Berliner Weisse - The Gateway Sour Ale

Hailed as the “Champagne of the North” by Napoleon, this beer is now considered a gateway sour for those just getting into the craft brew trend of tart and funky beers. Though its origins are fuzzy (was the lactic tartness on purpose or accident?) this beer is said to have been around since the nineteenth century. And whether the addition of lactic bacteria was intentional or not, this beer still exists today to the joy of many craft breweries and their drinkers. 

Berliner Weisse Beer Kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop

What is a Berliner Weisse

Often, an acidic, sour flavor in beer is caused by an infection. But not all infections are bad, as is the case with Berliner Weisse beers. Weisse means white in German, alluding to the lightness of this effervescent beer that provides crisp, tart flavors and was originally served with berry or woodruff syrups to cut the sourness (If you haven’t seen woodruff syrup, do yourself a favor and look it up). This idea undoubtedly led modern American craft breweries to add fruit flavors to their Berliner Weisse. Some flavor additions I have seen are lemon and blueberry, watermelon and sea salt, and cucumber, and as there is no shortage of sweet flavors to mix with sour beer, the list goes on. The crisp, clean flavor, often paired with fruity flavors, and low alcohol content are characteristics that attribute to the labeling of this beer as a gateway sour. Some sours, especially to the novice, can be overbearing, but this beer creates a gentle middle-ground for anyone considering new flavors.

Berliner Weisse beers, like many fermented icons, were born in Germany, but nowadays you would have better luck finding a wider variety in the American craft brew scene. Not only do Berliner Weisse beers pair well with additional flavors, but they are also more efficiently brewed through the process of kettle souring, which is significantly faster than wild yeast souring, which is how they were originally brewed.

Brewing our own Berliner Weisse

Since this beer was foreign to Mrs. Brew and I, we ordered a kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop that came with a lactobacillus tablet for us to use in the kettle souring process. We collected the wort from our malted barley and wheat blend, boiled it, dropped it to room temperature, and added the contents of the lactobacillus tablet. We then sealed the kettle up tight and let it sit for four days. After four days we re-boiled the sour wort and added the low-bittering hops. The hops in our kit were about .2 ounces of Sterling hops, but for a more German flair, Tettnang hops, or another noble hop, would be better. After the boil, the brew is cooled and fermented just like normal.

The result is a tart, crisp, and straightforward beer that as a standalone provides little in the way of complexity, but when paired with gentler or sweeter flavors becomes a drink with numerous possibilities. 

If you’re not much into sour beers, give this one a try. It’s a great, sessionable beer that pairs well with the warming days of spring and summer. And if you like experimenting with homebrewing, consider adding the kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop to your list of to-be-brewed for a cheek-tingling beer with a unique brewing process.

Cheers!

Mr. Brew