Wolnzacher Roggenbier
Wolnzacher Bürgerbraü AG

Wolnzacher RoggenbierWolnzacher Roggenbier
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From:
Wolnzacher Bürgerbraü AG
 
Germany
Style:
Roggenbier
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 11.51%
Reviews:
61
Ratings:
62
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 18, 2014
Added:
Jul 09, 2003
Wants:
  29
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jackndan:
Photo of jackndan
Reviewed by jackndan from Illinois

2.14/5  rDev -45.3%
look: 1 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Burgerbrau: Initial pour was a nice amber color, only a bit hazy. I poured about half the bottle, and then moved over for a leisurely review, and appear to have stirred up the sediment from hell. It poured almost white from the bottle, and ended up a strange orange color, not unlike metamucil. Initial head was nice, but when the sediment hit, it was all over, leaving nothing at all. Taste is sour, very citrus, not wholly unpleasant, but, I’ve got to say: what the? Looks like hell, smells like hell, tastes, well, not a whole lot more than a nine iron from hell. If I was not a BA I’d have dumped the whole damn thing from the git go. Bah!
Jun 04, 2004
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by polishkaz from Connecticut

Jun 18, 2014
Photo of Huhzubendah
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

3.95/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Received in a trade with RBald42. Thanks Ryan!

The beer appears hazy and rusty orange hued. Effervescence emanating from the depths of the liquid create an audible fizz. Bonus points for sound quality. The head is a dense white inch, but fades to a thin, wispy layer after only a couple minutes, leaving minimal lacing.

The scent brings a lot of fruit character, similar in some regards to a Flanders ale. A healthy malt presence, subtle citrus, mild funk, a touch of sweetness, and a general earthy quality round out the aromas.

Well, now I've tried a roggenbier. Rye malt is quite present. The beer is fruity and a bit sweet. In contrast, flavors of rye and sourdough breads, as well as an understated funky quality balance out the sweetness. This brew is quite earthy and malty. This is my first experience drinking a roggenbier, and I'm intrigued. I'd definitely like to try some other examples of the style to compare / contrast.

The feel is a bit chewy, with the carbonation much less active on the palate than it appeared in the glass.

Overall, I must say that this beer is quite different than anything I have had. Unique and tasty. I appreciate the new experience this brew offers and it's been fun sampling all 104 beer styles.
Apr 05, 2011
Photo of Wasatch
Reviewed by Wasatch from Colorado

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks goes out to Rbald42 for this brew.

Pours a cloudy golden deep copper color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy off-white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some yeast, citrus, and spicey. The taste is slightly sweet, tart/sour, yeasty, with some citrus notes, and some spicyness. Medium body. Drinkable, quite the brew, pretty original, not bad at all, but did have to get use to the taste.
Apr 14, 2010
Photo of prototypic
Reviewed by prototypic from Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Many, many thanks to Rbald42 for the bottle. I anticipated a long, long wait to knock this style off (again). Thanks a ton, Ryan.

Roggenbier pours an interesting brown color that's tinted red. It's incredibly hazy, and looks a little orange when held to light. The cap is off-white and is only a finger or so deep. It retreated very quickly and left light lace in its wake.

The nose is predominantly rye. It definitely smells a little sour. Yeast is quite prominent and works nicely with the rye. There's something about that smells earthy or musky. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's interesting. That's about it. There's not a great deal going on, but it smells pretty good. I'll go above average.

The flavor is pretty good. This is apparently my first 'true' Roggenbier. After reviewing the style description, I can say that this one fits the bill. Rye is front and center. I'm a rye fan, so it works well for me. Yeast is very prominent and complements the rye well. Those are the two primary flavors and they're strong throughout. It has some sour, earthy, and musky characteristics. Alcohol is not noticeable at all. It finishes spicy and yeasty. Roggenbier is a rather simple beer. It's not complicated. I don't love it, but I do like it.

Roggenbier has a lighter body. Carbonation is light, as well. It's too thin to feel smooth, but it's not bad. Drinkability is above average. Roggenbier has a unique flavor in that it's very heavy on rye and yeast. I like it, but can't see myself sticking with much more than a bottle.

Roggenbier's an interesting style. It's definitely unique and something I'd only get into every once and a while. But, it's pretty good and I can appreciate what it is. This is my first experience with the style, so it's tough to critique it. I suspect it's a fine representation. I'd suggest seeking this one out if you're into trying different styles. Thanks, Ryan. I really appreciate it.
Mar 07, 2010
Photo of drabmuh
Reviewed by drabmuh from Maryland

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Huge thanks to Rbald42 for this beer. Mucho beer karma to you. Poured from a 0.5 L bottle into an Erdinger wheat beer glass. I'm one beer closer to 103 styles.

Interesting. Beer is apparently thick and brown. Forms a thin off white head. I tried to limit the yeast in the beer but some got loost. The Carbonation is aggressive and made up of tiny bubbles that rise through the beer quickly. There isn't much lacing on the glass. Looks like murky brown water. I didn't know what to expect but since hefeweizens are murky yellow water, and rye is darker than most wheat, I guess is what I should expect.

Aroma is strong and sweet. Really strong. Its spicy like rye there is almost a metallic aroma to it. It also kind of smells like a wheatwine. Makes me a little nervous to drink it.

Medium bodied, slightly dry, oddly sweet and sour. It does taste a little like a wheatwine. There is also an odd aftertaste. Carbonation in the mouth is fine, drinkability is OK. There is almost a roastiness at the back of the mouth. Very bready, very yeasty (I tried to limit the yeast in the beer but apparently failed). Its OK. I would definitely try different roggenbiers but this one isn't really doing it for me.
Feb 14, 2010
Photo of pmcadamis
Reviewed by pmcadamis from Illinois

2.94/5  rDev -24.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
Oh, mein gott! What is all this crap in my beer! This is my first roggenbier and I had to check some other reviews first to make sure that these floaties are supposed to be present. I thought at first that maybe this beer had gone bad and been infested with some sort of malicious life form! Anyhow, now that I know that it's normal for the style (and that's the only thing keeping me from giving it a 1.0 in the appearance category) it is kinda cool in a science project sort of way. After the huge soapy bubbles dissapear, it sort of looks like thick hot home-made apple cider with tons of spices and junk in it. Still, it just looks...unhealthy.

I smell rotten apples that have fallen from the tree (not at all an unpleaseant smell....just reminds me of late summer / early autumn), a little citrus, and maybe some caramel and nuts.

This one tastes pretty much like it smells. Loads of rotten apple and caramel predominate, while a fizzy acid sourness tickles my tongue. This is a very unique taste. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's weird....not bad, just weird. The mouthfeel is kind of slick, slimy, and nasty...like mucous, and that is the one major characteristic that is killing the experience for me.

I don't want to like this....but I do. It doesn't really look like something you would drink, and all my senses say "do not put this in your mouth!" But once I did take a sip, it's actually sort of good. I think a large part of it is psychological...if it looks like diarrhea it probably tastes like diarrhea. But with this oddball beer, that reasoning would prove to be quite false.

The more I sip, the more I like it. It most definitley has a Halloween / October vibe going on since it tastes and smells like apples, caramel, and spices, ...not to mention the fact that it looks scary as hell. And, you can play "bobbing for yeast chunks" with the kids! This is a bizzare "witches brew" for all hallows eve!
Aug 22, 2006
Photo of alexgash
Reviewed by alexgash from Connecticut

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Gushing out of the bottle: a large, quickly-disappering fizzy head explosion of light khaki. The body is ridiculously muddled, hazy, yeast chunk-ridden. Wow. Looks like Tibetan chang. The most sediment I have ever seen in a "beer." I have to give this liquid points for originality! Caramel, wheaty malts float over a funky, sourish vegetable "aroma." Interesting. Maybe a hint of gingerbread spice too. Soft, sweetish cookie dough flavors mix with yeasty fruit. Pleasant sweetness and light spice throughout. Finish is yeast bitter with lingering protein shake. Full bodied, thick proteiny feel. Like a banana bread shake, with chunks of yeast detectable. Crazy. I like it though! I would love it if more brewers tried this style.
Aug 22, 2006
Photo of TastyTaste
Reviewed by TastyTaste from Minnesota

3.86/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Clumpy sediment in a cloudy brown body, head fades at a very fast, fizzy rate. Kind of an ugly looking beer.

Smell: Sour malts are noted on the label (I have never heard of sour malts), and this beer smells sour to match, also very grainy and bready. What an odd smelling beer.

Taste: A very odd beer, grainy and extremely bready, it is smooth going down, but also tart and citric. I like it, even if it is one of the ugliest beers around.

Drinkability: Carbonated but not at the same time, very odd. Maybe my first real roggenbier, I would like to try more, very interesting.
Aug 06, 2006
Photo of joedon
Reviewed by joedon from Minnesota

3.83/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Big ivory colored head over a dark amber, slightly hazy beer.

Smells of caramel, citrus, wet grass, and dark malt.

Big tangy-citrusy flavors. Lemon predominates, even moreso than a wheat beer. Aftertaste of crystal malt but almost no hop bitterness or taste.

Very fizzy, slightly watery. Good thirst quencher. Quite drinkable.
Jun 28, 2006
Photo of Hautacam
Reviewed by Hautacam from Connecticut

3.65/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
.5 liter bottle. Pours out cloudy yellow orange with a tan head that was huge...I swirled it ...which unleashed the seamonkeys and their fog machine...really a lot of yeast chunks and sediment....not pretty. After a few minutes....carbonation keeping the sludge in motion, it seemed to break up the chunks and just increased the cloudiness.
The head settled down and even laced a bit....stayed at 1/4".
Not much smell...faint grains..hint of clove, cider and must.
Taste is at first tart, lemony with some sour apple and pear....then sweet malt and clove.
As it warms up, the sourness diminishes...tastes more yeasty and bready.
Mouthfeel was light-medium..very carbonated...semi-dry finish...sour lemon aftertase.
Pretty interesting brew...to me , a little like a weizen bock without the banana....more pome and citrus. Worth a try....but don't try to drink it to the bottom...the sludge is very bitter and powdery.
Jun 21, 2006
Photo of Hibernator
Reviewed by Hibernator from Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Wolnzacher Roggenbier
16.9 oz brown bottle
Served in a 20 oz tulip pint glass

Whoa, right off the bat this is one the most interesting beers I've ever seen. Thick, chug jug pour with a crazy amount of sediment. Huge yeast chunks that literally come alive. You can hear the yeast crackle and pop in the glass. This beer looks like watered down mud.

Apple cider zing with a lemon zest flavor. Interestingly tart, yet very refreshing. Dry rye punch with chunky fruit sweetness. I don't know what is going on with the the mouthfeel. The consistency is on par with a freshly smashed banana. Completely unfiltered and unpasteurized.

Probably one of the most interesting beer styles I've ever sampled. I've never had anything like a Roggenbier before. This beer started to grow on me as I finished, but definetly takes time to warm up to.
Apr 23, 2006
Photo of SilentSabre
Reviewed by SilentSabre from North Dakota

2.85/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 1 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
This is without question, the most peculiar beer I have ever had in my life. The appearance of this...liquid, is positively appalling. It literally looks like sewage. Heavily cloudy orange with an alarming amount of sediment and debris floating about. The head is a khaki colour and is positively enormous. It does, however, subside quickly, leaving nothing behind; not even lacing. The smell is quite nice, smelling slightly sweet and reminding me of sour apples with a slight musty aroma hiding in the back. The taste is quite sour and one can certainly tell that there is rye present here. The mouthfeel is almost like water. It's quite thin indeed. Drinkability? I don't know if I could tolerate having more than one of these in a sitting. Like Rauchbier, this Roggenbier is a "beer of an acquired taste", to put it as tactfully and politely as possible. Although I, personally, could consume several litres of rauchbier. Many thanks to my friend and fellow BA Ding, for affording me the opportunity to sample this bizarre and truly unique beer.
Mar 26, 2006
Photo of DrewBeechum
Reviewed by DrewBeechum from California

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Purchased from a little liquor store in Carpenteria CA (with the coldest cold room in the universe)

So.. first review in forever.

Poured into a tall wheat beer glass (shoot me, name a glass I have something in the appropriate style, it's a sickness.)

Big muddy beer, orangish brown with a quickly disappating head that falls flat, but surprisingly the beer holds an amazing carbonation inside. Beer Temp? Oiliness of the Rye?

Aroma has some of the fruitiness of your typical hefeweizen, but with a deeper earthier spiciness than the typical clove of a wheat beer. Something a little more like cinnamon and pepper about this.

Leaves a sticky and grainy residue across the whole glass.

Flavor, sweet, sticky, cinnamon and something tropical like a pineapple.

Cloudy doesn't begin to describe the beer. This thing has giant yeast breaks in it that settles down to bottom of the glass, but this definately provides enough yeast to culture to brew another beer.
Mar 11, 2006
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.94/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5
OK this is a weird beer to say the least.

Pours a pea soup thick clouded beer that really looks a lot like sewage in the glass. Kind of a yellow brown in color with a tan colored head.

Smell is sweet, fruity and lemony with an apple aroma and the scent of German apple cookies and rye bread minus the caraway seeds.

Taste is sweet and malty with a pleasant sour lemon edge to it at the start. After a while a bit of bitterness shows up but this is very much like Gose. More refreshing than I would have thought from the looks of it.

This is in its own class for mouthfeel. Damn close to drinking pancake batter.

A tart high grain beer with a surprisingly refreshing quality. But be warned this stuff is THICK! I can't really see drinking this stuff on a regular basis because of the expense and rarity.
Jan 27, 2006
Photo of KarlHungus
Reviewed by KarlHungus from Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5
This brew pours a murky reddish color with tons of large bubbles of carbonation being clearly visible. The head is massive, creamy, white, and makes a snap-crackle-pop noise as if it were breaking up, but it doesn't. Instead, it lasts forever. The aroma screams rye. It is spicy, fruity, and buttery, and very powerful. The taste isn't nearly as powerful as the aroma or head, but it is flavorful and relaxing. The high levels of carbonation hide a lot of the flavor during the sip, but the aftertaste is very nice. It is of dark fruit and spicy rye. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, and perhaps a bit too carbonated. Overall, this is a very good beer. I would certainly like to see more American breweries take a stab at this style
Dec 23, 2005
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

3.77/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16.9oz bottle purchased as a single somewhere in NoVA, either WF/Vienna, WF/Annadale, Norm's, or Rick's.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 2" light tan head above the warm amber brew. Some floaties in the glass, and huge hunks of floaties in the bottle after decanting the first glass. Never seen such mass of material in the bottom of a bottle. Head continued to grow, rising above the sides of the glass. Actually went and did some chores while it settled down. Very slow to settle, with sticky lacing omnipresent.

Aroma is muted grain with some citric tartness. Taste followed the nose, with the citrus being almost dominant, and then softened by the rye. Mouthfeel is very smooth, and drinkability is pretty good as well. Not as good as I was hoping for, but not a bad brew.
Sep 26, 2005
Photo of OldSock
Reviewed by OldSock from District of Columbia

3.93/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Appearance and Presentation – 16.9 oz bottle bought at Luke’s. The beer pours a cloudy dark orange with amber edges. There is slow moving carbonation that keeps the creamy, small white head inflated until almost the end. There is also some patchy lacing.

Smell – The aroma is slightly fruity, almost like apple cider. Definitely some yeast in the smell as well, but no trace of the Hallertauer aroma hops mentioned on the label.

Taste – Interesting stuff. The sourness hits immediately in the front, but just as quickly gives way to a yeasty earthiness that is very pleasant. The sourness is light and refreshing; different than the sourness that the bacteria and yeast create in the beers of Belgium. After drinking for a bit I hardly notice the sourness any more, it fades to being just a refreshing undertone. There is not much hop bitterness or aroma or malt complexity.

Mouthfeel – Medium-light mouthfeel, with light carbonation.

Drinkability and Notes – This is not only an interesting beer, but also an enjoyable one. Decent drinkability, the flavor got a bit tiring by the end for me, but for most of the drink it was enjoyable. After having had several American rye beers it is nice to try the grandfather of the style.
Aug 23, 2005
Photo of UncleFlip
Reviewed by UncleFlip from Alabama

3.81/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Thanks to the whole crew at Free The Hops for this one. Had a tasting one night, and it was one of the 'leftovers' that needed a home.

Beautiful turbulent tornado of bubbles in the glass as the head rises from the pour, and somehow, the beer magically descends from it. A 2/3 pour in my pint glass yields a three finger just-off-white tight foamy head that disintegrates to two fingers. THis one is so beautiful as it pours... The liquid is hazy orange-red honey colour. VERY inviting.

The semll is very nice, but not the best I've found. The first thing that hits is orange. It's followed by a quick clovy spice, then back to orange again. Second sniff reveals a sweet maltiness and a bit of banana.

There's something missing in the flavour profile, but I can't put my finger on it. The initial sip reminds me of the sesame chicken I had about 6 hours ago. Strange. Second sip has spice up front, then a ver round, sweet almost lemony fruitiness, then a flat woody finish That is not very interesting at all. The fruitiness leading into the woodiness is a contrast that I'm not sure I like, as it's so sudden.

The body is on the thick side, and holds its own pretty well against a carbonation that's low and tight at the begining, but slowly sweels toward the end before nosediving quickly.

Despite some of the shortcomings, this is a drinkable beer. However, I would likely move on to something else after just one.

YAY! This review is finally earning me my little initiate beer mug!

Be well
-UF
Aug 19, 2005
Photo of whartontallboy
Reviewed by whartontallboy from New York

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Cloudy brown amber with a huge, glistening white head that slowly fades. I felt like I was super-careful, but I still got a ton of really big sediment chunks in my glass getting buffeted about by the healthy carbonation.

Smell is light, citrusy, with a little peppery bite in the back end. The rye really comes through in the nose, but it's not overpowering in the nose.

Taste has a nice little rye bite to it and some yeasty flavors as well. The flavor could not really be classified as hoppy, so most of the bite comes from the rye. Little bit thin in the mouth, but there is definitely a clove flavor that comes through pretty clearly as well.

Overall: I'm not a roggenbier expert, as this is my first, but I enjoyed it. The flavor is light but still has the rye bite that I enjoy, and I'd pick up another one.
Aug 10, 2005
Wolnzacher Roggenbier from Wolnzacher Bürgerbraü AG
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 62 ratings