Berliner Weisse

Berliner Weisse straight from Berlin – more precisely, from BRLO, a modern Berlin brewery founded in 2016, but focusing on traditional German beer styles rather than the postmodern U.S. styles most other contemporary Euro craft brewers are dabbling in. Snow white, moussy, fizzy, loose head, quickly opening and diminishing into virtually nothing; near-clear pale straw blonde robe, turning misty and more golden with sediment added. Aroma of green apples, sourdough, Sekt, celeriac juice, cucumber (as in dark green cucumber peel), straw bales, old rusk crumbs, cottage cheese, chalk, dried garden weeds. Crisp, fruity onset, green apple and unripe melon notes with cucumber and even some banana peel thrown into the mix, tingling carbonation, slender and supple mouthfeel; soft lactic sourishness, a bit ‘sweaty’, eats at the edges of a lean bread-crusty, wheaty and cereally maltiness, but never becomes outspokenly acidic – rather adding a dash of yoghurt and green apple to a bready finish, where a ‘deeper’ layer of very soft sourishness is recognizable as coming from wheat rather than mixed fermentation. Cucumber and chalk impressions linger in the tail. Very softly sour in comparison with most other Berliner Weisses these days – but I am convinced that this one comes closer to the past of the style. After this one, I am left with the impression that – apart from Berliner Kindl many years ago – this BRLO interpretation may well be the most historically accurate Berliner Weisse I ever had. Even Schneeeule – obviously a very important player in this small field and also located in Berlin – is more connected to postmodern U.S. style interpretations of the style… I am quite surprised by this BRLO version in that sense, this Berliner Weisse feels very genuine, traditional and authentic, making me curious for how this brewery treats other old German beer styles.

Bottle at BRLO taproom, Berlin, 11/07/19. Pale golden blonde with a good sized white covering. Nose is grass, pale malts, lemon tinged straw, balsa wood. Taste comprises lemon rind, green berry must, grains, straw. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a modest acidic bimble. Ok.

Very good white head, fast dwindling over clear pale golden beerm lazily bubbled, later still. Weeds, heather, mosses, wheat, lactic acid. Broccoli or other raw brassica . Straw, hay, grass, lactic acid, hint at lemon, refreshing acidity. The cabbage, DMS is less in the taste. Wheat obvious. Nothing is as refreshing as a true Berliner Weisse. It was gone, now it is back.Very apt ultra light body, and despite the still looks, a spritzy MF. Haven't had this taste for decades. Overjoyed, as this is great. Today's craft imitations are just not what was meant by the Champagne of the Spree. This is.

@home poured into a tumbler. Sourish nose. Slightly hazy pale golden colour, small foamy white head, vanishes within a wink, no lacing. Light sour aroma, lemon, green apples, vinegar. Taste medium sour, slightly sweet, lemon, gooseberries, some vinegar, salty notes, retronasal barnyard. Light body, watery texture, soft carbonation, dry fruity aftertaste, tart, more like a gose, nice.

Medium tartness, clean flavour, slight coriander on the nose that i don't love. Craft beer store dresden(3.7 dec 2020) Again at Gollem raamsteeg….fruity too much a little lacking balance, not a 3.7, but very well made for the stylr.

Appearance: Pale yellow, mostly clear. Small, fizzy white head. Aroma: Lemon, sourness. Taste: Quite sour, lemon. Refreshing. Bought: amstein.ch, 330 ml, CHF 2.97 Info: 11/9-2020, BB: 18/5-2022

Draught @ BRLO Brewhouse, Berlin. Pours slightly hazy yellow with a small white head. Aroma of wheat, light sourness, citrus, lime, grapefruit. Flavor is light sour, citric, wheat, citrus, lime. Medium body, soft to average carbonation., dry light acidic finish. 310720

Draught at Rogue Waterfront, Vancouver
Cloudy pale blond colour. It's a bit sour, lemony, but mellower than the classic Berliner Weisse I was used to from Berlin.