Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse You may have noticed I enjoy a good sour beer from time to time and one of the more underrepresented styles of sour beer, is the Berliner Weisse. Many times these are subject to limited releases or seasonal rotations but this is one that is year round, from Germany, and really darn good. This beer was created by Dr. Fritz Briem of the Doemen’s Institute and is brewed in collaboration with Weihenstephaner. It pours a soft hazy golden straw color, a small amount of sediment sits in the glass with a nice amount of bubbles rising to the top. A bubbly white head appears with an aggressive pour, almost a finger, but vanishes almost instantaneously leaving behind no trace of its existence and no lacing. The aroma is nice, the grains are very apparent, tart apples, some funky yeast and a nice amount of lemon and clove come through, but all in all it’s a simple aroma, but spot on for this style. The flavors follow very well, acidic lemon jumps out, but is cut well by some grains and funky yeast flavors, some mild banana pops out as well. The flavors are simple, tart, mildly acidic, but just the way I want them, not too heavy, not too light and not too sharp. The body is nice, very effervescent, quite dry and leaves a bit of a cottonmouth. Verdict: Light, simple, sour, excellent Berliner Wiesse, and one I can find almost anywhere. At nearly 5% ABV, it could actually be called an Imperial Berliner Weisse as most beers in this style hang around the 2 to 3% mark. (4.00/5)

Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse

You may have noticed I enjoy a good sour beer from time to time and one of the more underrepresented styles of sour beer, is the Berliner Weisse. Many times these are subject to limited releases or seasonal rotations but this is one that is year round, from Germany, and really darn good. This beer was created by Dr. Fritz Briem of the Doemen’s Institute and is brewed in collaboration with Weihenstephaner. It pours a soft hazy golden straw color, a small amount of sediment sits in the glass with a nice amount of bubbles rising to the top. A bubbly white head appears with an aggressive pour, almost a finger, but vanishes almost instantaneously leaving behind no trace of its existence and no lacing. The aroma is nice, the grains are very apparent, tart apples, some funky yeast and a nice amount of lemon and clove come through, but all in all it’s a simple aroma, but spot on for this style. The flavors follow very well, acidic lemon jumps out, but is cut well by some grains and funky yeast flavors, some mild banana pops out as well. The flavors are simple, tart, mildly acidic, but just the way I want them, not too heavy, not too light and not too sharp. The body is nice, very effervescent, quite dry and leaves a bit of a cottonmouth.

Verdict: Light, simple, sour, excellent Berliner Wiesse, and one I can find almost anywhere. At nearly 5% ABV, it could actually be called an Imperial Berliner Weisse as most beers in this style hang around the 2 to 3% mark. (4.00/5)