighty Arrow or the Hot Rocks. I would have to say that this goes into the noble experiment category.

4. Ommegang – Ommegeddon
Very funky smell. Barnyardy to the max. Complex but still a little on the astringent side. The brettamyoces yeast doesn’t do it for me. Sort of like the Telegraph in that it is thin but not easy to drink. Because this beer has such an overpowering aroma and taste, I would hesitate to pair it with any food because it would compete against the food instead of complement.

5. La Baladin – Nora
When I opened this bottle, it erupted which is sad considering the cost. My first sip of this was all pepper. I didn’t taste other spices but still drinkable. Very complex. Alot of things going on with this beer. This is another beer that defies food pairing but I think it might work nicely with a Caesar salad.

My favorite was the New Belgium with the Hot Rocks lager taking the silver medal and the La Baladin the bronze.

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The results show

Today’s just concluded Beer Discovery Tasting had quite a few surprises. Today’s tasting was a wide range of beers that, I personally, had not tried but that I knew the brewers were good because I had tried their wares before.

On the list were Port Brewing’s Hot Rocks Lager which pours very dark but was well received. Nice malty brew that would go great with a burger or ribs. The second beer got even better reviews. The Mighty Arrow from New Belgium has a lovely citrusy hop tang without being in your face. New Belgium really makes people pleasing beers. The Reserve Wheat from Telegraph in Santa Barbara was the least enjoyed of the five. Very sour for a wheat beer but not good lambic sour. It was made with lemon verbena. Better as a dessert beer maybe. Next up was Ommegedon from Ommegang. This beer divided the panel. Some enjoyed it but others could not get over the bret funkiness of it. All liked the nuclear label. Lastly the winner of the night was Nora from La Baladin in Italy. Has a peppery, cinnamon taste that people really liked. Probably the most complex and different beer of the night but obviously well made.

A big shout out to Charlie, Julie, Marguerite, Karen, Jennie, Robert & Marcie for their excellent questions and willingness to try really new and different beers.

P.S. They would all go well with oatmeal cookies.

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What's in my fridge?

Collaboration not Litigation. One of the reasons why I love the craft brewing movement is the open source code ethos that runs through it. New Belgium and Hair of the Dog make special beers for a bottle shop in Seattle. And Russian River in California and Avery in Colorado get together to make one great beer out of two great beers.

avery_collaboration_lg

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Guinness 250

I tasted the 250 from Guiness today.  Quite the odd beer.  The barkeeps were not enthused by it at all and I can see why.  It is the regular stout that is watered down with Irish spring water.  It is not bad at all.  But it does have a more carbonated/soda-esque taste to it.  With a nitro tap it might be even more pronounced.  Either way, I am not sure if it is a marketing ploy.

guinness250