SOUR BEER? ITS A GOOD THING

As we wind our way across the seasons and begin our transition to the comfort foods and Maltier Beers of Fall I thought I’d take a step back and talk about a unique beer style that is traditionally a summer style. This brew is available for your enjoyment year-round.

The style in question is Berliner Weisse which is a top-fermented, bottle conditioned wheat beer made with both traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and lactobacillus culture. It has a rapidly vanishing head and a hazy, pale golden straw-colored appearance. The taste is refreshing, tart, sour and acidic, with a lemony sharpness and little hop bitterness in the finish.

Berliner Weiss is traditionally served in wide bulbous stemmed glasses. Visitors to Berlin will often order one as a "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (literally with a shot): Himbeere" or "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss: Waldmeister". These are sweet syrups that are added to make the sourness more palatable. They have the pleasant visual effect of changing the brews color as well. Himbeere is sweet raspberry syrup (bright red) and Waldmeister is sweetened essence of woodruff (lurid green). I actually enjoy the Berliner Weisse on its own, but I did try adding some Grenadine Syrup to see what sweet syrups would do to the flavor profile. The taste remained sour but the sweet fruit syrup gave it a flavor profile reminiscent of a sour ball candy. Not an unpleasant taste at all, though not something I would seek out very often.

The most common brand of Berliner Weisse available in this country is Berliner Kindl Weisse. Despite having only 2.5% Alcohol by Volume this beer is extremely flavorful and somewhat pricey. $14.99 for a six pack at Whole Foods. I have also seen it for a buck or two less at Spirits Unlimited in Red Bank, though last time I looked there was a health layer of dust on the packaging which gave me pause.

New in the local stores Wiedenmayer “Jersey Lager”. If you like a maltier Oktoberfest Beer this one is a must try. Pair it with some Chili and Saltines.